Front pleats add interest to tank tops

Dear Vicki: I need a very simple pattern idea from you. I want to make some sleeveless shell tops to wear on vacation and for summer. I have a pattern for a perfectly plain one, but I hate sewing the facings, and they always seem to be flipping out. So I need help with that, too. But find me something a little more interesting if you can. Thanks. Jesse W.

Dear Jesse: Indygo Junction’s Everyday Tank, 1147, has a nice detail of front pleats, and it doesn’t have facings. Instead it has bias trim to finish the neckline and the armholes. It has two views: one hip length and one that skims the waist. And it has a wide size range, from extra-small to 3X, all in one envelope.

Try to find this pattern at your local shop, or send me a check for $14 and I will send it to you. This pattern can also be downloaded from Indygo Junction’s website. The printable version can be taped together or printed at a printshop on a largescale printer.

Dear Vicki: I found and bought a really exciting border print fabric in Europe, and now I’m home and I don’t know what to do with it. I know I could make a skirt, but do you have any other ideas for me? Thanks. — Zoyla V.

Dear Zoyla: Well, a skirt is the obvious choice for most border prints. You could also consider a sheath dress with the print on the hem or at the waist. You might make a jacket with the border at the bottom or going down the front, and maybe turning at the hem. To do this you would need to cut the border off of the fabric and sew it onto the jacket fabric.

This is actually a really good way to deal with border prints anyway. Cut them and apply anywhere on the pattern that is different and creative. Just plan ahead and have fun. You can make it go around a curve if you sew darts or pleats into the inside edge until the fabric lies down flat.

Since the fabric is so special, take some time and maybe draw out the border on scrap fabric and play with it before committing yourself. This could be one of your favorite garments ever, so it is worth the extra time and effort. Each week I share a reader’s tip and thank him or her with a set of 100 fine English hand-sewing needles. This week’s tip comes from Tina Sharkey, of Mountainside, N.J. She writes:

“This tip is an old one but I think very helpful. When it is necessary to sew Velcro on by hand, I find it very difficult to punch the needle through the Velcro. Then I unthreaded my sewing machine and ran the Velcro through the machine. Presto! Holes were made in the edge and it was a snap to push the hand needle through to sew the Velcro in place!”