It’s Christmas season and my workshop is open for making presents. This year as stores will be open, I am not going to sew as many presents as I did last year. Last Christmas all of the stores were banned from selling non-essentials so the only place to shop was online and at the thrift store (they were allowed to be open). Also, we couldn’t do very much and I was isolated at home with lots of spare time on my hands. I like making presents but not a whole month of making stuff for other people as I am a bit of a selfish sewer.
This year my niece text messaged me to say she wanted a homemade present – which made me really happy because I wasn’t sure she actually liked the shirt I sewed her. She asked for a jean bralette and she sent me some Tik Tok videos of people dismantling jeans into a top…not really sewing, just cutting. I didn’t think they looked very wearable but I figured I could try to make something similar….but actually sew it. Below is kind of a nicer version that she showed me but she said she wanted a ‘crop version’. I had a 70’s pattern for something like this but it stopped at the bra line so I had to look elsewhere because it wasn’t long enough.
I came across this pattern on Etsy and thought it might work? It is a well written, well designed pattern and it has lots of good reviews. I would definitely recommend it to anyone wanting to make a crop halter top.
I grabbed a pair of old jeans from thrift store and cut out my pieces. It came together in about an hour. I then realized that I couldn’t have a tie back because the jeans were too thick. I spent the rest of the week trying to get measurements for my niece to make it a closure back. I wish I had realized this before I put the ties on because when I went back to alter it, one of my ends isn’t as tidy as I would like it. I am kind of feeling ok about it because although my niece asked for this, I have never seen her in anything but a sweater 3 x too big. I don’t think she will wear it out without a big shirt or sweater over it…so it’s unlikely anyone will notice the issue.
It’s not perfect but I think it will good in a dark bar for her 18th birthday or underneath one of her XXXL baggy sweaters. This kind of made me think of that band TLC in the 1990’s who would wear crop tops and super baggy pants in their videos….which seems so tacky to me now but way back then I wished I had all those clothes and now decades later…kids want them again!
Teens have a very different sense of fashion than I do – it makes me feel so old. I am sure my mother was shaking her head when I was a teen too. One particular terrible ensemble comes to mind that I felt so cool in….white clogs, white knee highs, a plaid super mini skirt and black crop top with my hair in mini – buns. Oh it was terrible from head to toe —–I am sure the image in seared in more than one person’s memory. Thank goodness cell phone cameras did not exist
Style Sewciety 