The contestants week 1 made tightfit trousers with invisible zip, cut up a perfectly decent denim shirt rendering it unrecognisable (and, incidentally, in most cases unwearable)  then made a summer dress.

Top that! Say I.

But I can’t. Can’t even match it. No. Instead I am going to host my very own mini GBSB with a contestant count of one where I make one very easy garment every week. Not even promising that the garments will go up in difficulty…

So,  I’ll start not at the but with a top.

Here’s one I made earlier –

The tricky ‘freestyle’ bit  is the Peter Pan collar that I added to a very simple sleeveless garment.

Now let’s start the –

Step 1 – It pays to be organised. Gather all ‘ingredients’ –

• 1 top pattern
• 1 metre of white material (cotton or polycotton)
• white cotton thread
• scissors (large and/or small)
• pins (best kept in pincushion)
• sewing machine
• sewing needle (optional – just in case…)
• iron/ironing board
• music, podcast, radio programme, audio-book (top choice – Ella Fitzgerald – The Best of)

Step 2 – It pays to be organised. Set up the space –

• Thread up sewing machine with white thread
• set up iron and ironing board and give material a press
• clear and clean your work surface (particularly if it’s where you usually eat…)

Step 3  – pin and cut out

• Pin pattern to fabric.
• Cut out as accurately as possible.

This pattern consists of 3 main pattern pieces – 1 front piece (cut on fold) and 2 back pieces.  EASY

There are also pieces for the armholes and the neck edge.  EASY

 As well as having the freestyle Peter Pan collar.  PAY ATTENTION (pin double-thickness material to the garment you’re copying and remember to add hem when cutting out)

White cotton is very forgiving. You don’t have to worry which way to pin it or if you’ve cut the pieces out the wrong way.

Cutting out the Pan collar

Step 4 – machine sew

MAIN BODY

• Sew darts  in front piece
• sew 2 back pieces together leaving approximately 6cm open at top
• sew together side seams
• sew together shoulder seams

You have something that looks like a top

UNDERARMS (this is where it starts to get trickier so don’t rush)

• sew underarm pieces together
• ease underarm pieces into main sleeve opening of top – pin carefully then sew
• cut notches into curved edges to help shape

Phew! Have a tea break!

COLLAR

• Sew Peter Pan collar pieces together on outside edges
  
• turn round the right way
• press
• pin neck edge and Peter Pan collar into place – then sew
• cut notches into curved edges

 

FINISHING OFF – easy but don’t slack on this  – you’ve done the hard part

• sew a loop for button at back / sew on  button
• sew hems to neaten back opening
• sew hem at bottom edges (I’ve added side vents)
• overstitch 1 cm at lower part of arm opening as well as 1 cm at upper part ( this stops the arm lining from escaping and looking like scruffy wings)
• overstitch the neck edge to the top edge to stop the neck edge from flapping out
• IRON

Ta dah! A simple white top with a Peter Pan collar.

Now I’ve got to make two more…

More tea?