DIY Sports Bra Crop Top (Customisable) | Make Thrift Buy #53.5

[intro music]

This video is supported by Clue.

Hello! Welcome to a special half-episode of Make Thrift Buy. So I mentioned in episode

53 that I’d be doing a more customisable sports bra: “And then, I will also do an

episode 53.5 which will show you the harder, but much more customisable way to do this”.

Welp, this is that video! And that’s what I’m going to be doing today!

So, let’s jump right into it!

So today I’m going to be turning this t-shirt here into a sports-bra style crop top.

First we need to start off by making a pattern.

Now I used a tight-fitting singlet top to base my pattern off – this singlet top here

eventually became the rainbow crop top you saw at the end of episode 53 – but before

I cut it up, I made a pattern out of it!

So with this singlet top and some butchers paper, I folded the singlet top in half like

this, so that the front was facing outwards.

Then, I laid it flat down onto the paper, with the fold matching up with the straight

edge of the paper here, and I traced around these edges. Because I wanted it to be cropped,

I didn’t copy the bottom of the singlet top, instead I drew a straight line across

here, 14 inches below the top of the shoulder, to make the pattern shorter.

And I traced it out in pencil whiiiich you can’t see on camera, so I’m just going

to go over those lines in marker now.

I then added a seam allowance of ½ an inch around the armhole, top of the shoulder strap

and the neckline. And I added a seam allowance to the side of the pattern as well.

And then, I drew this arrow here, on the straight edge, because it will indicate where I will

place the pattern on the fold of the fabric later on.

Then, I cut around the outside lines with some scissors and that’s my front pattern

piece done.

I did the exact same thing for the back pattern piece, so I folded the singlet the other way,

so the BACK was facing out, laid it flat on the paper, with the fold matching the straight

edge of paper, and I traced around it like this.

I actually used the front pattern piece to make sure that the straps were the same width

on both the front and back pieces, and that they were both the same length as well.

Also, I added the same seam allowances as I did on the front piece and then I cut it out.

So now I have both the pattern pieces that I need, the front and the back piece – and

it’s time to get started cutting out fabric!

So this thrifted t-shirt is what I’m going to be using for my fabric. So first I cut

the front and the back pieces apart by cutting up the side seams, and around the arm holes.

Starting on the front, because I want this logo to be on the front of my sports bra,

I folded it in half right-sides together like this, making sure that the fabric was all

flat underneath, and then I placed the pattern piece on top, with this FOLD arrow pointing

towards the FOLD of the fabric.

Then, I cut around this.

To cut it out, I just put a bunch of heavy items on top of the paper and fabric to hold

them down and I went around the edges with my rotary cutter.

So initially, I wanted to keep the original neckline, as you can see me doing here – but

in the end that got too complicated, so I did cut it off.

I then did the same for the back – folded it in half, right sides together, placed the

back pattern down on the fold, and cut it out.

So here’s my cut out front and back pieces.

To sew them together, I placed the back piece down facing right-sides up, and I put the

front piece on top of it, right sides-down.

And I sewed them together at the shoulders

and the side seams.

Now you want to use a thread in a matching colour for this – this was the closest colour

thread that I had on hand, but this one here, if it hadn't almost run out – would have

been better.

So, I sewed the shoulders and side seams together using a standard zig zag stitch, like this.

Next, I’m applying elastic to the top’s armholes and the neck hole.

So with the top inside out, I roughly measured out how much elastic I would need to go around

the armhole, so I wouldn’t go drastically over or under this amount and have a loose

or a too-tight armhole, which I did by placing the elastic at the bottom of the arm hole

and then stretching it gently to the top, then doubling this measurement.

Then to apply the elastic, and I’m just showing you the armhole application however

it’s the same for the neckline as well, I put the armhole underneath my sewing machine

like this, then I put the elastic on top at the edge of the fabric. I put the sewing machine’s

foot down, did a little backstitch to keep them in place. Then, I gently stretched the

elastic, like this, and I slowly did a zig-zag stitch right in the middle of the elastic,

attaching the elastic along the fabric’s edge.

I continued gently stretching the elastic as I went, all the way around the armhole,

until I got back around to the start.

When I got back to where I started, I clipped the elastic off, and I sewed the two ends

of the elastic together, on top of the armhole, like this.

To finish off the armhole, I folded it over once like this – so this is kinnnda like

doing a hem except there’s elastic inside, and I sewed around it once again using a zig-zag

stitch. I also continued to stretch it gently so that there was no bunching in the fabric

– you’ll actually be able to feel how much you’ll need to stretch it this time

around, this only really makes sense once you’re actually sewing but yeah. Stretch

it the same amount all the way around the armhole – and you’re done.

Now once I’d done that for both armholes and for the neckline, I just needed to attach

an elastic band at the bottom. So I showed you all how to do this in better detail in

episode #53, so I’m just going to go through it very quickly here.

I quartered both the elastic band, which I'd measured to fit my waist, and bottom of the

top with pins, and then I sewed them together, right-sides together, all the way around the

top’s bottom edge, stretching the elastic so that the pins met up.

Then I unfolded the elastic and I’m done. Now you can also top-stitch the elastic down

like this, but that’s totally up to you. I find that it doesn’t really matter whether

its top-stitched or not.

Soooo time for the reveal! How did I go?

[Fun electronic music plays]

I actually made 3 sports bras in this way! This orange one, this Marvel one and this

green one, all from old t-shirts, but you don’t have to use an old t-shirt – you

can use any fabric that you want (as long as it's stretchy).

Now, here’s some tips on making it more supportive if you want to use this more as

a sports bra, or if you wanna go bra-free underneath.

So you can make it tighter-fitting at the sides. So, when you’re making your pattern,

don't add a seam allowance at the sides, and bring it in a little bit.

You can also use a thicker elastic band, and also make the top SHORTER so that the elastic

band is just underneath your bust, kind of holding everything up.

You can also copy your pattern off something with a T-back.

Or you can make thicker straps while you're making your pattern, and you can also make

the straps a little bit shorter.

And you can also use power mesh or something else similar like that for your fabric. You

don’t need to use an old-tshirt, or, if you want to use an old t-shirt, you could

line it with power mesh fabric as well.

But if you’re above a C-cup, or you wanna do some really intense workouts with this

thing, you’re probably still better off with an actual sports bra because they’re

made with these fancy materials that wick moisture away, and are also made this super

fancy equipment which is beyond the scope of home-sewers.

Still, give it a go! Worse comes to worst, you'll end up with a cute, fashionable crop

top. And if you’ve got any more useful tips, leave them in the comments below!

I hope you enjoyed this video, sadly it’s coming to the end of the warm season here

in Australia so I’m packing all of my crop tops and sports bras away for the next few

months – but I know that a lot of you watching are from the Northern Hemisphere, so I hope

you can make good use out of this tutorial! If you do, I’d love to see the results,

tag them with #diyannika on Instagram to show them to me.

Now it’s time for some period talk! Uh - what Annika? What? This video took a left-turn.

Yeahhh, but if you’re a person who gets their period, I recommend that you stick around

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So yeah, I have a link to download Clue in the description box below, or you can find

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Thanks for watching and I’ll see you all next time. Bye!

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