Self Drafted Shirred Top

By hand London has a highlight on her instagram on how to make a shirred dress… It is gorgeous! I very much would like to try a shirred dress, but I thought a top might be better for my current shirring skills (which are almost none).

I used my precious Liberty of London Tana Lawn scraps. I sometimes have a difficult time actually using this fabric because I love it so darn much…

From the tutorials I found online, they all seen to suggest to measure your bust at the largest point and multiply by 1.5. I did a muslin first with an old sheet and the measurement seemed to work… HOWEVER, the finished top could definitely be larger, as in wider. I am thinking that 1.75x would have done the trick. Because it is shirred, it is totally wearable, but I am certain my daughter has her eyes on it so we will see how long it remains in my closet.

Here are some snapshots of the process!

My main fabric piece measures 52.5” wide x 15” long.

I fininshed the long edges with a rolled hem.

On the good side of the fabric, I drew lines with chalk 1 “ apart across the area I planned to shirr.

I shirred lines across the top about 1/4” apart. I did not backstitch the start and end of the stitches because other tutorials said not to…. I do wonder if I could though….

The sleeves measure 32” long, 6” at the widest, and 2” at the ends…. In the end I had to shorten the sleeves about 6”…

Finish the long edges with a rolled hem.

I shirred 4 rows along the long straight edge.

I tried the top on to figure out where to attach the sleeves. In the end they were WAY to loose and I had to shorten them a few times….

DONE! It is a tad tight… I am wearing it over a sheer top I made with the Rowan Top by Megan Neilson.