Double Trouble: Seamwork Addison Tanks

Hello again, it’s Carmen from See Carmen Sew, throwing my hat into the ring again with two summery tanks from Seamwork/Colette Patterns. I have subscribed to Seamwork’s online magazine ever since they debuted. It’s a really lovely project they have going on. A subscription is $6 a month and every month features tons of great sewing related articles. Plus, each month you can download and save up to two patterns. The Addison tank is a new release and I thought it would be perfect for this week’s challenge. This was my first time working with pdf patterns. You can print the pattern at home over multiple pages and then tape the pages together before you cut out. Frankly, that’s far too much trouble for me. Fortunately, the pattern also includes a wide format version, so you can pop the file onto a jump drive and have it printed at kinko’s, which is exactly what I did.

The printing cost me $10 but it’s worth it to avoid all the extra time and effort into taping 30 pages together. The pattern itself is described as “a collared tank top that is tailored enough for the office and chic enough for evening wear.” The best part? Seam allowance is included. Yes! I decided to cut out a zero based on the finished garment measurements. It’s meant to be easy and breezy and to sit away from the body.

The first version I made was cut from a floral dotted swiss cotton that I picked up from Hancock’s before they went out of business. Dotted swiss is a sheer batiste fabric with small raised dots decorating its surface. I used a size 12 needle and ironed with medium steam heat.

I ran into some construction issues when I attached the facing to the neckline. I had to unstitch and then resttich with a small seam allowance in order to get the facing to turn inward and for the collar to sit nicely. This is what the neckline looked like before I fixed it:

After I restitched it I was able to get the collar to sit flat nicely. However, it left a bit of a blemish at the front where the collar meets. No despair! I covered the blemish up with a cute Eiffel tower button that I bought at Hobby Lobby.

Now it looks neat and intentional.

My final thoughts on the first version are that it reads a little sweet for me. I think it’s a combination of the fabric and the collar. Not exactly my style. It’s a little retro, too. It’s a good fit, though, except a bit snug in the armholes. I finished the hem by serging and turning. I decided I wanted the second tank to be more modern and playful. Have I succeeded?

The fabric I used is a polyester with cats printed on it — also a bargain I picked up from Hancock’s last year. Polyester does not shrink but I pretreated my fabric anyway. When you iron polyester you should use a low dry heat. For this tank I omitted the collar.

I didn’t want to end up with a basic boring tank, though, by removing all the design features. I decided to punch things up by adding a white pom pom trim to my hem.

I also added 3″ vents at the side seams so that my pom poms could swoosh around a bit more.

I’m definitely feelin’ this version a lot more. It’s more fun and it feels more like me. It’s great to have an easy tank pattern that you can alter and play around with. I think the two tops have a totally different feel to them. I’m looking forward to wearing my kitty pom pom tank out tonight. I asked kitty Jack which top he prefers, but he says it’s a tie.

What about you? I’d love to know which look you prefer!