Finished Project: Swing Tank Dress

Hi!

It's been almost a year since my last blog post. If you've been following along on Instagram, though, you know I've still been sewing and thrifting and drooling over vintage patterns since then.

Sunglasses: Target
Necklace: Anna Joyce
Sandals: Nisolo

I'm here today to document an easy, satisfying pattern mash-up I made recently. It's a twofer! All you need is the free Lago Tank (by Itch to Stitch) and the Ebony Dress (by Closet Case), which I happened to have received last year as a Christmas present.

From the shoulder seam to the armpit, this is the Lago Tank, and from the start of the side seam (just under the armpit) to the hem, it's a lengthened Ebony tunic. Well, I say "hem" but I did not bother hemming this -- just didn't feel like dealing with it, so I chopped it to the length I wanted once I was done with the very quick construction.

The fabric is a medium weight, stretchy performance/athletic knit, which would be good for leggings, but which I'd bought to make workout tops from FabricMart who knows how long ago (have I mentioned my ridiculous fabric stash?).  I sewed this up on my regular sewing machine, using a ball point needle, a zig-zag stitch for the seams, and a lengthened straight stitch to top stitch the neckline and armhole bands after they were inserted, since the openings are wide enough to not need to stretch a huge amount. I learned this technique while making the Nettie Bodysuit a while ago, and I find I like the look better than top stitching a tiny zig-zag for those parts.

I'm really loving wearing this dress! The swingy-factor makes this one fun to twirl in and super easy to wear (dress up or down! eat a huge meal! sit in a car or at your desk for hours!). It pairs conveniently well with my Blackwood Cardigans, being sleeveless, and even when I wear it alone, the back shoulders don't cut in too much, so my bra doesn't show like it does on other, more pronounced racer-back style tanks. It is easy to wear to work, or wherever.

You could definitely come up with this style without the Ebony (or another swing dress/tunic) pattern involved, I just liked knowing the shape I was creating wasn't way off base!