Thursday, October 18, 2012

Chevron Peplum Top Fake-torial

Thank you all for your kind comments about my chevron peplum top! It seems that the optical illusion effect was not lost on quite a few of you; I will put up warnings next time for those of you prone to seizures...

Anyway, here is my fake-torial, as requested, for how I made my top. If I find more appropriately striped fabric, I'll try to make another one with pictures for a real tutorial, but for now you'll have to be contented with my drawings. I think the challenging parts in making this top are really just the layout (to be sure you get the V of the chevron, and not just a big slanted line) and the stripe matching (just sew slowly and use lots of pins!). If you know how to sew a basic t-shirt, this is pretty much the same thing but with a few more pieces to put together.

You will need to start with a basic fitted tee pattern, like the Renfrew or Lydia, or you can just use a  fitted tee you already have and use it to draw your own pattern. Or if none of those options works for you, you can try this tutorial to draft your own pattern from your measurements. You'll need it to be quite tight, maybe even with negative ease, since the peplum will just hang awkwardly and the chevrons won't be smooth otherwise.


I hope that makes sense! Let me know if you have any questions. And for a more detailed neckband insertion tutorial, check out Sherry's excellent step-by-step


Here's what my top looks like on the inside. Please don't judge me; I don't have a serger and this fabric is so thick and stable I just left the edges raw! But hey, it works and I haven't had issues laundering it.

You can see how the neckband looks from both the outside and the inside. You can also see that my stripes didn't *quite* line up. 

The waist seam was zigzagged, and you can also see where the side and center front seams meet. 
Close-up of the armscye and the sleeve hem. 

So there you have it! Now you can make your own optical illusion top that will make people mesmerized and dizzy! One last word on fabric selection: I will say that this style probably works best with thicker, more stable knits, and not those tissue-thin drapey ones that inevitable get sucked into the underside of the sewing machine.

Lastly, there's just one more day left to enter the fabric/pattern giveaway! Go leave a comment for a chance to win free stuff!

21 comments:

  1. Woah, first of, let me tell you that the picture diagram is super awesome, and your writing is like my mom's.... :) I will go back to reading it and get back to you if I have any question :)

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    1. Thanks! Wow, I've never met anyone who has even remotely similar writing to mine! Well, I guess I have't met your mom, but you know...

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  2. You are a god send!!!!! I have been waiting for a pattern sale to go pick up the NL6130 (??) cos I'm too lazy to experiment with drafting my own peplum - i heard its the same formula as a full circle skirt, just add a donut?!
    Thanks for making my life easier with your faketorial:P

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    1. Yep, a peplum is essentially a very short circle skirt! But I hate fooling around with math and making it more difficult than it needs to be, hence the "sketch a curve of the same length" deal. I'm also all about trying to figure out simple patterns if I can and avoiding buying commercial patterns because I'm a cheapskate :)

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    2. My mum always said "anyone can learn to make a garment by following instructions on a pattern but not every one can draft their own patterns" soooo you are not a cheap skate, you are super talented!!

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  3. haha its all so lovely! awesome little piccies heh

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  4. Great tutorial - LOVE your sketches! And yes, the optical illusion look would definitely drive a DP (director of photography) crazy because those stripes probably dance even in person. (Which is why it would be the perfect thing for me to wear on set, hehe - I wear horrible for camera things just to keep them from trying to put me in front of the camera. *grin*)

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    1. Ooh, that's good to know should I ever want to not appear on camera! Yeah, when my husband was auditioning for a game show they specifically said to avoid stripes.

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  5. What an adorable top, thanks for the tutorial!

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  6. You are a rock star with this fabulous top!! I'm afraid of peplums, but I may give them a try with your fabulous tutorial ... thank you for sharing with all of us!!

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  7. LOVe, love, love this top!!!! And the fit is so perfect....amazing work.

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  9. That is just STUNNING!!! I am so going to copy you. What basic tee pattern did you use? I deleted my previous post because I forgot to ask about the pattern. You are so talented and I love your blog.

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  10. I have a shirt this same style but in black! I bought it even though I was unsure about the waist on it, since waisted things don't suit me at all, but the peplum flare makes it the most flattering top I own! Thank you for this!

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  11. That picture tutorial is awesome! Love this shirt!!! I hope you will consider uploading a photo of it into SewSet so others can find it when searching - love!

    Thanks so much for sharing!
    - Jess
    MeSewCrazy.com
    SewSet.com

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  12. Wow! Fantastic. I'll have to give this a whirl!!

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  13. This is too kewl. Woman, you ARE the business. Now, would you PLEASE consider adding "Bloglovin" as a way to follow Cation Designs, please?

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    1. I think you just need to put "cation designs" into the Bloglovin' search box to find and follow my blog. Unless you mean having a handy button link...I'll have to look into that.

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