Hiya! Today’s my stop on the Love Notions Hip Hop Tank Tour choo-choo train! This is such a fun pattern, I’m inspired to be a bit silly in today’s post 🙂 As you well know, Love Notions is a pattern company I absolutely adore. This was my first time sewing up this pattern, and read on to see how I made tiny changes for a big effect! Links in this post are affiliate links, they help keep me motivated and maybe buy an extra yard of fabric 🙂
The Hip Hop Tank pattern is an older pattern, reflected by the fact that there’s an updated version available on the website, so if you purchased the pattern over a year ago I would download it again for the trimless update that Love Notions is so famous for. There’s the handy print guide so you only need to print the pages you need, and please note that there’s no high bust measurement like her other patterns so go by full bust to pick your size.
I had the absolute good fortune to take my photos one the one rainy day in Texas Summer. Really, truly. My hair is all wet!!! There’s also a huge yellow butterfly in front of me on that bush – am I the only one terrified of butterflies? Eeeks!
There are four fabulous views, three featuring cool backs. There’s the tulip back that I made, a button placket view and a simple color blocked view. For fabric suggestions, I’m quoting from the Instruction Booklet:
SUGGESTED FABRICS: A View A and all front views: medium weight knits such as cotton/lycra, interlock, jersey knit, rib knit. View A Basic Tank can also been sewn with light weight wovens like voile, lawn, double gauze & shirting.Not recommend for slinky & lightweight knits. View B back: chiffon or other flow-y type fabrics such as Peach Skin, Crepe De Chin and silk. View C back: voile, shirting, chambray, lawn, quilters cotton and upcycled men's button down shirts. View D back: knits, wovens, lace, in addition to suggested fabrics for views B & C. Be sure to pick a fabric that is the same or lighter in weight as the rest of the top.
The pattern calls for flowy fabrics for View B, but I had a very special, dear to my heart fabric in mind. You see, this striped floral quilting cotton was little M’s choice! When she was much younger she saw a dress someone had posted on Facebook and went wild, chanting “Mama mama” and grabbing the phone to see it better. I ordered a yard of it, but it kept languishing in the back of my stash because I didn’t have a pattern suitable for it. Now that she’s almost four, she’s super into matching Mama-and-me outfits, and I used that yard for two coordinating outfits, one for her, one for me. I’ll post hers in a few days.
I sewed View B, i.e. the Tulip Back version, in a solid black lightweight cotton lycra from Purpleseamstress on Facebook, and a striped metallic quilting cotton from Hobby Lobby from last year. I did the cap sleeved version in the XL size as that’s what my measurements put me in, although by upper bust measurements I usually make a L in Love Notions patterns with an FBA. I don’t believe I had any real issue although I will do a L with an FBA in future for this pattern. I did the sleeved version with a stretchy knit, so in retrospect, maybe I should have sized down as the instructions mention. I do find the armscye a lot higher and tighter than I like, and the cap sleeve is a little tight as well on me. Again, something to modify in future.
HACKS:
Since my print was a stiffer quilting cotton, I didn’t want to double it. I cut one mirrored pair and did a narrow rolled hem to finish the edges, and continued on.
The problem arose with sewing up the side seams – since my tulip hems were finished, how would I sew together the front and back piece without an ugly uneven hem? What I did was, pin the side seams from sleeve hem to armpit to hem, 1:1 ratio, and left the hem allowance of the front piece as is. I serged the sides together, making sure the hem allowance lay flat and unfolded. After that, I folded the hem allowance over and coverstitched it down, covering the serged side seam neatly. It worked very well!
I’m most excited about View A in this pattern. I’m aiming to sew it up in a light voile (once I prewash it, I keep putting off doing laundry) since voile tanks are high on my must-make list! I love this pattern since it’s very different from most others on the market, and it can range from trendy to classic depending on the view you choose. Grab your copy now! While you’re at it, there’s the Girls’ Hip Hop Tank pattern available too! Now you too can match, Mama-and-me style 🙂
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