Experimental peplum tank refashion

Experimental peplum tank refashion

• 7.26.2012

So this one's a long time coming. Obvs the peplum trends has hit us full-force, even on basics like knit tees and tanks. I'm a big fan of my seersucker peplum top and peplum-skirted party dress, but I wanted to try the look with a knit, for something a little more casual. So I experimented! Got creative with an old tank and refashioned it by giving it a peplum skirt of some sort-of matching grey cotton double knit I had leftover from an old project.

It really was an experiment (you'll see...) so I used a super old tank that was fraying at the hem anyway. It's ribbed, and a little heavier than a basic tee, so I thought it would hold up to the extra weight of the ruffled peplum on the bottom.

Before...

Then I added a gathered and hemmed row of the knit fabric as a skirt. Because it was just old pieces, I went with the shapes I had and used a long, skinny piece along the selvage. This made it much easier to hem but, I think, made the gathering way less smooth than if I'd gone along with the ribbing texture.

Anyway, the "after"...

I like that it's casual and easy, cause it's a tank, but it definitely has more style than it did before!

Like I said I probably should have cut the fabric on the grain, rather than across it, but hey, next time. Other than that, this was a pretty successful refashioning experiment!  I'd like to do it again, but will have to play around with fabric weights. It worked well to use such a basic color that I could match to with the peplum, but the double knit is too heavy to go on a basic tee. I guess if the right thing presents itself, I'll happily make another!

I know this look has been around in the past few months... have you made anything like this or seen any great inspirations?? I'd love to hear!