Hey friends! This one-shoulder tank dress is a sewing pattern mash-up of two patterns: the Shelly Tank by Alissa Threads and the Lola Tank Dress by Staystitch Patterns.

I moved this design up on my sewing list after the most annoying thing happened: my instagram account was disabled! Thankfully it’s re-enabled now! It was an annoying situation and I wanted to make something that wouldn’t take much time.

I sewed both patterns before, they were already cut out and ready to be blended together!

I recently started purchasing patterns after years of self-drafting. This two pattern mash-up is a fun way to design a unique garment without the headache from self-drafting!

Continue reading for fabric & pattern tips for the Shelly Tank and Lola Dress pattern mash-up.

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Fabric

I’ve slowly gained confidence sewing with knits. I sewed the Muse Bodysuit and Lola, both easy beginner knit-wear sewing patterns. There is a learning curve on understanding the correct tensions for your knit fabric. Both of these projects helped me learn without tons of research:)

The fabric is a ITY Knit Jersey in Tan from FWD. I had 2 yards of this 60″ wide ITY knit, and used all of it for this Shelly/Lola pattern mash-up.

I double lined all pieces except the ruffle hem. The two layers are absolutely necessary with this fabric. The final result is a beautiful designer look and feel. Two layers of ITY is so much more flattering than one!

I sewed most seams on my regular machine with a zig-zag stitch. The ruffle hem was sewn with my serger and I’ve detailed my steps below!

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Pattern

The easiest thing about the Shelly Tank pattern is the front and back are one piece – no cutting on the fold! I’m in between sizes 2 and 4, and I cut a size 4 per the pattern recommendation. However, I would cut true to size if I were not wearing a top underneath. This fabric, even with two layers, is stretchy knit so you want to be secure in this one-shoulder style.

The Shelly Tank is the first pattern where I quartered the neckband and armband and it easier! than I expected. The pattern instructions were very helpful!

For the Lola Dress, I followed my previous cutting lines to make a skirt, in size 4. I removed an inch from the width of the back for a sway back adjustment.

How to Sew a Ruffle Hem on a Serger

After years of sewing ruffles on my regular machine, I finally tried it on my serger! I have the Brother BabyLock 1040D. I sewed the ruffles then attached it to the dress hem with a zig zag stitch.

To create the ruffle hem, I cut two pieces about 2.5 times the width of the front hem and the back hem. This means there’s side seams on the ruffle hem. I sewed the side seams last.

Sewing a ruffle hem on the BabyLock serger was simpler than I thought. I wish I tried it sooner! Here’s how I set-up the Brother BabyLock to sew a ruffle hem:

I set the needle tensions to the just about max – this makes a huge difference! When the needle tension isn’t high, the fabric doesn’t gather itself nicely. The upper and lower looper tensions I set in the middle. Next, I set the max differential feed to 2.0.

Then, I switched to the gathering foot that came with the serger.

The serger stitches will look loose and out of place, that’s okay.

I still had to fit my gathered piece exactly to the hem of the dress; so to adjust the piece, I unpicked the right needle thread a little bit and pulled to adjust the gathers.

I made two separate gathered pieces – the front and the back, so attaching the new ruffle hem to my dress was easier that that I had smaller pieces to adjust. I joined them at the side seams, marked the placement, then completed the gathered adjustments, then sewed the side seams of the ruffle hem. I attached the ruffle hem to the dress hem with a zig-zag stitch.

For more info + tips on gathering with knits, this post is super helpful! Very detailed with tons of pics!

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Styling

I tried this with a button down shirt. The buttons showed through the jersey so I changed into my silk ivory layering top and I love it so much more.

I wore black boots purchased in Istanbul many years ago. Instagram Story poll helped me decide on the camel hat. I do love the black hat too! Small gold hoop earrings and a multi-layer necklace from Express, paired with my Haute Hijab chiffon in Olive completed this style for me.

My make up look: Dose of Colors in Medium Tan with Huda Beauty Overachiever concealer in Cookie Dough, and MAC Auburn lip liner, Elaluz lip gloss in Picante.

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Thanks for reading!

-Ammara
Follow me on instagram @ammaraza.sews

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