Upcycling Alert- Make a Corset Tank Top From a Coat!

Tools and materials:

• Long coat
• Chalk
• Sewing machine
• Pins
• Zip ties or boning
• Zipper
• Metal rod
• Lighter
• Scissors

Draw the pattern

I draped the coat over my mannequin and kind of freehandedly drew the pattern I wanted for this DIY corset tank top. 

Cut out the pattern

Cut out the pattern and this is what it should look like. This of course, is for the front bodice. 

After you’ve cut out the front piece, go ahead and cut the back piece, as shown. Cut it on the fold and make sure you have two pieces for this ( not one whole piece). 

For the front piece, to give it more of a nice dimension, cut the sides off, as shown. 

Sew the side seams

Now, go ahead and sew the side seams. Then, fit it on your body to see what else needs modifications. 

Finish the raw edges

Finish off the raw edges of both pieces, for a nicer, cleaner look. The best way to do this is with a serger. 

Add the boning

Next, add the boning to the front part. I basically added one down the middle, and two on the sides, lying diagonally. To see how I do this, watch my video from 6:38 minutes on my simple corset top video tutorial. 

Add darts

On my corset tank top, the ends where the two diagonal boning structures meet kind of create a horrible fold. To smoothen out this area, I added two darts to the sides of the basic corset tank top. 

Add the zipper

Ok, so now it’s time to add the zipper. I had to take in some of the fabric at the back, especially at the bottom because it was way too big. 

Next, I looked through my stash of zippers and found a really cool one. It was, however, too long. I manually created a zipper stopper by melting the teeth at my desired length. See how awesome this technique is by watching my video from 8:20 minutes. 

Finally, stitch the zipper onto the back piece and I guess, that’s it! 

Here’s the moment of truth and it’s oh so sweet! This corset tank top looks absolutely adorable! It was so fun to create this upcycle, and I encourage you all to try this one out, you won't be disappointed with this DIY corset tank top.