How to Make a Bow Strap Top

Tools and materials:

• White stretchy fabric
• Tulle
• Tape measure
• Ruler
• Fabric marker
• Scissors
• Pins

I saw this top on Pinterest and really liked the look of it, and one of the many advantages of knowing how to sew is that when you see a piece of clothing you like, you can create it yourself!

Take measurements

Take your white fabric and fold it in half twice so that you have four layers of fabric. Then, take your chest and waist measurements to determine how wide you want the top to be. My waist was 29 inches, and my chest was 35 inches. Then you need to divide these in half (I got 17.5 inches and 14.5 inches). You also need to measure the length between your chest and your waist. Draw these three lines onto your fabric. Because this fabric is stretchy, you don’t need to add seam allowance. Then connect the two horizontal lines on each side and cut out that shape.

Make the straps

Cut out four long strips of tulle for the straps. I would suggest making the width of the straps 4 inches; the length can be however long you want. Take the tulle and fold it in half lengthwise and then fold it in half lengthways again. Then pin the long open side in place to make sure it doesn’t move and sew a straight stitch along it. Once done, tie a knot on one end of each strap.

Mark the straps on the top

Moving back to the base of the top, the next step is to mark where you’ll want to add your straps. To do that, place one piece of the fabric against your chest and just mark where your bra straps are—mark those points on the front and the back sides of the top.

Add the straps

Grab one layer of the tulle fabric, place it so that the right side is facing up, then take the two straps and place them where you made your marks earlier and pin them into place. 

Assemble the top

Then take the other layer of your white fabric and place it on top with the right side facing down, kind of like a sandwich. Sew along the very top of the shirt using a zigzag stitch. Then repeat that process using the remaining two pieces of fabric. Go ahead and take an iron to iron it all out and make it a bit more smooth and then add a zigzag stitch along the top to give it a more finished look. Once that is done, sew down the right and left sides and then hem the bottom of the shirt by rolling it up twice and sewing it down with a zigzag stitch.

And here is the finished look - I love it! As you can see, I made my tulle straps quite long so that I could have them hanging down, but you can go for shorter straps if you prefer. I love the tulle detail on this top as it makes a nice difference to a regular crop top. So girls, next time you see a picture of a piece of clothing that you like, why not try making it yourself?