Self Assembly Required

DIY dressmaking + crafts with Emily

Camisole no. 1

One of the main staples I wanted in my imaginary capsule wardrobe was a bunch of camisoles in neutrals colours. I thought I’d start with a black one!

I chose to draft one from scratch despite the multitude of patterns available. Mostly because I wanted to practice my rather dusty pattern drafting skills…

I wanted to make a top that would be long enough to get away with wearing just with leggings and could work tucked into jeans or skirts. I also wanted it to be a relatively loose fitting racer back style cut on the straight grain. 

So with these points in mind, I set to work!

And I came up with this!


 I loosely based it on an old RTW top to gauge width and length. I randomly added in a bust dart at the side. I knew it needed one so I just put one in where it looked “right”. Not the most accurate method I’ll admit… It worked though!

The top hem is finished with a facing. The straps I made from a rouleau loop – it’s the first time I used my loop turner which I bought 2 years ago… I’ll definitely be using that tool more frequently in future. It was so easy to use! I followed this tutorial from Tilly and the Buttons. 

The sides of the camisole ended up being a lot lower than expected. I don’t know what I was thinking when I designed that bit! Luckily I had some nice black lace trim to hand so I placed a small section on each side to increase the height. 


I am quite happy with it! The pattern needs a bit of tweaking but it pretty much meets all my requirements. I’m planning to rework it with different styled backs to keep it interesting. 

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5 Comments

  1. I love cami’s too! I wear them often in the summer because there is nothing cooler – a cami and pair of capris or shorts and bring on the heat! I like the way you designed the racer back and I especially like that lace insert under your arm – sometimes a “mistake” ends up being just the thing that makes it really pop 🙂

  2. Nice! Is the fabric satin? I was working on a satin top the other day but it drove me crazy when I tried hemming it… I like your solution!

    1. Hi! Yes it’s satin. Satin is always a little tricky to work with as it tends to move a lot and fray easily. I always end up overlocking my edges to keep them in place!

      1. I don’t have an overlocker or serger sadly… I tried to make the tiniest hem, but it kept on puckering like crazy. Next time I’m also going to try a facing or maybe some biais in the same fabric. Your post inspired me to give it a try again because I really like the way black satin looks!

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