It’s no secret, I love everything that comes in white lace. Though Summer only has about a month left, I had some leftover fabric from my pleated lace skirt project and thought it would make the prettiest little tank top.

Lace is best displayed when it is not layered over white, but I don’t really like the trend of layering it over a nude color (does anyone else think it makes the person look a little naked??), so I made sure to just expose some of the beautiful detailing along the bottom hem and on the straps of this shirt. The trick with this top is to make sure it cuts off right at the smallest part of your waist to be the most flattering!

Even though lace has a busy pattern, it really acts like a neutral here, and I plan to wear this top with patterned skirts, bold pants, and more white – it’s not Labor Day yet!

I’m so excited to tell y’all that I’m writing from Chicago today! I went to my friend from elementary school, Michelle’s, wedding in Wisconsin over the weekend with Kyle. We had such a wonderful time getting out of the city and exploring Door County. Now I’m spending a week with my family before my cousin’s wedding this next weekend… And I have still yet to figure out what I am wearing… any ideas?

See below for the sewing instructions for the lace cross back tank top.

Lace Cross Back Tank Top

Supplies:

Lace Fabric the length of your bust + 4″
1/2 yard White Fabric
1.25 yards Lace Ribbon
White Thread
Sewing Machine
Pins
Scissors
Measuring Tape

Time:

3 hours

Difficulty:

Easy – Medium

1. Measure your bust at the largest part. Cut your fabric into the shapes as shown. You will have a FRONT and BACK in the white fabric and the lace fabric that are each 1/2 as wide as your bust measurement plus 2″. Make sure when you are cutting that you line up the fabric so the lace pattern on the FRONT and BACK lines up.

2. Start by pinning your FRONT white fabric to your FRONT lace fabric at the top. Repeat with the BACK fabric pieces. Sew along your pins at the top of the FRONT and BACK to connect the layers. Then, fold the top edge that you just sewed over to the back and sew along them so that you create a finished edge.

3. Place your BACK on top of your FRONT with the lace touching and pin the sides together. Again, make sure that the lace pattern lines up on the sides. Sew along the sides of the shirt. Flip right side out.

4. To make the straps, cut your lace ribbon in half and pin one end of each piece to the front at the tips of the bust. Then, cross one over the other and pin about 8″ apart on the back of the shirt. Try on the shirt to make sure the straps are the right length for you and adjust. Then sew down the straps at the front and back.

At this point, I also had to add darts to my bust line since the fabric was sticking out on the sides. Try on the shirt inside out and pin darts in if you need to to shape the shirt to match your bust line. Sew in the darts. For more help on this, see my dart tutorial.

5. To finish the shirt, you will just cut along the lace at the bottom hem of the shirt to match the scallop. Then, hem the white layer of the shirt to be a little shorter than the lace by folding the fabric back twice and sewing it down.