Tilly and the Buttons Freya Top - Sleeveless Turtleneck Hack

 

A few months ago I shared the details of a white sleeveless turtleneck top that I made. Well, I was so pleased with how that top turned out that I immediately made an identical one in black! Given how much I've worn both tops over the summer I thought I'd share some more photos of the black version, it's become a top that I reach for again and again.

I can't really say I prefer either the white or black fabric as both colours are really easy to wear. The white top is great as it goes with so many pairs of trousers, but I really like the elegance of the black version. I've made black t-shirts before (this one was worn a lot) and I definitely want to make a few more as they go well with busier trousers. I really love how this top looks with my gingham trousers, and trousers like these ones are also good for pairing with plain t-shirts.

To make this top I hacked my much used copy of the Tilly and the Buttons Freya top. Rather than simply leaving off the sleeves, I changed the shape of the armhole slightly and narrowed the shoulder seam to give the top a nice shape. I went into more detail of the changes I made to the pattern in this post, but in summary it took a lot of pinning and cutting tiny snippets of fabric to make the curve deeper bit by bit until it was just right!

I actually made a long-sleeved black Freya turtleneck back in January, and knowing how much I've worn this one over the summer months has made me think of new ways to wear the long-sleeved one during winter. I have found the sleeveless one much easier to wear and I think it's because the length of the other one is a bit odd - neither short enough for it to sit well on a jeans waistband nor long enough to tuck in - so I might change the hem.

As for the hem on this top, I'm very happy with how it turned out. For the white version I used a shop-bought bias binding and it worked very well, so I made my own jersey bias binding from the black fabric. Jersey tops are tricky to hem so this was a good method to use. The armhole is also finished really neatly with a band of fabric that was folded in half and sewn right sides together to the armhole (like a neckband would be). It means that the t-shirt is well finished around the neck, arm and hem which is definitely worth doing on an otherwise very basic top.

I'm so pleased with both of my sleeveless turtleneck tops and have worn them a lot with high waisted trousers such as these flares, these wide-legged jeans and my balloon jeans. I particularly like the shape of the armhole and would like to make a couple more similar tops with neckline variations. It doesn't get that hot where I live so the balance of a sleeveless turtleneck works pretty well during the summer but I  think that making the same top without the turtleneck would be great hotter days.