How To: 90's Sparkly Mesh Long-sleeve Top

A lot of people are of the opinion that the 90's weren't exactly the golden era of fashion, but personally I'm super nostalgic about jeans that were actually made of real denim (not the weird stretchy tights they sell these days.. Jeggings?), everything the girls on Beverly Hills 90210 wore (especially this sunflower bikini), bike shorts, and long-sleeve mesh tops.

I don't know what the makers of this fabric intended it for, but I saw it in a leftovers bin and it was destiny. I'm definitely gonna be layering it with a spaghetti strap top like I did in 4th grade.

Tutorials take a lot of time & effort to create, and I choose to make mine available for free. If you enjoy this guide, you can support me with a donation that feels right for you, here.

TOOLS:

See-through mesh fabric with some stretch for comfort (I made it work with just 1 meter)  |  Thread & Sewing machine (serger not necessary)  |  Pins  |  Scissors

I. My cut front and back pieces with measurements (I'm a EU36/US4). I got pretty close to the right fit with this sizing, just needed to take in a bit later on.

II. Started with shoulder seams, placing the front and back pieces right sides facing and attaching at shoulder lines. I used my serger but you could do this with just regular sewing machine that has a stretch stitch.

III. Then I used the curve of the arm hole on the top piece to guide the size of the sleeve to cut it out. I cut it a uniform width to adjust the size later on when sewing the sleeve under-seam.

IV. Next just pinned the sleeve in its place, right sides facing of course. I did this seam still with my serger but after decided I liked the seams better just done with regular sewing machine (less noticeable). 

V. Pinned the sleeve under-seam and top sides..

.. And those I did with regular sewing machine using the stretch stitch option. As you can see, I did my first run, then tried the top on, and took in a bit more to get the fit I wanted. Then just cut the excess off. My fabric did no fraying whatsoever so I was fine not finishing the edge.

VI. For the neckline I did a super simple finish, just a single narrow fold with a straight stitch..

.. And the same for the hemming and sleeves.

Feeling like the night sky!

xo,

Julia