In Citrus and in Health - Table Runner Top

About this item:
This top is made from a table runner. It has long side ties which make this top adjustable and able to fit many body types. The lime wedge windows are made of plastic and separated with stitching, so all of the little “bits” are contained within each wedge. On the inside of the top, the plastic edge is wrapped and stitched with biased tape to prevent being uncomfortable when worn. The scoop of the back is a little bit lower than the front, but if that isn’t a concern to the wearer then this top Can be reversible. Because of the plastic on the front, this top should not be laundered in a machine. Spot treat and hand wash as needed, then lay it flat or hang it up to dry.

Measurements (all taken laying flat):
pit to pit: 16”
center of neckline to hem: 11”
Shoulder strap width: 1.5”

About the Process:
this top, like so many others, began as a textile that a friend gave me who no longer wanted it and didn’t want it to end up in the landfill. It was a long table runner covered in a bright green lime print. This definitely is not the color scheme that I typically lean towards, but part of the fun of working with found objects is the challenge to make something undesirable desirable again. I’ve made the table runner tops before (see other examples, here and here) but this one was thicker, and there was no central piece of embroidery or imagery that I wanted to capture.

The first thing I did was choose a tank top from my own closet that I liked the fit of and I created a pattern from that. I used either end of the table runner to cut out the pattern pieces so that the front and back would both have the nice green hem along the bottom. After sewing them up, I was already pretty happy with how it looked but I still didn’t love that there was no “interesting“ design on the fabric. I decided to lean into the borderline obnoxious, kind of campiness of the material with the next steps.

I thought it would be really cool to cut out the lime wedges and make them a window or fill them with tuelle or some kind of interesting texture. I had just had my birthday party, and I’d saved the thick piece of plastic from the top of my birthday cake box. (don’t ask why, it just felt like the right thing to do). And I’m glad I did, because it was the perfect thickness for me to use as the “window“ in the lime wedges. I filled the wedges with green bits and bobs from my house and also from The Craft Room (shout out). I stuffed all the little bits into the wedges like little plastic dumplings, closed them all up, then stitched the circular piece to the inside of the top and carefully sewed all of the dividers between the wedges so that everything was contained in its slot. As the final touch on the window, I used biased tape on the inside and stitched it all around the edge of the plastic circle, so there is no exposed plastic that would be uncomfortable when worn against the body. Finally, I cut some long strips from the remaining table runner material and added ties to the sides. I used some citrus colored letter charms to spell out “sour“ on the front left side of the hem, and “bitter“ on the back left side of the hem. Overall, I’m really happy with how this top turned out. It’s so different than my typical choices and color and pattern, but it was fun to make and challenge myself.