The Essential Tank - P4P - The Lilac Needle

If you haven’t noticed already, I have a thing for tank tops. The Essential Tank from Patterns for Pirates is exactly that, essential.

I’ve actually owned this pattern since early 2019 but never had the opportunity to sew it up due to one reason or the other. At the time, my boyfriend and I were in the process of looking for a house and withing 3 months, found our perfect starter home. But with that comes moving, and more moving, and more moving. I would say I wasn’t fully settled in until late 2019 which meant I could start to sew again.

The perfect opportunity to sew up the Essential tank arrived when Patterns for Pirates had an updated that needed to be tested for the Essential Tank. How could I pass that up?

The Pattern

The Essential tank is a tank that is meant to be fitted at the bust and semi-fitted at the waist and hips for a very flattering and comfortable tank that is great for warm weather or layering. What is great about this pattern is how many options it comes with.

Options that are included with this pattern are

Straight/Full Back Straps or Racerback Straps
Shirt Length Hemmed or Banded
Tunic Length Hemmed or Banded
Curved Tunic Length
Above the Knee Dress Length
AND Maxi length with back or front slit!

With this pattern test, P4P added additional sizes as well as some minor adjustments to an already great pattern. The new size range goes from XXS – Plus 5X.

For this pattern test, I measured at a size M (Medium) and chose the Shirt Length hemmed option with Racerback straps.

The Fabric

This tank top was just begging to be made from Double Brushed Poly. Reason being is due to it’s fitted nature. I recently received a mystery box from Amelia Lane Designs which happened to include this beautiful Dover Double Brushed Poly and knew it was the perfect fit.

DBP is amazingly soft and is “brushed” on both sides giving it a soft suede feel. It is also 4 way (both horizontal and vertical) stretch making this a perfect material for a more fitted garment.

Adjustments and Final Thoughts

I did not need to make any adjustments to this pattern. As I mentioned earlier, I measured as a M (medium) for this pattern using my bust measurement as the lead. At least in my case, I was able to get the intended fit for this pattern being fitted through the bust and tapering out a bit at the waist and hips.

Next time I might try the full back option rather than the racerback… but man that racerback looks good. I would definitely make this tank top again. I also could see this in a few other bases as well, but clearly this pattern was made to be made with double brushed poly.