DIY Oversized Mesh Top with Sheer Sides

 Mesh tops are a big trend, especially if you are into that whole "street style" genre. Mesh tops are perfect over lace bralettes, leather bustiers, bikinis, and basically any clothing piece that you feel needs "something over it", yet you want to show off what you have under.

You will need:
1.  1 yard mesh fabric
2. 1/2 yard sheer fabric
3. Needles (honestly, needles only work when putting together the sheer fabric sides -- they won't stay on when putting together the mesh sleeves since there are holes)
4. Scissors
5. Measuring tape
6. Sewing Machine

Difficulty: Intermediate

 Fold over your mesh fabric once and lay it flat.


 Measure one shoulder to the other, and add an inch or two of seam allowance. I came out to 16 inches across, but added an inch to each side which turns into 18 inches in total.

Cut it all the way down.

For the neckline, I folded the fabric over once. Then, I just cut out a curve on the fold, as shown in the picture above.




For the sheer sides, refer to the diagram. First determine on your mesh fabric how big you want your arm holes to be. For me, I went with 10 inches long from the top. For whatever length I have left, I made that the length of the sheer sides by 4 1/2 inches wide.


 Attach and sew to the sides.

  
Next come the sleeves. Again, I took my arm hole's length and added an inch for seam allowance. For the length of the sleeve, since I wanted an oversized look, I went out about 15 inches, then folded it over twice. Attach your sleeves.

Here's how one side came out.

  
If the top is too oversized for your taste, you can cut off how ever much you'd like. I went for a "baseball tee" style bottom. 



The final result!

 As you can see, to finish the neckline and the bottom of the top, I just folded it over a few times instead of using fabric tape.



To just add a little something more, I cut through the middle of the sheer sides to make slits.



Hope you'll make a mesh top of your own! Leave a comment for any questions or clarifications you may need.

xoxo, Ysabel
ysabel hiladodiy, mesh top