Sew with me: the wrap pants + top combo outfit (no pattern, mostly rectangles)

Summary

You asked for the wrap pants and the wrap top combined into one super mega wrap outfit, so I made it. On a whim. Without writing anything down. Then I forgot to record huge chunks of it, so there's a second half where I hold the finished thing up and try to fill in the gaps.

Structurally it's almost nothing: two rectangles with a U cut out for the crotch, one more rectangle for the top, and a few tubes with strings through them. That's genuinely the whole garment.

• Start with the crotch. Fold your fabric in quarters, measure over ~4", down ~13", cut. Cut on the fold and down the folds.
• Right sides kissing — sew around the U shape, press that seam open. While you're at the iron, go ahead and double-fold and press the hemlines for the shorts.
• How wide should the panels be? As wide as you can possibly make them. Bare minimum, each panel should be about 3/4 of your total hip measurement. Ideally about as wide as you are.
• The top was roughly 15" tall by ~38" wide — match the width of the shorts plus a couple of inches each side for hemming, because no raw edges.
• Attach the top to the shorts at the front, and build channels (tubes — "tube" is more fun to say) front and back for the ties, plus one more for the halter strap.
• Wearing it: put the front on first, tie those around to the back, then bring the back around to the front and tie.
• Do it as one piece instead: fold fabric in half and cut one giant 3D "J" — the U with an extension — and stitch it together.
• I switched from a wrap tie top to a halter partway through. I also left the sides of the shorts unfinished because I liked seeing the selvedge, but they could use more coverage — decorative trim is going there.

Transcript

Hi. Hello. Today I decided to make that thing we talked about — you know, the wrap pants that combine with the wrap top into one super mega wrap outfit. I decided to do this on a whim and I didn't really write anything down. So let's see how much I can remember while I do this voiceover.

First, I grabbed a piece of fabric and I folded it in quarters. I wanted to — what did I want to do? I wanted to cut out the crotch first, cuz with the wrap pants that's step one. [snorts] So I measured over about 4 inches, measured down about 13 inches, and was like, cut cut. I have to make a new sound, because sometimes it means sewing and sometimes it means cutting. So I've got to find a new word.

So anyway, I cut on this fold and then I cut down these folds. And in a second, this might start to make sense. If you have previously watched one of my wrap pants tutorials — if you haven't, you're going to be confused for a while.

So now I am laying this shape cute side up. I'm laying this shape cute side down. The cute sides are kissing. They're also laying down and kissing. That feels like third base. Then it's over to the sewing machine where you do a quick around that U shape. And then you're going to press open that seam. And while you're over there, you might go ahead and double fold and press your hemlines for your shorts, but maybe not. It's up to you.

Then you're going to take it back over to the floor and lay it out. Here you'll see the U shape is now sewn together. I have the right sides out just to make sure I like how everything looks. Now I'm going to turn it inside out. And now I'm going to get ready to put the top onto the bottoms. I'm measuring how wide these are. And I'm going to make sure that the top is just as wide. Probably give myself a couple extra inches on either side so I can fold it and hem it, because no raw edges. I think the finished size for this one was like 15 inches tall and — oh, I don't know, probably like 38 inches wide.

If you're wondering how wide should my shorts be, it's as wide as you can possibly make them. But at the very minimum, each panel needs to be about 3/4 of your total width. So if you are 50 inches around at your hips, you probably want to make it — oh, I don't actually know how to do 3/4 of 50. You figure it out. Pretty much the same size as you if you can.

All right, what am I doing? I'm folding it up and I'm getting ready to cut finally. I'm also mentally preparing myself for all of you judging me when I hold the scissors upside down. I'm even putting extra thought into holding them the right way, but it's hard. I'm left-handed. Leave me alone. Quit judging me.

Doing a little more measuring. Not pinning anything into place. Just using the grooves of my hardwood floors. Okay. So once I get it all cut out, I will pin it to the shorts on the side that I want it to live. Right now, I'm just mentally mapping how much I can fold it over here and there, making sure to leave enough room to make a tube to run the string through, because I'm making it a halter top, not a regular wrap top. Did I already mention that? Now I'm mentioning it. Look, I'm doing my best here.

Then I forget to record a whole bunch of stuff. So I bring it back to the sewing machine and I attach everything. So you're going to want to make sure that your top is attached to your shorts in the front. You want to make sure you've got a tube on the front and the back for your strings to go through. I'm sure there's a better word than tube — I think it's channel, but tube is more fun to say. All right, so fine. And you'll also need a tube for the strap for your halterneck. And then, tada.

It's the wrap pants, except I made them shorts. And I was going to do the wrap tie top, but midway through I decided I liked the idea of a halter top better. So this is just one rectangle. And then this is two rectangles with a U cut out. And then you add strippy straps and that's it. It's so easy.

Hi. Hello. Okay. Couldn't get a good angle. I forgot to record a whole bunch of this, so I wanted to show you it when it was done to maybe cover the gaps. So when you finished doing your U, you had this shape. Then you opened it up and you had this shorts set — well, just the shorts at that point. And then you did not have this, you just had this.

And then I cut out this piece. I think it was 15 inches tall and then as long as this. And I stitched it to the underside of the waistband. And then I flipped it around so that I would have my little tube and that this would all be on the back side. So you can see where it is affixed. And then this little scrap piece that I had, I thought would just tie the top and bottom together better. So I used that, made a little tube out of it. I need to fix a few stitches here and there.

So that's it. It's a tube here with a string through it. It's a tube here with a string through it. It's Us that are connected to make your crotch, and then one more tube with a string through it. The bottoms of the shorts I just hemmed like this. And I actually didn't finish the sides of the shorts at all — give me that, Rock — because I really liked that I could still see who made the fabric on the side. But truth be told, I could use a little more room in them. They could cover a bit more on the sides. So I think that I'm going to put some decorative trim there.

Okay. Now, how do I [clears throat] get you back together? Boop. Boop. So you have your shorts. You have your top. Give me the rock. Stop. Bubba. You are a terrorist. Be nice.

When you put it on, I would recommend you do this part first and then do the back. No, I'm sorry — you'll put this part on first. Then you'll tie these around to the back. So that gives you this. And then you'll bring the back behind you and up around and tie it in the front.

But you can also tell, when it's laid out, how you could do this from just one piece if you didn't want to mix them up — get her turned back around. So you have your U and then it just has an extension. So you might take a piece of fabric and fold it in half and cut a giant 3D J out and stitch it together. That's it. I hope this helped.

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