About The GEMMA Pattern
Gemma is a comfortable, fitted pullover tank with a shirttail hem and options for a high or low neckline. Gemma is a quick and simple project and sewing this top is a great way to learn some garment-sewing basics. Gemma will become a favorite for your summer wardrobe and for all-season layering!
Included are fourteen sizes with two front bodice pieces to fit different cup sizes.
As of August 2024, the updated Gemma pattern includes a NEW SIZE RANGE designed to fit chests 32-66 inches [81-168 cm] and hips 35-70 inches [89-178 cm], metric and imperial charts, layered PDF pattern pieces in both print-at-home and A0 formats, and a PROJECTOR FILE for home projector setups! See more details about the update in this blog post.
Share your beautiful makes online with the tag #gemmatank!
Yardage and Materials
• woven fabric
• coordinating thread
Recommended Fabrics
Lightweight woven fabrics such as lawn, shot cotton, shirting, double gauze, broadcloth, lightweight chambray, silk noil, and rayon challis.
Resources
Bias binding tutorials <- Check these out! They’re awesome!!
Rae’s Seam Finish Appendix (FREE download)
This pattern is featured in the following blog posts
Another day, another Gemma tank experiment gone awry. Just kidding — it turned out great! Check out my favorite ways to wear it in this post.
These four tops have been my most-worn this summer, not just with the high-waisted jeans shown here (eco toothpick from JCrew... it really has been quite a cool summer) but...
Hi all! Jess here, sharing a Rose Pants + Gemma Tank combo that I'm loving. The fabric I used is silk noil in teal blue that we got from Ewe...
Today's a special day!! The second garment workshop in my Sewing Essentials series on Creativebug launches today: the Gemma Tank Class! Gemma is absolutely perfect for the shift to summery weather...
The ruffled Gemma is clearly now my favorite Gemma Tank mod. I made myself two more with leftover fabric from other projects, and I'm super happy with how well these are going with...
Here's a fun Gemma mod I've been wearing for nearly a year but never blogged: a Gemma Tank with a ruffle. You're in luck if you want to make one of your own because...
One of my favorite mods for the Gemma Tank has been adding a ruffle to the hem. It's super easy to do, and it doesn't even take any extra yardage!Step 1:...
It still surprises me sometimes to discover that many people have never used (or even heard of) a PDF sewing pattern. Occasionally I'll get an email from someone who has...
Gemma tanks are a great summer staple, and we at MBR have been been putting ours into heavy rotation now that the weather's warming up. Jess has easily made more Gemmas than I have, and...
As promised, and just in time for some fun weekend sewing, here's a tutorial to show you how to turn your Gemma tank into a cropped tank, as seen in Jess'...
I've always thought the Cleo skirt would look awesome in a border print, so when Jess and I first laid eyes on the "Viewfinder" print from Sarah Watson's recent collection, Bird's Eye View for Cloud9...
It's not unusual for me to get really excited about sewing something, do most of the work, hit a hurdle of some sort, and then quit the project altogether. That...
It's almost December and therefore sweater weather, so it may seem strange to post about a Gemma Tank, but this top is something I find myself wearing quite a bit these days,...
Attention, everyone, this is a sewing PSA. Staystitching is a garment-sewing technique that is really important. I am sharing this with you because when I started sewing, many years ago,...
There are lots of ways to sew a bias binding to finish a garment, so I've put together a series of tutorials to walk you through three of my favorite options! You'll see...
I'm pretty excited about this one! I love to hack patterns, and the simplest hacks are sometimes the best hacks. Since releasing the Gemma sewing pattern last month, I've wanted...
Look!! Jess made this awesome flowy Gemma tank out of Field Study rayon which I would steal but it's not my size. I am also coveting her hair. Moving on. She used the...
This is the third and final tutorial in my bias binding series. Many of my women's sewing patterns, including the Gemma tank shown in this post, use bias binding to finish the neckline and armholes. There...
This is the second tutorial in my bias binding series. Many of my women's sewing patterns, including the Gemma tank shown in this post, use bias binding to finish the neckline and armholes. There are...
I've been excited to share a few bias binding tutorials with you ever since I released my Gemma tank sewing pattern (which also happens to be the tank shown in these...
Making your own bias binding is something that is so easy to do! A number of my sewing patterns, including Washi, Ruby, Josephine, and my most recent pattern, Gemma, use bias binding to finish...
Check out this lovely linen Gemma with a contrast binding that we whipped up while Jess was in the studio last week! Using a different fabric for armhole and neckline bindings is a great...
BUY NOWGemma is here!! I'm so excited about this tank pattern, and clearly many of you are as well! It has a clean, sleek cut, beautifully fitted shoulders and bust...
As we put the finishing touches on the Gemma tank sewing pattern (update: now available here), I thought I'd share some photos of two tanks I made for Melissa, my...
Here's another Gemma tank I've been wearing this summer! This one is made with Zephyr rayon (in colorway gust midnight) from Cotton + Steel, designed by my friend Rashida Coleman-Hale. Rashida...
The Gemma Tank sewing pattern is coming so very soon now here!! Here are a couple of peeks at it:Chambray Gemma TankComing Soon ... Gemma TankMany of you have asked...
A Gemma tank made from scraps + join me in Maine to create your own patchwork fabric from scraps this summer!!