The Cami Tank: Nursing Hack

The Cami Tank: Nursing Hack

Posted by Caitlin Krause on

Hello! This is Caitlin, and I’m here to share with you how I turned the new Cami Tank nursing friendly! The only extra supplies you will need are nursing clips and some elastic or extra straps to keep the back strap from falling! Let's begin!

First, cut as normal, until you get to the straps. 


For the straps, I added about 5” to the length, but made sure to mark the notches for matching at the front. You will need the extra length for wrapping around your nursing clips; the long strap will eventually be cut into 2.


Construct as normal until step 5. 


On step 5, you need to add the elastic strap that will hold the back part of the strap in place. You can also make your own strap with fabric or use stretch lace, whatever is most comfortable for you. I will use the term “elastic strap” to refer to this piece. 

Cut your elastic strap a few inches longer than the front piece of your shelf bra. You will trim the excess in a later step.


Attach the rib cage elastic as normal, but STOP before you turn up and sew.



When you go to turn up and sew the rib cage elastic, pin or clip your elastic straps into place. 

Sew the rib cage elastic in place, making sure the elastic straps are also sewn in as you do this.

Continue with steps 6-15 in the pattern. Remember, at step 12, your strap pieces will be extra long.


Before step 16, we need to add the nursing clips! 


We’ll start with the bottom part that will be attached to the front bodice. You can either trim  the strap about 1.5-2” past the top of the front, or you can attach the clip first, then trim. 


These photos show attaching the clip first and cutting the strap after. Slide the front part of the clip over your strap, fold down, and sew in place.



Next, we’ll attach the straps to the back binding, like in step 16, EXCEPT we won’t be trying the cami on yet, unless you want to check placement of your strap. Sew your straps to the back in your preferred style. Remember, your strap will be loose in the front.

Now, we’ll attach the elastic straps in front and the shoulder straps to the top clip. Start by pinning the elastic strap and the shoulder strap to the nursing clip as shown below. The front strap and clip should be out of your way for now.



Before sewing, you’ll want to try on your cami. As you try your cami on, adjust the placement on both the elastic strap and the shoulder strap on each side.



Sew the clip to both the elastic strap and the shoulder strap. Tip: I like to sew about an inch away from the clip, so if I need to adjust the length at some point in the future, I have a little slack to work with.



The last step is to hem your cami and you are finished! This ribbed athletic knit from the Greenstyle Fabric Shop is fantastic and I highly recommend it for a not so basic solid nursing cami!



Sharon also has a great sew along video that she did with the Power Sports Bra that shows her attaching the nursing clips. You can find that video here; I highly recommend it!


Good luck sewing up your nursing camis! I also made a nursing bralette with this pattern! I'll be sure to come back and add some modeled photos once babe arrives and the camis I made fit over my stomach again. :)

The Cami Tank and bralette go great with Brassie Jogger shorts!




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