Make a Lace-Up Top from a Plain Tee Shirt Pattern

I am quite pleased with myself about this one!  I wanted a top with a lace-up detail that isn't tedious to wear.  Here are some examples of what I'm taking about.  I decided I just wanted the look of the trendy lacing, not ones that actually function to hold the neckline together. 

I started with a plan tee shirt pattern that I like.  Mine is McCalls 6886, but any tee would do.  For the neckline, I bound the back neck edge and drafted a simple facing for the front.  I used a lightweight fusible interfacing on the front facing, attached it and understitched.  Voila!  That's it!  The last step is adding the metal grommets, which was really easy to do.

I have had the fabric in my stash for a while.  I think it was from Gorgeous Fabrics, but I'm not 100% sure.  It feels like a rayon jersey, very silky.

I tried both this silk cord and a thin leather strip for my lacing.  Both are a little stiff.  Other options would be narrow ribbon, very thin rope, or a tube of fabric.  I wore this top a LOT on my recent travels (nothing fancy, alas, just visiting family).  It is super comfy but just a little elevated from a plain tee shirt.  Now I want to make McCalls 7391 even more than before!