Hi, everyone! My name is Melissa.

I just started the nursing program at my local college this fall. Yay! Anyway, I was given 4 sets of plain, white scrubs from a friend of mine. The only problem is that they are slightly too big for me BUT I don't want to alter them and make them much smaller because my weight has been changing a lot lately due to some medications I've been on.

I would like to somehow sew on a white ribbon or bias tape to go around the garment (sort of like an empire waist) and tie in the back, to cinch in any excess fabric and make me look like I have a waist and aren't wearing a potato sack. The scrub tops are just the plain, v-neck basic tops. I'd also like to add an elastic back (see photo) to cinch in some fabric as well but I'm not sure how to go about all this! Will the empire waist tie and the elastic back together look weird? I know how to use a sewing machine, but my skills are VERY basic. I've bought a few patterns to see if they could help but they're not much of a help.

I really just want to make these tops interesting and cute so that I look more professional. In my opinion, people whose uniforms are too large look a little sloppy - and when your uniform is too large, you also run the risk of it accidentally getting into something - something yucky, most likely. So if anyone has any experience in sewing, I would greatly appreciate your help!

Oh - one other thing, say I add the empire waist tie and when I wear the top, there's TOO MUCH fabric cinched in the back? How would I go about cutting down the amount of fabric? Would I bring in the sides of the top?

Thanks so much for reading!

I just want to figure out how to do the elastic back, not the front!