Three Tee Refashions

I don't know about you, but I have a hard time finding tees that look formal enough for work, but also are flattering. I'm very picky about sleeves and necklines. My mom gave me a few really nice heavyweight and extremely soft tees, but the sleeves were really short and that is just not a good look on me. Plus, the neckline was your basic crew type. So, for my first attempt at altering these I just redid the sleeves. (Oh, and put a fun graphic on it, courtesy of Pointless T-shirt Designs). After using my seam ripper to remove the original sleeves, I laid them out on another black tee I had, leaving a few extra inches at the outside hemline and adding some fullness to the shape. Then I cut out my new sleeves utilizing the original shoulder line and the hemline on the scrap shirt. (Wish I had a picture of this, but it was a while ago.) Stitched them on and used the hems to put in my elastic for a gathered sleeve. Pretty basic. And here's the finished product. (Sorry in advance for the tipsy aspect of these pics and the wrinkliness of the shirts!)

 

 

So, for the next shirt I decided to change the neckline as well and put on a little embellishment. For this one I made the new sleeves the same way except that I made them elbow-length straight sleeves. Then I cut down the neckline. Taking a two-inch wide strip of fabric I folded it together and pinned it to the wrong side of the neckline, making sure to overlap my seam at the back of the neck. A stretch stitch to secure it in place and a topstitch to hold its' shape and the neckline was finished. As far as embellishment went I wanted something fairly simple, so I cut out a couple of feathers and stitched them on with contrasting thread. After a wash the edges rolled up nicely and gave it a ragged effect.

 

For the third shirt, I decided to redo the same neckline as the second, but wanted to change up the sleeves and embellishment again. This time I went for an elbow-length bell shape. And found a great tutorial on Pinterest for some cute flowers. Each flower involves 6 equal circles that are then folded into thirds and stitched into a circle. The stitches make a nice effect on the inside of the flower. I'm really happy with how this last one turned out. The flowers will curl up more with each washing!

 

 

 Lots more to come, so stay tuned!

Let's Get This Party Started!

I've been meaning to start a blog for my sewing projects for a while now. I taught myself to sew at the age of ten, made various items of clothing over the years, took every costuming class offered when I was in college, but only with the birth of my daughter and interaction with my step-children has my sewing really taken off. Thankfully, as a self-employed massage therapist my schedule is flexible enough that I can spend a lot of time on the sewing machine! Plus, we get lots of opportunities for costuming since we attend Dragon*Con, the sci-fi convention in Atlanta, every year.
 

 

 

 

Obviously, we've had a lot of fun with this over the years and no one has benefitted so much as the youngest, Nia. We did a Victorian/Steampunk theme one of the last times we went and I made her a little dress for the occasion.

 

 

 

And a little something for myself, as well.

 

 

I tend to make my own patterns or adapt ones that I've found or purchased. This seems to work best as no one is the exact same size. Lately I've been having a lot of fun with t-shirt knits. They're just so easy to work with and forgiving. Here's Nia in her rainbow dress also holding the one we sent to her cousin (who's 4 months younger).

 

 

I've got a couple of t-shirt alterations that I've done for myself as well, but that will have to wait until tomorrow. See you then!