T-Shirt Refashion

I have a slight addiction...to purple.  Amethyst to be exact.  I love that soft grayish purple.  It's really hard for me to walk away from a pretty amethyst shirt or sweater, especially when the price is right.  Well the price was right.  I found this top at our local Salvation Army and couldn't pass it up.  But there was this little problem, actually it was a big problem.  It was several sizes too big for me.

Before

(Pardon the poor picture.  This was taken at night in our tiny half bath.  My hair looks like a pointer dog pointing  quail.  Actually it's pointing at the wall and whispering in my ear, "rip that wallpaper off this wall now!")

I'd seen so many cute refashions on blogs and Pinterest, that I decided to give it a try.  For a couple dollars that I spent on the shirt I didn't have much too lose.  After a good washing, I started wacking away at it. The neck opening was too large, so I sewed a pleat in front first.

Then I took in the sides about 6 inches each.  I started at the hem and sewed up the side, gradually tapering as I kept sewing around the armpit and down the sleeve.  After trying it on again, I trimmed off the excess fabric.   I used the part from the sides of the shirt, to form the ruffle around the neckline, setting aside the smaller pieces from the sleeves.

I cut two long rectangles about 1 1/2 inches wide and as long as I could get from each side.   Then I sewed them together on one short end, forming a long strip.  Once I had my strip, I sewed two basting stitches down the middle, along each side of the seam.  (Originally the side seams of the shirt.) That seam became the middle of my ruffle.

After pulling my basting stitch (you can just barely see the threads being pulled to the left of the strip) I started pinning it onto the shirt.

I pinned the ends at the shoulders, centering the middle of the strip on the neckband.  Then I pinned the middle of the strip (where I seamed it together) on the middle front of the neckline, over the pleat.  Next I adjusted the gathers, pulling it tighter as needed, and pinned it all down.

At this point I sewed the ruffle to the shirt, leaving the gathering stitches in, and sewing right over the original side seam of the shirt.

I tried it on (remove the pins first...just sayin), and then removed the basting stitches.

To hide the seam at the front and to jazz things up a bit, I added another of my current addictions.  Can you guess?

This bit of lace has been gathering dust for a millenium or two in my lace bin.  I cut a bit of it down to about 1 inch wide and ran a little 'OK To Wash It' fabric glue along the raw edge.

What am I making?  

Figured it out yet?

I'll give you a hint.  Glue, roll, pinch and hold.  Rinse and repeat. 

Clothespins...not just for laundry!

There you are!  Yep, it's a flower, my new addiction.  And because he looked so lonely by himself, I made a couple of tiny friends from the scrap pieces I cut from the arms.  There wasn't a usable scrap leftover.

I sewed all three flowers onto the front of my new shirt and walaa!  I love my new girly, ruffly, flowery top.      

The streaks and spots are my old mirror.  It's just old enough to look bad, but not cool yet.  Hmmm...I see another project in the mirror.  Oh heaven help me...

My t-shirt has been featured on the Best of Crazy Cute Party at Between U and  Me!  Pop on over and see who else was featured too!

Check out these fab parties...I'm there!