Friday 14 June 2013

Getting crafty - Retro top refashion

Well hello you ruddy lovely people!

Just a quick one today from me (Elizabeth) about this rad shirt that I made even more rad. (Who the heckles says "rad" anymore... get with the times!)

This, my friends is the before and the after shot of said shirt:





CUTE, RIGHT?

Growing up, my Mum always had a sewing project on the go. She even made my sister's wedding dress (as well as Emily and my bridesmaids dresses!) and so by proxy I sort of learned to sew! I liked this shirt to begin with but it felt a bit masculine. I decided to take the sleeves off, round off the collar, and dye it light blue. I took the following steps to get me to the final product:


Step one: Lay the shirt flat and inside out on your desk.
Step two: Grab a scrap sheet of paper to make a crude pattern piece (continuity is your friend)
Step three: Admire my bright pink sewing machine.



Step four: Start drawing the shape you want for your new arm holes. I roughly sketched it in first, then rounded it off with a darker line on top. This step may be the hardest.



Step five: Cut that pattern piece, and draw it on your shirt (I used an orange felt tip marker which didn't have loads of ink in it anymore, so it wouldn't bleed through the fabric)



Step six: Flip your pattern piece over and repeat step five!


Step seven: a lot like step four - turn the shirt around and draw a new shape for the back of the shirt. You'll likely want it to be wider across your back than your front (at least I did) just make sure where your shoulder is, that it meets up with the front, and you'll be fine when cutting and sewing time comes!



Step eight: cut the shirt about a centimetre away from the line you drew, so you allow for a bit of wiggle room for sewing.
Step nine: (Not shown) iron the edges down so that your line is where the crease is. This makes your life a LOT easier when you sew it!



Step ten: (Also not shown) Sew that baby! I sewed the seam about two millimetres away from the edge. It's a bit tricky keeping your line uniform, but take it slowly if you need to - I did!
Step eleven: (Also not shown... I stopped taking pictures at this point, apparently. Worst blog post ever.) Draw a circle on the back of the collar, and cut the corners off. Tuck the edges in and do your best to sew it closed. I really really really wish I took a picture of me doing this... but in my defense, both my hands were in use!
Step twelve: I dyed my shirt in very hot water with some ink! After it sat in the steamy steamy bath 30-40 mins, I rang it out and rinsed it in very very cold water. I let it sit in a sink of cold water for about 10 minutes, let the water out, and repeated.



Then, when all was dry and I was happy: I put on my cute new shirt and made a smug face and took a picture! CUTE SHIRT ALERT!


(cheeky little shout out to Jacquie's shop Wee Little Stitches and the amazing Doctor Who pattern she stitched up for my partner James' Christmas gift, which is hanging on our wall!) 





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