T-shirt neck embellishment

Once I stop sharing old projects I'll start taking before and after pictures. This was a t-shirt I got on clearance at Target and I love the color and the weight, but it was long sleeved, and who wears long sleeve, light weight t-shirts? If it's cold enough for long sleeves, it's too cold for t-shirts.

As you can see I cut off the sleeves at 3 quarter length and then used the fabric from the sleeves to make the neck.


I gathered it and pinned it around the neck and then top stitched it over the existing seam, so that this seam wouldn't show up.

It was very easy and very fast.











NOTES FOR NEXT TIME:
I would make the ruffle shorter, and maybe not as full.

Extra Large T-Shirt Upcycle Via Shirring

This is a discarded shirt of my husbands.  I loved the color, so I tried to see how I could change it to work for me. For a discussion of shirring, click here.

I started shirring in rows across the front by one shoulder, and discovered after several rows that I was going crooked.  I thought it looked interesting, so I went with it, and repeated it on the other side.  I don't really like the way they met up in the middle.  

I cut two inches off the sleeves and sewed with elastic thread one inch from the edge. 


There was a logo on the left side that I covered with a flower.  I took a strip of fabric from what I cut off of the sleeves and wrapped it around to cover the logo.  Then I hand sewed it in place at certain points so that it would pucker.










In the back I sewed shirring lines straight across until it was even with the front.  If I were to do it again I would make the lines first in chalk and then sew them.  If you look closely, you can see how crooked the lines are.

I really like the length.  I intended this shirt to hide my postpartum tubbiness, and I think it does a good job of that.

Embellished T-Shirt via Rouching

I had this blue t-shirt that I loved because it was a soft knit and a pretty heather blue.  But it was boring and not cute.  So, taking my inspiration from a t-shirt my sister-in-law was wearing I rouched it! 

First of all, I loaded elastic thread in my machine.  For my discussion of elastic thread, click here:  I used a different machine, so the elastic thread was much more elastic-y.  I adjusted that with a tiny screw driver and  my bobbin holder.

Then I sewed a few inches up on both sides of the bottom hem.  I didn't want it too short and show any skin, so I decided to sew about 5 inches.  Important to measure so that the two lines are opposite each other.

 Then I sewed a line the entire length of the sleeve.  Again, it was important to measure so that I had the exact top of the sleeve.

It took me about 15 minutes!

Pincushion Armband and Pincushion scissors holder

For Mother's Day last year, I was inspired by the pincushion posted by Tea Rose Home at:

http://tearosehome.blogspot.com/2010/05/tutorial-sew-stylish-pincushion.html

I didn't have any fake leaves or flowers handy, so instead of going to the store, I surged squares of matching fabric, and folded the edges in.

From there it was quite simple. a circle of fabric is stuffed with batting to make the pincushion, and a strip is doubled up and top stitched to make the band, with velcro attached to the right places to fit your wrist.

I made one for my mom and one for my mother-in-law.

The Scissors holder/Pincushion was an inspiration from our landlady, who has one. It was even more basic. I chose suiting fabric because it has plenty of holes in it, which means pins won't bother it. I measured a strip long enough to hold my scissors and a pin cushion.

I surged the edges, folded it up on itself and surged it so that it had a nice pocket for the scissors. Then I cut out a circle for the pin cushion, stuffed it with batting and sewed it on.

Then I noticed how ugly it was. I took some yarn matching my mom's scissors and stitches some flowers on it. Then I used tan and maroon yarn to hang it. My mom loves it. the longer part holds needles and safety pins, the pin cusion holds straight pins, and then scissors are right there. No more wondering where you put your scissors!

Crochet Beanies

Because I am somewhat self-taught in crochet, I can't tell you the names of these stitches. I should figure that out sometime. If you know the names of these stitches I'm describing, please leave me a comment and enlighten me.

I usually start out with about three basic chain stitches. Then I loop around and start connecting to those with a single stitch. After about the first row of single stitches, I like to make it bigger. By bigger I mean that you loop the yarn around the needle one or more times. The bigger the stitch, the stretchier the hat.

After the first time around the hat, I also double up my stitches. That means that you stick your needle in the same place twice. I do this until I figure I've reached the width of a crown of the head, and then I double up every other time, and then not at all.

For babies heads, I use a canning bottle to figure how big the crown should be. Otherwise, you'll have to try the hat on the intended head a few times to decide when to get wider or narrower.  It's ok to have it a little too big, because babies' heads grow quickly.

For little girls, I've found a little flower on the side makes it sweet. For little boys, a pom-pom on the top. You get to decide.