Fashion Friday: Striped Bow Tee

If you weren't able to stop by Tatertots and Jello last week to check out my guest post, here's what you missed:

Striped Bow Tee

A little while back, I did a post on my love of Mod Cloth and showed you some of the things I loved.  Well, one tee in particular caught my attention.  

Photo courtesy of Mod Cloth

I fell in love and knew I needed one for my very own.  Then I got to thinking, I could probably make it for less than I would pay for it from Mod Cloth (sorry, Mod Cloth.)

Not bad, eh?  Best part, it was super-easy AND it was under $5 to make.  And I'm going to show you how!

To make your own, you'll need:

Tee shirt

Matching fabric, preferably a non-stretchy cotton material

Matching thread and needle

Cutting mat and rotary (or just a measuring tape and scissors)

I got my striped tee at Forever 21 for just $3.50!  I was so happy, not only because of the price but also because it was exactly what I was looking for.

To determine how big I would need to make the bow, I measured from shoulder to shoulder just under the neckline and for the ties, I measured from the center of the neckline down to where I wanted the ties to end.  Remember to double the width when you cut out your pieces since you will be folding them in half.

If you want to make a bow the same size as mine, here are the measurements:

Bow: 8 inches by 12 inches

Ties: 4 inches by 26 inches

Center loop: 4 inches by 4 inches

Using my momma's super cutting mat, ruler and rotary, I quickly got all of my pieces cut out (I so need a cutting mat and rotary!  It saved me SO much time!)

Like so.  The next step is to piece your bow together.

I started with the smallest piece and worked my way up.  I folded the piece for the center loop inside out and stitched along the side, leaving the ends open.  Then I turned it right-side out, formed it into a loop, with the seam on the inside and in the center, and folded the raw edges under about 1/4 of an inch, and had the ends overlapping about 1/4 of an inch.  

Then I stitched the ends together, forming the loop, like so.

For the bow, I did the same thing, only instead of leaving the ends open, I started sewing at each corner and worked my way to the middle, leaving about an inch wide opening in the center to use to turn it right-side out, then stitched closed the hole.  I did it that way because the loop will cover the stitches.  

Once the bow was done, I accordion-folded it, length-wise and slid on the loop.  

Then I stitched together the piece for the ties, in the same way as the bow, starting in the corners and working in towards the middle, leaving a 1 inch opening.  But before I began sewing, I angled one end by folding the outer corner in towards the raw edge, creasing it and using the crease as a guide, cut it at an angle.

Once the tie was finished, I threaded it through the back of the loop, like so.  I had the un-angled side 2 inches longer than the other, since I was going to be turning it up at the end.

I laid the bow flat on the shirt, with the loop just under the neckline in the center, pinned it all in place and stitched down the sides of the bow, and the corners of the tie, folding up the un-angled side.  By just tacking down the corners, it gives you room to move without tearing or pulling at the shirt.

And there you have it!  I wore it the very next day, I was so happy about it! (You might have noticed it in the video post I did a few weeks back.)