{Blast from the Past} Purple Rosette Tee

I dug this one out of the vaults and dusted it off for you all, in case you missed it the first time around.  I'm sure you have a tee or two hiding in your closet or shoved in the back of your drawer that could use a makeover.  Here's some inspiration for you:

Purple Rosette Tee

Today I'm sharing a simple way to disguise a holey tee.  I'm still a novice seamstress, so when it comes to me and sewing, simple is best.

I had a little bit of a mystery-a bunch of almost new tees were developing holes in them, all near the bottom of the shirt, thus ruining otherwise perfectly good shirts.  Not only was it frustrating because I didn't know what was causing the holes, but I felt like I was wasting money because these shirts that had only been worn 2 or 3 times were now trashed.  

This is only about half of the pile of shirts with holes.  I needed to come up with a creative way to cover up the holes without it being obvious that I was hiding something.

With the purple tee (which is also right there on the top), the holes were kind of big and covered a wider area

They were also a little off-center, so it presented a bigger challenge. 

To fix yours up, you'll need:

A holey tee

A tee to cut up in a matching/coordinating color

matching thread

rotary mat, cutter and ruler

tailor's chalk 

Then I found this tee at a consignment shop and had an idea.  It matched the contrast stitching on the purple holey tee perfectly.

It was only $3!  And HUGE!  I've never seen such a large medium-sized tee!  But that meant there was plenty of fabric to work with.

To start off with, I folded the dark purple tee in half and with tailor's chalk, marked a line diagonally down from the collar to just past the last hole at the bottom.

I pulled it out flat like this, still keeping it folded in half (see the chalk line) so that the area I cut out would be even.  Then I cut out that chunk-bye-bye holes!

I measured the length of the piece I cut out and the width at the bottom and cut a piece out using those measurements from the lavender tee.

I wanted it to have a gathered look at the top, so I stitched some thread in about 1/4 in. down from the top of the edge and gathered it by pulling on the thread.

Then, using the piece I had cut out of the purple tee as a guide, I trimmed up the lavender piece

Then pinned it in place.

And sewed the pieces together.

Like so.

Now, you could stop here if you wanted.  But I felt it needed a little something more.

Rosettes make everything prettier!  I cut a few strips of fabric from the lavender tee and rolled them into rosettes, stitching them in place as I went so they wouldn't come undone.

Then attached them to my tee at the collar.

And there you have it!

Holes? What holes?

I'm quite pleased with how it turned out and I hope you love yours too!

{Handmade Goodie of the Week} No-Sew Tutu

Ah, it's good to be back.  Every time I think I'm on top of things and am able to get back to blogging, life comes and smacks me in the face.  I'm hoping that I'll be able to keep it up (keep your fingers crossed!)  

Today I'm sharing something that every little girl should have at some point in her life-a tutu.  This is a no-sew, no-glue, two-items-only tutu that can be turned out in a half hour or less.  If that doesn't make you smile, then I just don't know what will!

One of the fun things about having a little girl is getting to dress her up in frou-frou outfits, giant bows and flowers and lots of pink {which we all know I am not a personal fan of for myself, but I just love it on my daughter!}

So a pink tutu was needed {yes, NEEDED.}

And it was 100% no sew, which I loved!

To make one of your own, you'll need:

Ribbon

Tulle

Scissors

I used my little princess as a model to measure how long I wanted the ribbon.  I wanted it long enough to fit around her now, with room to grow {the ends get tied together, so the bow is adjustable to allow for growing.  How awesome!}

Once cut, I folded it in half to find my center.

Then, again using my model, I eyeballed how long I wanted the tutu to be {I made mine a little longer than usual, because I want her to be able to wear it for a while.}  I then doubled that length and cut strips of the tulle the same length {my tutu used 33 strips of tulle.} Starting at the center of my ribbon, I took one strip of tulle, folded it in half and laid the ribbon over top of it, as seen above

With the tulle still under the ribbon, pull the ends of the tulle up over the ribbon and through the loop at the top of the folded strip, like so

Pull the ends tight through the loop, so it's knotted onto your ribbon, like in the picture

Repeat on either side until you've filled up your tutu to the desired length

Tie it on your baby girl and ta-da!  A pretty, easy {and tasty :) } tutu for your little princess!

{Who's That} Meg the Grand

I've got a fab blog to share with you all today!  Meg from the blog Meg the Grand is here to share a cute t-shirt makeover.  She is a seamstress extraordinaire!  I lovelovelove the things she comes up with and I have a hunch you will, too :)  Without further ado, here's Meg!

Thanks Courtney for having me on your lovely blog today!

Hello, Friends! My name is Meg and I blog over at Meg the Grand.

            

I'm a redhead whose signature color is orange and I love to sew and refashion! I learned how to sew in college while working in a costume shop and have been honing my skills on the Sew Weekly challenges this year.   I live in Chicago, Illinois with my fabulous boyfriend (who also doubles as my photographer). 

Today, I'm going to teach you how to make a flower basket top.

For this project, you will need:

·         A t-shirt that needs some love

·         A piece of lace (I chose a bouquet of flowers)

·         Ribbon (2 ½ feet should be enough for pleating around a larger motif)

·         Pins

·         Tailor’s chalk

·         Sewing machine

·         Ruler

I am using an Old Navy shirt that has been in my closet forever and had been in the giveaway pile.  I went for a more streamlined look and chose white lace with a white top, though you could mix t-shirt and lace colors. 

First things first:   Put your shirt on inside out and mark where the top of the bra clasp lies under your shirt.  I asked my boyfriend for assistance and wore a dark colored bra to assist him in finding the clasp.  This marking will be helpful when trying to position your lace piece.

Next, we will measure side seam to side seam.  My shirt measured 11 inches across the back.  This measurement, along with your bra marking, will help in centering the motif on your upper back. If you have a neat tattoo and want to make a window for that to be seen instead, your measurements will be different.  (Have a friend mark the outline of the tattoo instead of the next step)

Your lace motif will need to be cut out with at least ¼ inch seam allowance   The motif I used ended up being 7 inches across.

This next part can be done 1 of 2 ways: 

1.       Mark where your lace lays, remove lace, and cut out area.

2.       Sew the lace down on the right side of the shirt and then cut out t shirt from behind.

I chose to mark where my lace laid since I tend to get scissor happy and didn’t want to risk my awesome bouquet getting snipped.  I laid the lace face down on the inside of the shirt and marked the edges with tailor’s chalk.

Next, cut out your design’s outline, making sure to add at least ¼ to the edges for seam allowance.  I put a piece of cardboard in between the front and back of the shirt as a precaution.  (I promise this is not an advertisement for Kellogg’s Raisin Bran…because this cereal is from Aldi’s.  So this is an advertisement for Aldi’s Raisin Bran.  J)

Turn your shirt inside out so your chalk marks are hidden from sight.  Position your lace motif over the opening and pin the edges down.

 

Stitch around the edges, being careful to capture both the t-shirt and lace.

Trim the excess lace around the edges and grab your ribbon.  I began pleating the ribbon at the top of the motif, covering up both the stitching and the edge of the lace.  My pleats ended up being ½ inch each.

 

Continue around your motif.  This is the most time consuming part, but watching Hoarders totally takes your mind off it. (OMG I love Hoarders.  It makes me look at my fabric stash and go: “That’s not so bad after all.”  I have a problem, ya’ll.) When I came to the end of the ribbon, I tucked it under the first pleat to make a continuous loop. 

Now we sew!  I suggest sewing down the pleats rather than against – it makes for a smoother step and less chance your ribbon will be flipped up in random places.  I stitched down the center of the ribbon with a smaller stitch than I normally use.

Now we get to try it on and dance around to Journey!  Don’t stop beeelieevinnnn….

Just remember to put on sunscreen under that spot or else you may have some crazy sunburn lines… or don’t, and you have an instant conversation starter!  Ta da!

Thank you again Courtney for having me over here on your wonderful blog!  You are uber fabulous J

Aw, thanks, Meg!  Seriously, no one has ever called me uber fabulous, so I'm super-honored!  To see more of the wonderful things Meg has whipped up with the help of her trusty sewing machine, stop by her blog-I can guarantee there will be something that will make you say "I'm so making that!"