Finally, I came up with an easy (for my limited skills) men's button down shirt refashion!
The shirt was a really pretty blue and white button up in a size 3x. It was brand new, $2.00 at goodwill and had a pretty little Paula Dean embroidered pocket. I have been scouring Pintrest for ideas that will work but never found one that looked easy and/or had rockabilly flair.
Soo... The inspiration went like this. I happened to notice the top a country singer was wearing in a video at my friends house. I didn't get a great look at it and can't find any decent internet pictures but it was a cross between Alabama Chanin and Steampunk.Side note: I can't afford Alabama Chanin, but I love it! So this video got me dreaming about tubetop corset thingies in unfinished and fluffy greatness in many variations. I have two tops I am making from this inspiration and the men's shirt refashion is the first. Really looks nothing like it but you know how inspiration goes:)
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| http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/band_perry/artist.jhtml inspiration |
This is not so much a tutorial as a running event catalog. I ripped more seams in this project than I have ever imagined possible.
Supplies: Big shirt from goodwill, white ruffle (2 yards and way too much) with bias tape top.
Event sequence:
- I laid a cotton tube top on the men's shirt laid out flat. Specifically centering the the outline to include the buttons down the front staying down the front.
- To keep the buttons from gaping I sewed a matching seam down the outside line of the button series. I overlapped it on an existing seam so it doesn't look wonky.
- I folded over the top and ironed down a straight line with a white button perfectly centered. I used a silly swirly seam (no reason really, wanted to try it:)
Fail events:
- I copied the fold over in the back and ran elastic through it. But when assembled the back looked puffy and unfinished. So I ripped that out and shirred a few inches of the top. I wish I had shirred almost the entire back.
- Original ruffles were sewn upside down and I imagined I could iron them down (rightside) and have a polished row/line. Nope they were too puffy and did not lay flat. so I made strips of bias tape and sewed the ruffle to the bias tape and then sewed it to the shirt. Before I found success I had all the rows sewn on. The seam ripper was the salvation because I didn't have fabric to turn to and I had cut up almost the entire shirt.
- I wanted unfinished edges on the gingham but the direction I had to cut the fabric has it fraying. Fray check to the rescue.
- Prior to sewing the pieces together I shirred the back piece. Time consuming but looks very neat. This is the first time I have done so many. I used instructions from: http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2011/11/sewing-tip-shirringsmocking-with-elastic-thread.html
- I shirred the top of the ruffle pieces and sewed them into the bias tape I made in equal lengths. I cut matching lengths of white store bought ruffle. Working from the top down I layered the ruffles. It helped to have the shirt still in pieces for this. They were easy to line up with the pattern of the fabric so I just eyeballed it. I have each ruffle starting up against the button line.
- Ran a piece of elastic accross the top back for extra stretchy.
- Right side together assembled the pieces.
- Flipped right side out and started cleaning up all the threads. I still need to add the fray check to each blue ruffle but I am in love with it. I am wearing it today with a white jean jacket. With the shirt tails from the original shirt I can tuck it in or wear it un-tucked cute either way.
