T-shirts

Easy T-shirt Refashion

September 29, 2018 By Mary Peterson 15 Comments

Hi Everyone!

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I just have time for a quick stop today to share one of my favorite t-shirt hacks. I tend to do projects like the following with brand new shirts purchased for under $10 in places like Target, Kohls, or Old Navy. Sometimes I will purchase T’s from a thrift shop but only if they are obviously unused. The reasoning behind this is that T-Shirts tend to degrade very quickly and I have had very poor luck finding any in good enough condition to use.

BEFORE

This is just a classic white T-shirt purchased from Old Navy for $8. I was in possession of 1/4 yard of a white embroidered woven piece that would work quite nicely in my plan to create a decorative stripe down the center. Here you can see I have marked the cutting lines.

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The next step was to sew the panels in.

AFTER

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In order to make the finished product more polished, I added some edgestitch on the panel edges.

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Happy refashioning!!!

Love to you all..

Mary AKA: Thrifty Chic

Layered T-Shirt!

January 4, 2017 By Mary Peterson 10 Comments

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Fashionistas!

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Wherever does the time go? I hope you are all well and have had the best time with family and friends. Below you can see one of my latest. (I know I still owe you an update on my coat, but I never said I wasn’t a procrastinator) Ha Ha!! It is simple, but I think quite a good staple with the ability to be very versatile.

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It all started here. The picture is grainy, but this is a basic black t-shirt in a heavy quality knit. The neckline is faced in a shiny satin fabric and the stripes are a shiny poly blend yarn. It was on the dollar rack and looked brand new, so I scooped it up.

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It was too boring as is. So, when I found this too small lace bottom blouse with the gorgeous lace hemline, my task was clear. I was so excited that I chopped up the shirt before I took a picture, but pieced it together so you can see what I did.

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I love the look of a shirt under a t-shirt or a sweater but hate the bulk. Thus, I cut out all of the bulk and added a smooth middle piece. Here it is pinned and ready to sew and press.

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Done and ready to wear!

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Here is a close-up of the neckline. You can see that the fabric is a great looking swiss dot fabric. It adds great texture to the entire look.

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What do you think? I love it and the best thing is that I can use the blouse portion under a lot of other sweaters and T’s. This is an easy one…you have to try it.

Talk to me…

Love Ya!

Mary

T-Shirt +Skirt= Refashion

October 25, 2014 By Mary Peterson 4 Comments

Hey Everyone!

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Fall is in the air! I am so excited. With that, I give you my last summer offering for a while.

Here is the AFTER of what used to be a t-shirt and a “Mullet” skirt.

Front view:

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Back view:

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These two pictures (with the fun already started) is where it all began. I have been totally inspired by all of the basic T-shirts I have been seeing with added chiffon layers. The possibilities are endless!

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TUTORIAL:

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Step 1) Cut the waistband off of the skirt

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Step 2) Put the T-shirt on the dress form. This style would be very difficult to do without having a dress form as you can drape and control how the chiffon falls as you pin. I will explain the white thread in a later step.

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Step 3) Pin the chiffon skirt in the desired spots around the bust line of the T-shirt. During this process I had to try it on quite a few times. Lucky for me the waist of this skirt fit perfectly aroun the t-shirt!

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Step 4) Once you get the desired fit, pick the side you like best and trace baste where you want the chiffon to come to.

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Step 5) Pin the side seams of the T-shirt together and transfer the markings to both sides.

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Step 6) Pin the chiffon back in place and baste the chiffon in place while it is on the form.

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Step 7) Sew the T-shirt and the skirt together.

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Step 8) Not pictured. I took up the back of the hem and 1/4″ top-stitched it down.

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Well there you go! Another refashion “save” for my record. I love it! It is comfortable and flows through a work day quite nicely.

What do you think?

I am sure you will let me know!!!

“til later

Love you all!

Mary

Honey, I Shrunk it Refashion!

September 28, 2014 By Mary Peterson 14 Comments

Hello Everyone!

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Don’t you just hate it when you buy something cute and it accidentally gets in the dryer when it needs to be hang dried? This is the case of, “Honey I Shrunk the T-Shirt” Refashion.”
If I had any guts and wasn’t so vain, I would try on this “Before” and let you see how shrink wrapped I looked in it!

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I couldn’t just throw it away as it was still so cute! It had to get bigger, but putting a contrast fabric down the sides would be too obvious. Then I looked at the sleeve… and what I came up with was this!

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After:

This version is much more comfortable and I can officially call this garment “Saved.”

This may not be the most amazing refashion but it is a practical one. Just think of all the garments you could save using this trick. It is all about the sleeves…

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Tutorial:

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Step 1) First I cut off the sleeves leaving about 1/2″ raw edge.

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Step 2) Next I cut open ONE side seam. I didn’t worry about unpicking it. In my
next step you will be able to see why.

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Step 3) Using the sleeve, I created a new side panel. The beauty of this is that is was already the perfect length and the sleeve of the hem matched up with the hem of the t-shirt.

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Step 4) After creating one side panel, I used that to cut out the opposite side panel with the other sleeve.

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Here is the side panel pinned and ready for topstitching.

Step 5) Because the underarm would be too unstable without support, I had to sew in a piece of bias tape to keep the underarm from stretching. I purposely used a contrast color of bobbin thread so I could show you the stitching.

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When all was said and done, I think it was a good use of my time.

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What do you think?

‘Til Next time!

Love Ya,

Mary

Boho Chic T-shirt and Necklace Refashion

August 31, 2014 By Mary Peterson 16 Comments

Hello Everyone!

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Get set for an easy refashion that you can do with those crop or too short t-shirts that are not age appropriate for anyone with less than a perfect stomach. Call me a prude, but I don’t think anyone should show their stomach unless they are at the beach, but that is my humble opinion.

Here is the fun, carefree after, a great floral t-shirt given new life with a gathered peplum. The necklace is a refashion as well. It is made of two short necklaces clipped together to make a fantastic new longer version!:

The original floral top actually came to the waist, but unless I wore high rise jeans (no mom jeans allowed! Ever!) my stomach would show every time I moved. Adding a quick peplum was the perfect solution!

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Following is the tutorial on how I did it all:

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I found this lovely piece at the local Goodwill. It was half price tag plus my senior discount of 10%. “Ka ching!” The fabric was heavy, and in wonderful shape, but as I mentioned the length was just a little too short.

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The very same day I found this extra large, gauzy, and stretchy T that would be a perfect fabric choice to create a peplum. Here you can see that I have cut off the bottom. I had determined the length needed for my peplum and and cut the panel. Of course I made sure to add enough for seam allowance.

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The next step was to make a long gathering stitch across the top, pull the threads, and arrange the gathers evenly across the panel to match the bottom measurement of the floral shirt.

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The final step was to pin the peplum on the floral T. I only made 1 row of regular stitching along the existing hemline stitching to attach it. That was it! I used the existing hemline of both pieces so no other stitching was necessary.

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The Necklace:

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I had these two necklaces in my closet. The one on the left was a peridot chip and the one on the right was a charm choker. “Choker” here is the operative word. Maybe “Back in the day” but now I really don’t like anything too close around the neck. It is just not comfortable for me anymore. I have been adding chain extensions to loosen up a lot of my old shorter versions but here is an easy way to make a long one out of two necklaces.

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As this picture shows, simply clip them on each side the the clasp and you have a brand new boho chic necklace! You can still where them separately if you wish, but combining them is a great option,

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There you have it! What do you think? Are there any t-shirts in your closet you can’t bear to part with? This could be the answer you are looking for.

As always I can’t wait to hear from you.

Until next time…

Love ya!

Mary