DIY Ruffle Shirt 2

My husband woke up this morning at 4:45! 4:45!!!???!!!What the crap?! He was up this early to go fishing.  Consequently, so was I, as I have yet to master the art of going back to sleep when J gets up.  SO with nothing to do this morning, I made a shirt. =)  The biggest challenge in this shirt is that I didn't use 2 shirts, as I had in my previous ruffle shirt.  I actually had to make the shirt part and then added ruffles. It's similar to the green one I made but the material is different - the build of the shirt is also different.  It was pretty easy and now I have a new shirt using material I already had in my stash, which J always appreciates, it means I'm not out buying more supplies. YAY for not spending money! I love ruffles and they are 'in' right now, so I can't go wrong with my new love! (not that i'm overly trendy lol)

The material is actually much more pink than the picture shows but the lighting in my office is bad (read fluorescent).

Ruffle Shirt {Tutorial}

J and I both had a t-shirt that we received for free for volunteering with our community cleanup project a couple weeks ago.  We were not going to wear these shirts again as the logo was HUGE and on the front of the shirt.  Instead of letting the shirts go to waste, I decided I could use the BACKS of the shirts to make a new shirt:

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Here is what I did:: Take the two shirts:

Cut the front and sleeves (along with any seams) off the back of the shirt.  Do this to both shirts.

Draw the neckline on half the shirt of ONE of the pieces of fabric.

Fold it in half and cut along the line you drew.  This will create a symmetrical neckline.

Pin the pieces of fabric to one another, inside out. *I found that if you sew the top of the sleeves to create a 'smock', you can pine it to your body shape for a more fitted and precise look.Sew the two pieces of fabric together.

I put the shirt on before going any further, just to be sure it fit the way I wanted.

Hem the arm holes and the neckline.  *I didn't need to hem the bottom because I kept the length on the shirt therefore, I kept the original hem

I cut off some fabric from the front of the shirt into strips.

I used a gather stitch to create a ruffle and attached it to the neckline. 

I added a few rosettes to the left shoulder, just for a little extra something. VOILA! All finished!

This was a fairly simple project and it was fun!  I am happy with the shape of it - especially since I pretty much had to build the entire shirt.  =)

DIY: Dad's Shirt Re-fashioned

So this is going to be my VERY FIRST tutorial!! I hope it makes sense and I hope I took the right pictures so you can understand it.  You can always just email me with questions! =)

My dad had a dress shirt that he wasn't going to wear any more.  This is what he had....

I have always been a fan of this shirt and the pattern on it, so I quickly took it, "Thanks, Dad!".  You can see in the above picture that I already pinned it inside out, but you get the general idea of the shirt. =)  I decided I wanted the shirt to be form fitting and long, so I didn't cut any length.

Next, I cut the sleeves off at the seam. I sewed the shirt where I pinned earlier, to take the shirt in to fit. 

I forgot to take a picture, but I cut the arm holes at a diagonal for a more feminine look and hemmed the arm holes. I had previously tried the shirt on prior to this, and J told him it looked a little butch haha. 

My next step was cutting up the sleeves.  I cut off the major seams and the cuff.  I then cut the sleeves into strips. 

I sewed the length of the strip of fabric and gathered it to make a ruffle.  The ruffle was then pinned to the shirt on the side with the buttons, and sewed on.

I did the same step for the side with the button holes on it.

VIOLA!! Finished product.  I'm sure you can see the pins on the side, I put it on and realized it needed a little tiny bit of adjustments.  But I had told J that I would stop after an hour and my hour was up.  I was so excited with the project though, that I HAD to show it off TODAY!

I'm still undecided on the length.  I like it long but wonder if I should shorten it so that it will tuck in nicer?  Like I said, I still haven't decided.  This was a fairly up front project, it was a little difficult trying to get the 'measurements' correct, a little guess work was involved, but I am happy with the outcome.  So ladies, if your dad, husband, brother, boyfriend, etc have dress shirts that don't fit or they don't wear -- refashion it for you! =)  My next one probably won't be fitted...can't wait to find another shirt! =)

DIY and 3-day weekend

I had a lovely 3-day weekend.  I spent time out at the lake, I looked for a new house, watched some movies and had a moment of crafting!  I know, I'm disappointed with me too -- I thought FOR SURE I would have more time to craft BUT I was very social this weekend. 
Saturday I went to breakfast with J and then my mom, sis and I went and looked at new homes and homes for sale, trying to get an idea of what I do and don't want in our next home.  Meanwhile, J was fishing.
Sunday, while J worked, I went out on the lake with my favorite Medium Friend -- check her out at Skip to My Lou.  She's awesome! Her and her fiance and then another couple that we are all friend with and I went out on the lake for several hours.  We had a great time! 

Medium Friends (inside joke)

When J got home, we watched some more movies on my lists: Law Abiding Citizen and Finding Nemo.  Both movies I had seen before but since starting this project, I'm we are watching together.  Have you noticed my trend??  Watch a scary/creepy/unsettling movie followed by a happy/upbeat/friendly/[usually Disney] movie.  Yes that's how I don't have bad dreams. =)

Monday, J and I drove around and found my dream house!  We're looking into it to see if we can swing it, so fingers crossed people!!!  I will give more details if it looks like it may work out.  Then we tackled a couple more movies: National Treasure and National Treasure II.  I just adore Nic Cage!

Last night I FINALLY got around to some craft time and made a super cute shirt that I am really happy to share with you!!  It's completely 100% DIY, no pattern, no tracing -- just genius! OK maybe not genius but creativity for sure. =) ENJOY!

I'm Sew Excited!

This weekend I decided to take on a new project. SHIRT and SKIRT!!! EEEK!!! I didn't have a pattern because I didn't find any that I really liked. I DID, however, find some fun print fabric and a pretty pink fabric. I based my shirt off of tank tops that I already owned. I had absolutely NO pattern at all for either piece. I must say I'm pretty impressed with myself! =)

I had sent my mom a picture asking what she thought. She only commented on my skirt =( I found out later that she didn't realize I had MADE the shirt too! That made me happy =) I love making stuff without a pattern -- it gives me a little more creative design BUT because I'm still so new to the sewing world, I find myself limited in some ways because I am still learning how garments are put together. I really love this outfit -- in fact I'm wearing it today at work and have gotten LOTS of compliments =)