Monday 16 July 2012

Itch to Stitch: Creation No. 2

Another pinterest inspired creation. What can I say, the DIY's on pinterest are cute and actually do-able - perfect for someone like myself just starting up with needle and thread. The simple DIY instructions make it easy to follow along and while presenting minor challenges (depending on the fabric and type of shirt you use), the results are always great, therefore keeping you motivated and willing to thread the needle again.

The inspiration for Creation No. 2 comes from Adventures of a Middle Sister. Her idea to turn a simple shirt to a swimsuit cover or alternatively a tank top/halter top was brilliant. The timing too, was perfect as I am currently in garage sale mode and so had a few shirts on which I could try this idea out.

I'm not too huge a fan though of a plain white cotton tee nor am I of the tie-dye print (looks great on others and the prints can be fun but don't seem to suit me). So I opted for a black shimer shirt that I was tossing out because I never ever wore it.  
BEFORE
I decided to turn this shirt into a tank because the fabric was comfy and the print was quite dressy. And how hard is it to find dressy, loose and comfy tanks these days? (well, it's hard for me). So began my chalking and scissoring. Adventures explains the details so well that even if I try to explain, it just couldn't compare. But here's a quick step-by-step, check out her site for great details.

1. cut out sleeves (save them for later; Adventures had the cool idea to use one cut out of the sleeve as a template for the other side)
2. deepen arm opening by cutting 2 inches below the bottom of the cut sleeves
3. flip shirt, only cut back portion of sleeve/(now)tank strap deeper to give a racer back effect
4. cut out collar (if your using a cre neck shirt then deepen the collar cut, I just cut along the collar because the neckline was already deep
5. flip shirt, cut in straight line 1 inch below back collar only thereby separating back collar from rest of shirt
6. cut the newly loose pieces vertically (what would have be the back to the racerback) into three strips
7. braid three strips all the way from bottom to the tip
8. lightly stitch end of braid to the inside middle of the back collar
9. cut a 1 inch straight strip off of the discard sleeve extras (from step 1)
10. wrap tip of braid in sleeve extra to hide the stitches
11. tack in the end of the wrap
 TADA!!!
**The instructions will slightly vary depending on what kind of shirt you choose to use.**

AFTER

**The instructions will slightly vary depending on what kind of shirt you choose to use.**
Mentioning it twice, because it is that important to remember. As you can see my first attempt was on a much more complicated shirt but I think that it turned out quite well. No I do not think I ruined what was an otherwise frumpy shirt ;) And I am extremely glad I used this shimmer fabric because the finished product is now actually a dressy yet comfy tank. Mission Accomplished.

Let me know how your shirt to tanks turn out. Yay summer ;)

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