Wednesday, March 30, 2011

T-shirt redo

I had this plain t-shirt and wanted something new. I gathered a few old shirts that don't fit to use them for something useful... I came up with this...






I cut up 3 different shirts into different sized circles then started pinning where I wanted them.







I came up with this and was ready to sew.







I used the zig-zag setting on my sewing machine to attach the circles to the shirt. I wanted it to kind of look messy and random and I achieved it by adding x's to a few of the circles. I also used my back step button to sew over it about 3 times on each circle. You can see that I added a bit of elastic on the sleeves to gather it around the top then added trim around the sleeves to add a little something( But it would also be cute plain..)







I tried the shirt on and realized why I never wore it... It's a bit low and I need a tank top under. Tank tops are annoying to me and get too hot so I decided to cut the front of one of the shirts I cut up to attach it to the actual shirt so it "appeared" as though I were wearing an undershirt... It made it more comfortable.











I then pinned and sewed the "undershirt" onto the shirt. I wanted to hide the stitching so I added the same trim that I had put on my sleeves around the neckline. I like the way it looks with the trim better....







Here in this picture you can see the gathered sleeves...




So an old shirt turned new and exciting. Now I have the rest of those cut up shirts for another project (you always want to save scraps! You never know when they will come in handy!!!)




Instead of donating old clothes why not try to spruce them up for a cheap new outfit?




Happy crafting!

Friday, March 25, 2011

rosette headband

I see these flowers everywhere and love them. You really could do anything with them like add them to a shirt, make a brooch, add them to a clip, a purse or fabric belt. I chose to add them to a headband for this little sweetie... and is also on my header!

To make this you will need:

Fabric for rosette, needle, thread

optional:

beads, fabric glue, fabric for headband, elastic

First you need to cut your strip. I made mine about 1/2 inch wide and about 10 inches long. The wider and longer your strip, the larger rosette you will end up with. Now tie a knot on one end to start, this will be the center of rosette.

You will start twisting the strip then start wrapping it around the knot. You want to tuck the end of the knot under to be on the back side like this:

Once you get it all twisted and wrapped around, hold the end on the back side and pin like this:

Now thread and knot your needle to start sewing.

Start your needle on the part where you have your end, then sew through the layers till you get to the knot. Repeat sewing from the outside edge to the middle of your rosette in a circle. Continue until you reach where you started. Then make a knot by making a loop and pulling the needle thru that loop. Pull tight to secure.


Make as many as you want. I added a few beads with permanent fabric glue (found at any fabric store, I got mine a Joanns). You will end up with this:

Now you can attach these to anything your mind can think of!

To make headband you need to select your fabric. I chose to use two different patterns. Depending on how wide you want your headband measure and cut strip. You will need to measure around the head that will be wearing it then add and inch to that ( so you can add your elastic to stay on). I made mine about 1/2 inch wide and 17 inches long to fit my 3 month old. I cut it a little skinnier at one end to overlap and show the other pattern, that will be on the top near rosettes.

I sewed the back together then added my elastic by stretching it while sewing (that way it will gather when you are done) it looked like this: ( not the neatest sewing... but it will be underneath)


I then used the zig-zag setting on my sewing machine to sew all around the edges so it won't fray. When done sewing the headband I attached my rosettes by hand sewing through the bottom onto the headband (I'm sure you could also use your fabric glue if you don't want to sew it..) You will end up with something like this:

Pretty simple right?

Happy crafting!