Summertime and the Living is Thrifty–Jess from Craftiness Is Not Optional

 

Today I am pleased to welcome Jess to our little event! You may note that for the other bloggers I had a big banner, and for Jess I have a little button. The size of the intro banner is directly proportional to the love in my heart. No, just kidding. I welcome you to try lift Jess’ banner; I realized immediately that it would not work. Then I tried anyways just to be ornery, but that ended in failure, a shame spiral, a giant cookie, and then the button. On the bright side, you get to be treated to one of my infamous Laura-blathers-on-dramatically-and-nobody-knows-why speeches. It seems fitting, though, because one of the reasons Jess is so dear to my heart is that she, too, has a gift for Saying Possibly Random Things. Even better than her hilarious writing (possibly) is how the woman pumps out cute dresses and shirts for her little girls, and makes tutorials and/or sewalongs for so many of them! I have possibly accused her of being an android in the past week or two. If you haven’t already, definitely check out Jess’ blog. If only to catch a glimpse of the delicious cheeks on her baby girl, Charlotte. More cheeks, I say! More!!

 

 

Hi! I'm Jess from Craftiness is not Optional, and I'm a cheapskate.  I also love to sew. (that's also kind of an understatement)

I also absolutely love refashioning. Especially taking a somewhat funky thrift store find, taking it apart, and making it look brand new! I stumbled across this shirt a little while ago while thrifting and the pattern jumped out at me-it was perfect for a summertime top for my daughter Sadie.

 

 

 

I added a cute little tuxedo shirt detail, bib detail, scoop thing...whatever you want to call it, and some ric rac and buttons to jazz it up.

 

 

 

Little miss likes it, and it was really easy and cheap to make! The shirt was $2, ric rac about 25 cents, and buttons were 50 cents. So a grand total of $2.75! Can't shake a stick at that! (I might not actually know what that saying means) So, want your little one to be thrifty and cute? You'll need: a women's knit t-shirt (the larger the better) scraps of white knit ric rac buttons ballpoint needle (for sewing with knits) thread and sewing stuff pattern (I go into more detail about making a t-shirt pattern here.)

 

 

Ok So first off cut two bodice pieces on the fold, one should have a lower neckline. Use the bottom of the shirt if you can so you don't have to hem it!

 

 

Next, sketch a bib/scoop on some paper, using the front neckline.

 

 

It doesn't have to be perfect, just fold it in half and cut out.

 

 

make sure it fits your neckline.

 

 

...and room for  buttons!

 

 

Then cut out two pieces on the fold of your white knit. (two layers so the pattern won't show through)

 

 

Pin to your bodice.

 

 

Then sew around, about 1/8" from the edge.

 

 

Then take your ric rac and sew it along the edge as well, covering your stitches from the previous step. Sew down the middle of the ric rac.

 

 

Next cut out your sleeves-I used the armhole to gauge the size needed, and cut out a shape like this. Knits are forgiving, so it doesn't need to be exact. I also cut this out using the existing hem, and on the fold, of course.

 

 

Then I unpicked the collar to re use.

 

 

Sew right sides together, one shoulder.

 

 

Then pin your tape on, sandwiching the raw edge.

 

 

Sew that on, and then sew the other shoulder, right sides together.

 

 

Sorry about the pic from another tutorial, but pin the sleeves into the armholes, right sides together, then sew those as well.

 

 

Next pin and sew the sides of the shirt together.

 

 

Match up the existing hems as best you can. (again, knit is forgiving, so it's not too hard!)

 

 

Sew on your buttons, and tada! You have a cute, refashioned top for mere dollars.  Also, one of a kind!

 

Thanks for having me Laura! I hope you all have a Thrifty Summer!