I’ve introduced you to Virginia before. She’s our seamstress around here.
Virginia has been delving into the art of T-Shirt makeovers! It’s pretty neat that, for pennies on the dollar, you can go to your local Goodwill, pick out a t-shirt from the multitude hanging on the racks, and transform it into an integral and lovely part of your wardrobe!
There are ingenious ways to use simple t-shirts that are too tight, too big, too low or just too plain! We want to share with you some links and some photos of creative ways used to enhance your wardrobes.
Here is Gin’s Pinterest Page if you would like to follow along on her journey. She is new to Pinterest but will be adding more along the way!
Here is a tutorial on Shirring. You will see what can be done with this technique in our picture gallery.
This is a Sizzix machine and here is a tutorial on using one. The price is variable on these machines (depending on what quality you want) so one doesn’t have to invest a ton in it. Virginia uses hers to cut shapes out of material (examples in the gallery) and she also uses it on scrapbooking paper to make some lovely flowers on top of my rosary/jewelry boxes.
Before you look at our little gallery I have one more website to share that I just stumbled on. It is called Tea Rose Home. You may notice that her home page has interior decoration projects but stop and look at some of the side links!! This woman has some wonderful tutorials on makeovers from Thrift Store purchases…tutorials on making a ruffled t-shirt out of two simple t-shirts, a t-shirt makeover with some lovely simple flowers, a pleated pretty shirt with buttons, a fabric flower and revamping a sweater into a “garden of flowers” cardigan! There is more so have fun with this site…I think you will get much inspiration from it!
Do you have any favorite websites to share to help us along our sewing venture? We’d love to hear about them!
The following gallery has examples of Virginia’s projects that maybe can inspire you to try some yourself. Lately I have been the lucky recipient of most of these makeovers, so my t-shirts that have been sitting too long in my drawer have come to life once again! Click on the first picture to view gallery.
This post is shared with Like Mother, Like Daughter
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- Virginia took extra material off the bottom of this t-shirt and twisted it to add spice to the collar. Her Sizzix machine was used to make the flowers.
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- This is called “shirring” and is done with elastic thread. It definitely adds a touch and makes the t-shirts look tailored, don’t you think?
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- Theresa is modeling her new little jacket. This was a simple t-shirt that was cut down the middle, hemmed and then embellished with the lovely flower.
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- Just taking a normal t-shirt and cutting it down the middle makes a lovely, light cardigan for that layered look that is so classy!
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- Shirring at the top adds a decorative touch to a shirt that was too saggy at the neckline.
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- This t-whirt was too small and now I can wear it again!
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- This started off as a too-tight button-up shirt.
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- Shirring for the tailored look (done with elastic thread).
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- Lace-ups on the front so you can adjust it.
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- And then gives it that tailored look with a little Shirring.
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- This was a simple t-shirt, rather box-like (the kind guys wear) and Virginia cut it down the middle and attached a ribbon on the top to tie it together. She used a hook and eye for the closure at the top.
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- This was a t-shirt I planned on giving away. It was too saggy and too low.
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- Virginia took 2 plain yellow t-shirts and transformed them into this!
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- Fabric Flowers!
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- Shirring on the back.
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- Lovely, Lovely flowers made with the Sizzix machine. The flowers are cut out in graduated smaller sizes, individually hand-sewn one on top of each other and the pearls added at the last.
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- Just a simple red t-shirt, cut down themiddle, hemmed, ribbon and frill added. It make such a cute overlay and so easy!
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- This t-shirt I got at Good will. Once again, it was altered to make a cute jacket.
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- This was a stained t-shirt that Gin cut off, using the cut-off material for the ruffle. Then she added the skirt by shirring the top of a square piece of material.
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- My pile of t-shirts awaiting makeovers. It’s up to me now, so they may be waiting a loo-o-ong time as Gin is on to bigger and better things… 🙂
Use same idea on sweatshirts to transform into jackets. Watch YouTube videos by NancysNotions
Wonderful! Thanks for that Janis!
I think my favorite is Ginny’s dress. Oh, but the yellow one is really pretty too…..oh and the black one….. 😀 These are very lovely, very lovely indeed. On the shirring sites it does not say how you adjust the elastic thread. It says to wind carefully and to do it by hand. But can you pull it through on the sides after sewing if it is not fitting correctly before you tack it down, like adjusting a gather thread? If one wanted it to specifically fit, it can’t be too loose and it can’t be so tight it defeats the purpose. Virginia have any tips?
And when I sew knits, they “seem” 😉 to move when sewing just a straight seam. I have used strips of light paper to balance the feet. Embroidery paper works very very well, but a little more pricey. Oh, the paper will dull the needle faster, so I tend to mark it and use it only for those purposes. 🙂
Also when readjusting old shirts, I have found that some of the shirts have way to little sleeve, i.e. capped sleeve – they are not 1/4, and I would use a coordinating color(depending on what the use will be) and add a layer to the sleeves. The neck usually gets layers but sometimes the sleeves miss out. 😉
I will ask Virginia and let you know, Mary. I like the idea of adding the coordinating material to the sleeves….!! One thing I forgot to mention in the post was that she uses ball point needles in her sewing machine to work with the knits. She said it is difficult otherwise….so I went out and bought some yesterday with high hopes of doing some of my own makeovers. I hope one day I will actually get to my pile instead of dreaming about it. 😀
Hi Mary,
Ok I pinned Virginia down to ask her for you. Sorry for the tardiness and thanks for the reminder! She said that she doesn’t use the elastic thread in places where it has to be perfectly fitted. She doesn’t think you can pull it, it seems to be pretty static in the material. She thought that maybe one could find a tutorial on how much material per inch of shirring that it uses. Hope that helps. 🙂
Thank you. I did find some tutorials, but it is much nicer to find someone who you can ask questions directly. It seems though, that the general consensus of material per inch of shirring is 1 1/2 to 2 times the amount of the desired finished size. It is somewhat of a guessing game it would “seem.” 😉 It is unfortunate that of the tutorials none of them could really say for certain.
Anyway, please thank Virginia too! 🙂
I LOVE IT, I LOVE IT, I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Haha… Thanks Z! Now you need to get a few done yourself! 😉