Thursday, November 27, 2014

A Holiday


           

                                                 The Tea Party by George Sheriden Knowles 


Hello Ladies,

Everyone in the country is taking a holiday. I prepared the meal yesterday so that I would have less clean-up today.  I also was able take a couple of hours to do something I have been wanting to do for quite a long time.
       

Altering store-bought t-shirts is interesting to me and I have seen quite a few ideas on Pinterest, Etsey and blog tutorials. If you want to see some of them, just do a web search and see there seems to be no limit to the creative and artsy things done with ladies t-shirts.  As you can see from the above photo, I bought two t-shirts. On sale, these amount to sometimes $3.00  to $6.00 each.  I would suggest using two children's t-shirts, which are sometimes sold in the crafts section at various stores. The children's shirts would be a smaller, quicker project.  

                                   
I cut up one of the shirts, including the sleeves, into strips the width of the ruffles I preferred. I would suggest buying a larger size of one of the t-shirts in order to get more strips for ruffles.  I bought the same size shirt and it did not yield as much fabric.

                                        
First I took all those strips of fabric and sewed them to make a long, continuous strip.
Although I do not yet have a machine ruffler attachment, I found that setting the machine to a long stitch and sewing on one edge of the fabric in line with the presser-foot made a sufficient gather on its own. By placing my hand behind the presser-foot and firmly holding the fabric there as the machine stitched, it created a gathering effect, so I did not have to hand-gather the stitches except in a couple of areas where I pulled flat areas up with a straight pin.




The first strip I sewed right along the neckline to the shoulder seam, stitching on top of the fourth-inch gathering line. I cut the piece off from the long strip and tucked the ends under and stitched to give it a finished look.  This fabric does not ravel or shred, so hemming or stitching the raw edges is not necessary. At this stage,  or any stage of the project you could quit sewing on layers and leave it. It will look good any way.


The next ruffle went slightly under the previous one. The ruffle above it covers the stitching.

Since the fabric is stretchy, it is a bit easier to manipulate the blouse on the machine. Just make sure you sew the top layer. It takes some maneuvering, so if you are not confident with a sewing machine, it would be a good idea to practice sewing a piece of ruffle on another piece of fabric first.

This is what the pinning looks like for the next ruffle.  The spaces between the ruffles are kept the same. Sew the ruffle from seam-to seam, tucking the ends under at each side.


Some of these styles only use one or two ruffles, and others use vertical or diagonal ruffles. Other styles add rolled roses and ties made of the same fabric. Check around for all the possibilities in sewing one of these.

Some ladies find that t-shirts do not suit them, and this is one way to alter a shirt and give it an added layer on the front. Adding little pieces also provides a bit more modesty where needed.There is also a way of sewing on the ruffles to make the blouse look like there is a co-ordinating scarf with it, and the scarf does not get in the way of all the things you have to do, or get caught on anything.  

This project can take two hours, give or take depending on everything that goes on in a home :-)

I really like it with this outfit. Even with all the rows of ruffles, the blouse is as lightweight as a feather, so I would recommend buying the softest and most lightweight shirts you can find.

I hope to post again soon and show my table setting here on Thanksgiving Day. The weather is warm, near the 60's F with a soft wind that is scattering the fallen leaves. The grass is green and the sky is one big white expanse, so we are not expecting the sun to peek through.

I hope all is well with you and that those of you who are observing Thanksgiving overseas will have a lovely day.


I would like to try to vertical and horizontal ruffles and the rolled roses if I find more tee shirts I like. This is a pinky-apricot color that does not show its best in the picture.  Even 
with all the ruffles, this is a very lightweight shirt, possibly from using thinner t-shirts.

14 comments:

living from glory to glory said...

Dear Lydia, I am waiting for our company! I was glad I decided to check on this post that you have done for us! I am thinking this is the cutest idea for a T-shirt I have ever seen!
I did PIN it to one of my boards!
Lovely Day to you!
Roxy

Lydia said...

Thanks Roxy, you are sweet as usual. I am waiting for my crowd, too. I will try to get one of them to take a better photo of me wearing the shirt. Last night the light was not too good.

Julian said...

Very,very pretty!
Great job! Christina

anonymous said...

Hi Lydia,

I realy like what you have done with the t-shirts. So pretty and feminine.

We celebrated Thanksgiving twice this year so that our daughter could attend. She is a nurse at a local hospital and had to work today. It was nice having everyone around the
table even if we had to do it twice.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you sweet ladies on the blog.

I am thankful to the Lord that we have the freedoms we do.

Mrs. J.

anonymous said...

Hi Lydia,

I realy like what you have done with the t-shirts. So pretty and feminine.

We celebrated Thanksgiving twice this year so that our daughter could attend. She is a nurse at a local hospital and had to work today. It was nice having everyone around the
table even if we had to do it twice.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you sweet ladies on the blog.

I am thankful to the Lord that we have the freedoms we do.

Mrs. J.

Andrea R said...

Beautiful idea! This would be so flattering with skirts, whereas, a plain t-shirt is too see through for me and plain unless I pair it with something over..which can be hot when my pregnant thermometer is on "way too warm", ha!

I've only altered a baby t-shirt. I made a really cute gift for a friend having a girl. It was made into a rosette style tu-tu outfit with matching headband.

I love your tutorials. God Bless, and hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving!

Susan said...

I just love that, especially the color. It's feminine but yet practical. Thank you so much for sharing it.

J♥Yce Burrows said...

So feminine lovely ~ the color and design; thanks for the wonderful ideas you share!

Was going to email but thought others may be interested in the current Black Friday sale at Craftsy.com ~ ALL classes $19.99 or less. Example: each sewing class by Suzy Furrer(2 Patternmaking Basics and 4 Patternmaking + Design) normally $69.99 are $19.99. That's a HUGE savings ~ our sons suggested me to pick something from my wishlist and they'll pay: Merry Christmas, Mom! Last I looked their website said: Hurry, offer expires Monday, December 1, 2014 at 11:59 PM MT.

Hope everyone had a gratefully lovely Thanksgiving! :-)

Lydia said...

Thank you so much, Joyce. I am hoping to take some online courses this year.

J♥Yce Burrows said...

You are very welcome, Lydia! I've enjoyed Craftsy...the free mini-classes are a great place to begin. So much learned and to learn ~ and they take suggestions. I'm hoping for classes that teach similar to books I have seen over the years and skills of the lady sharing the florals and monograms at http://elisabettaricami.blogspot.com/ :-)

Finding Joy said...

What a lovely idea. I have bought two courses from Craftsy this weekend and very thankful for the savings. I thought the one on necklines would be very useful and the other is on how to make a Tshirt as most modern Ts are so poorly made and only last a season.

Cynthia Berenger said...

Dear Lady Lydia,

How pretty! This modified t-shirt is the very thing to add a feminine touch to an overly serious outfit or to wear on its own with a pretty skirt.

Cynthia Berenger

Lydia said...

Cynthia, the ruffles make the otherwise square shape look softer and more feminine. Do a web search for adding ruffles to t-shirts and you will see some very pretty effects.

Ginger said...

I am checking in after a long absence to thank you. I believe it was the year 2009, when I first read your skirts only ideas. I decided to try it out and haven't looked back. I also grew out my hair. Since I travel quite a bit, I have developed a sort of uniform that packs well and takes me from tropics to desert to snow country--not to mention home to garden to restaurant to church. Most days, I wear a (not tight) straight, yoked skirt sans waistband with a boiled wool jacket or cashmere cardigan or both or neither depending on the weather. I add color to my ensemble with long or short sleeved French cut but not tight fitting tee and matching hair band. In winter I wear flat boots or clogs or mary janes with wool blend or cotton tights. In summer sandals or eyelet ballet flats or keds canvas tennis shoes protect my feet depending on the activity. After a short breaking in period, I learned pants aren’t more comfortable or easier; I was simply used to pants. A skirt never cuts one up the middle or slips down to show one’s rear end. Wearing a skirt with long hair hanging down my back, I'll never be mistaken for a man. I feel feminine, functional, and fully clothed. Thank you for your ministry.