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.