Lately, I've been on the hunt for the perfect denim shirt or jacket. They go with practically everything and they are definitely "in" right now. When my mom put an old denim shirt in the "to get rid of" pile, I snatched it and decided to try to alter it to fit me. If I ruined it, no big deal. And no, I didn't ruin it, but I came close a few times. (I didn't take a before picture of just the shirt, but I wore it in this post, so you can see it there.)
I don't have a full tutorial for you, but here's a few tips that may or may not be helpful.
First of all, put your shirt on inside out and pin it around your body so that it fits you the way you like it. Then sew along where you've pinned.
Ideally, you could save the sleeves, but I wanted to take them in, so I cut them off and then got too lazy and frusterated to figure out how to put them back on properly. So I settled for a vest instead.
The arm holes gave me problems. I thought I should just sew up the sides leaving an armhole the size I wanted, but when I did that, the chest no longer fit right. So I ripped it out and sewed it up with the original arm hole size. Then it fit in the front, but the armholes were huge and gaping. Grr. All that to say, darts are your friend and not that hard. Just make a dart from the sleeve going in. It will fix your shaping problems if you do it right. Again, try it on and pin it while you're wearing it.
After you sew on your darts, try it on to make sure they're even. Mine weren't, so I tried again. And I had to take off the pocket to sew the darts, hence the big ugly spot. Once I got the darts right, I just sewed the pocket back on.
Hem the arm holes, fix any broken buttons (I had to...) and adjust the length of the shirt if desired. And you're done!
See? It fits waaaay better now.
Although it wasn't what I had envisioned, it's not horrible. I saved it and turned it into something I can wear without looking like a tent. Always a bonus. :) I also may add some contrasting pockets or something to this shirt sometime as well.
And here's a sneak preview (a.k.a. really bad picture) of the results of a half hour in one of my favorite little thrift stores. If you live in the area, check it out! It's called Chase Me Again and it's located in downtown Gresham. Their prices are extremely reasonable and the best part is that all the proceeds go to local charities!
I got a pair of red granny shorts (all shorts were $1 today!) that I plan to turn into a skirt tomorrow, a leather purse (I've been wanting one for a while), and three books (books were 1/2 off today!). I know that this is unrelated to my shirt refashion, but I was a little excited about my finds. ;)
Thanks for hanging with my long-ish post!
Niki
2 comments:
Cute!!
Thanks!
Niki
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