T-Shirt Remodelling

Before and After

Once a week I take classes at a homeschool coop and they require that we wear these blue tee shirts, for the sake of modesty. Well, as you know, I love modesty... but after more than a year I still didn't love the shirt. I liked the color, but not much else. The collar was uncomfortably tight and annoying and the shirt was definitely a size too big for me. So I resewed it! Here are the steps I took:

1. I turned the blue shirt inside out. I then found a shirt that fit me the way I wanted the blue one to, (not too tight or loose), and placed it over the blue shirt. 

2. I traced around the outside of the shirt with chalk.

 

3. I removed the striped, guiding shirt and sewed the sides, sleeves, and collar along the chalk lines.

4. On the bottom of the shirt, I wanted the front to be higher than the back, so I found the center of the front piece and pinned it up to create a nice curve, like so:

 I then sewed a line across the front, bottom edge.

5. I trimmed a little of the extra fabric off for comfort (and a headband)

There you have it! It took me about half an hour of work and this was the result:

Tips:

• When making the collar and bottom hem/seems, fold fabric over twice to prevent fraying and a cleaner seem.
• If at any point you feel unsure about what you just sewed, flip right side out and try on.
• If you make the mistake of making the collar too large, create a pleat on each shoulder to bring it in. It still looks cute and people will think you planned it like that (trust me, I've done that on other shirts before).

If you have any comments, suggestions, corrections or anything else, feel free to put them in the comment section below.

~Mariana