Sewing Experiments

I've been practicing sewing on knit fabrics this week! It's pretty tricky, but with the right needle for my sewing machine I'm getting the hang of it. I got my inspiration for these projects from Homemade by Jill and Little Birdie Secrets. Ruffles and flowers will be a lovely addition to my spring/summer wardrobe.

So, ruffles first. Jill explains really well how to make them, so follow her directions here. I couldn't get the zig-zag stitch to work on knit, so I used a flowy zig-zag stitch instead. The first shirt I ruffled was an old plain, white fitted t-shirt from target. I cut off the sleeves and hemmed the edges to make a "tank top" then added ruffles. Here is what I came up with:

Please excuse my roommate's messy room behind me and a fuzzy iPhone pic. :) In all there are three sets of ruffles on the shirt. Hopefully you can't tell where they start and end.

The next shirt I refashioned is a tank top from Old Navy that's about three years old. It was headed to the thrift store, but I figured it would be a good one to experiment with. I cut off the sleeve of a cheap shirt from Target to make the ruffle and sewed it right onto the neckline:

Once again, sorry for the random bathroom mirror shot. This is what happens when your roommates aren't home to take pictures of your creations. I thought about doing ruffles all along the neckline, but I thought it might be a little heavy since the ruffle is a deeper magenta than the shirt. I'm pleased with how it came out. :)

The last shirt I refashioned is the exact same shirt as the pink one, but in teal and I added "flowers". For this one I took another cheap shirt from Target to make the flowers following Little Birdie Secrets instructions. She wasn't as clear as to how she sewed the flowers on, so I had to do a little guess work with that. I don't have as many flowers on my shirt, but I think it turned out well. I can always go back and add more later. Here is is:

Well, what do you think?? I'm pleased with my refashioned clothes so far. If you live close by and want me to experiment on your old clothes, just let me know. :)

Sleep well,
J Squirrel