Tuesday, March 2, 2010

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

3 comments:

  1. I'm so impressed! All your creations could be sold at J. Crew. I have no patience for sewing - especially knitted material, so i totally admire your work!

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  2. AsianCajuns, you should come over with some clothes you want to "fix". We can have a sewing hour! :)

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  3. Super cute, Julia!! I so need to learn a thing or two from you...

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