23 March 2010

T-shirt makeovers part 3

Sorry for the lulls in this t-shirt series.  Last week was Spring Break for us.  And I had a great time spending the week with my kiddos and doing little else but that!

My last t-shirt makeover is for you!  I found this sort of slub knit shirt from a couple years ago that had totally lost it's charm. And whaddaya know,  slub knit is IN, not only that but it's IN along with flowers and lace and other dainty Anthropologie-like details.  And here is my version of that look.

I love all the gunmetal and metallic influences I've been seeing on the racks.  So I went with that sort of neutrality on the shirt, even though it's Spring and I've been itching for color.  Looks like gray and shades of it might stick around a bit longer, anyway!

Here's what I used:

old tee
ribbon (see pic below)
lace
tiny pearl beads
needle/thread
fabric glue
No Fray



And here's what I did.  I made flowers out of the lace as shown below.  I folded the lace inward toward where my flower center would be, it was sort of like putting darts in it every inch or so, and as I went I shaped the lace into a circle.  Whipped a few stitches through the center being sure to catch all the folds.






I then took a sheer cream colored ribbon and used No Fray on the edges.  Folded it in half as shown below and then again into quarters.  This hides the center of the lace flowers.  Whipped a few stitches through and added some pearl beads to the center to polish it up.



Then I formed my leaves.  I folded my ribbon (use the No fray on the edges first!) 4 times back and forth, like an accordion or fan, as shown below.  Stitched the sides closed so that it opened up a little in the center, looking like a leaf!






After I placed my flowers where I wanted them on the tee, I stitched each one in the center and around some of the edges - to help the flower lie that way I wanted it to and to prevent it from curling up when I wash it.  Once the flowers were stitched on I stitched the leaves on in between the flowers and reinforced them with fabric glue so they'd stay perky and so they wouldn't pull or stretch the fabric.






This tee looks great with my new shimmery gladiator sandals and rolled up boyfriend jeans.  It also looks great with a long gray chiffon shirt and heels and sparkly jewelry!  Love that versatility!

Linking up:

Show and Tell Green

4 comments:

chris said...

Very pretty. Isn't it nice to make something useful again?

Anne said...

love this one!

Jen @ tatertotsandjello.com said...

Lei - that is so cute. I love that embellishment. Darling!

XOXO
Jen

Andrea said...

That looks really pretty. I am working on a similar tshirt for my daughter. I'm copying a J Crew shirt I got for Christmas!