This t-shirt makeover is inspired by the Nickleby bib top by J Crew and I fell in love with the shirt several months ago.
I have been wanting something different rather than ruffle shirt to wear underneath a cardigan, this was a perfect design for that! I finished making this a while ago. I enjoyed wearing it and took some pictures. I am sharing a quick tutorial with you today, enjoy!
1. Mark the middle of the shirt.
2. Cut the handkerchief. I saved the lace trim from the edges to use later. If you are using regular fabric, cut the fabric to 8 1/2"x 18 1/2" to make pleats. If you are working with a bigger t-shirt, you might want more fabric to make more pleats.
3. I wasn't really thinking when I was working on this project, so I don't have a detailed step by step on how to make pleats. Basically, just fold the fabric and sew along the line, repeat then you will have pleats. I didn't even measure where to fold the fabric, I totally eyeballed it... sorry, I will have better instructions when I work on another pleated project in the future... (in the meantime, you can find a bunch of tutorials if you google it).
After you finish making the pleats, lay the pleated piece by the neckline (make sure the center matches), and cut off the excess to make a curve line.
4. Sew the edge of the lace with largest stitch setting on your sewing machine. Pull a thread to gather the lace to make ruffles. Pin it with the pleated fabric in the center of the t-shirt. Sew.
5. Add trim to the seam of the pleated fabric and lace, and neckline.
6. I decided to use different buttons to give something interesting to the shirt instead of matching buttons.
I wore this shirt several times already since I finished making it. In my opinion, it is slightly less feminine compared to the ruffle shirt, but I love this one too.
I LOVE it! You amazing me each time with your t-shirt transformations! I hope you are feeling better, Merry Christmas!!!
Sachiko! I love this! Great job! You are so talented with your refashions!!!
So lovely! Thank you for the tutorial and for sharing a great ide. Marry Christmas!
love what u did with this plain shirt, especially different buttons! i am button fanatic!
so cute :) thanks for the tutorial dear Sachiko!!
You have created the most gorgeous piece!
So cute. I love the asymmetrical look.
Great idea!!! and i love the different buttons.
This shirt is lovely. Thank you for taking the time to take photos and write a tutorial!
Thats so nice! I must try this next summer.
wow so very pretty! i love the mismatched button idea too! You are so very talented - i want to be like you when i grow up!
Sachiko - this is so GORGEOUS!!! I am in awe of your creativity, simply beautiful.
This is beautiful! I always see lace handkerchiefs like that at the antique mall, and I always want to buy them, but then I don't know what I'd do with them. Now I know.
What a darling shirt!!I will be trying this soon!
I do so hope you are starting to feel better and will be enjoying your holiday!
You are so creative! Thanks for sharing it with all of us.
That looks great! I've seen your other tee shirt makeovers and I love them all. I really want to make one and even have the supplies. I just can't quite figure out which one to make! Maybe I need to make them all!
Absolutely gorgeous!! :) The buttons are such a fun touch. I'll have to make one one of these days. :) Merry Christmas!!
This is really pretty, thanks for sharing! I always make this stuff so much harder in my head and then you make it look so easy!
That is very clever and lovely. Great job.
It looks gorgeous! I can't wait to give it a try!
Bella questa idea, semplice ed elegante,grazie.
No dejas de asombrarme. Eres genial, no cabe duda. Feliz Navidad.
That is just so pretty! I want to make something pretty like you!
I will definitely try that. It looks so easy, too!
This is very cute & goes great with the cardigan, thank you for the tutorial.
I linked it in a serie I'm writing for my blog (http://rock-n-roll-stops-the-traffic.blogspot.com/2012/03/diy-from-head-to-toe-2.html#more) I hope you don't mind!