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4.18.2011

Maternity Shirt...sort of

 Last week was a busy one at the Circus Berry household, with hubby away on business then a visit from my mom (filled with lots of DIY talk and food).  I did manage to do some refashions during Moira's bedtime...a little here and a little there.  Here is one of the results...


A little background first...couple of weeks ago I went through my wardrobe to get rid of some stuff and ended up with the crazy idea to refashion some things instead of giving them to Goodwill.  The refashions have been going on since then, giving me 2 'new' articles of clothing so far (well, 3 but one is not included in this post).  These are what I will call my (enter air quotes) "maternity shirts".  I do intend on wearing them after baby arrives, hence the air quotes.

They are simply made from a top of one shirt, a bottom of another shirt (or nightgown, in the case of the other shirt I made in the same fashion...not pictured here).  Here is what I did:

Tried on my "top" and marked where I wanted it to end and cut across there.  (I also ended up cutting of  the sleeves and shaped the neckline a little differently).  I cut the "bottom" right under the arms (maternity here people...I need that extra fabric to cover up the ever-growing bump).

Sewed a basting stitch around the top of the "bottom" fabric.

Gathered the top of the "bottom".

With the right sides together, pinned the top to the bottom

Adjusted my gathers so the bottom side seam lined up with the top side seams and stitched the two together, 1/2 inch from the edge, using a zig-zag stitch.

Tore out my basting/gathering stitch.

 Suppose I could have stopped here, but noooooo.....

 Took the bottom remaining fabric of my "top".

Pinned the remaining fabric to my shirt, to cover up the seam and gathered/scrunched it up a bit.

 Hand-stitched some of the gathers in place a the side seams.

 Gotta keep those scrunches in place (very technical, I know)...

 And here I have a finished shirt...but wait...

Gathered the shoulders a bit...I love gathers.

 Took some strips of the "bottom" fabric (not the sleeves though...saving those for another day).

Stitched the ends together to make long strips.

Made some rosettes.  I also love rosettes. (GREAT rosette tutorial at Little Birdie Secrets if you are not sure how to make these cutsies).

Stitched the rosettes along the neckline...DONE!

Thank you Momma for the photography! And for not making me stand and pose for too long!

:)
Anne

2 comments:

  1. Very cute Anne!! You are so talented! I need to get more practice withe my sewing machine! I am actually in the process of getting clothes ready for goodwill....I may have to keep a few items and see if I can refashion them!

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  2. wow! i love this! i have been searching the internet for some ideas, this so different than all of the other ones. thanks for sharing

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