Add a Ruffled Collar

 Hello Readers. Let's make a men's button-up shirt by adding a ruffle at the collar. It adds a fun new shape and detail at the neckline. This was quick and easy to do. It didn't require any extra fabric. You just need a men's shirt. 

Before and after. 

Our first step is to use a seam ripper to open the collar and remove it. I unpicked stitch after stitch until the collar could be open.This wasn't difficult at all. 

 

The band around the top of the shirt is open now and I could remove that collar. It came right out and I don't need it anymore. It can be tossed out or saved for scrap fabric.

 

I cut the bottom edge off my shirt. I wanted a 2 inch wide piece along the entire hemline of the shirt. I also cut off 2 extra inches just to shorten my shirt. It was a men's shirt so it was long on me, you don't need to make your shirt even shorter. That is just what I wanted. You can leave the length intact. The only piece you need is the 2 inches of the  hemmed edge of the shirt. 

 

I inserted the piece from the bottom of the shirt that I cut off, into that neckband. The raw cut edge goes into the band like filling into a taco. The finished hemline is sticking out at the top. I gathered the long piece so that it made a ruffle around the neck. 

 

The pins and clips hold the ruffle in place. It needs to be pinned and/or clipped or it will fall out. The pins will really help keep the ruffle gathered while I sew it in. It was a simple straight stitch along the collar band to hold it in place.

 

Stitch slowly and remove the pins one by one as you sew along. 
 

 I stitched the new collar in place and it looks so cute. You can see the finished collar here. I stitched along the line of stitches that I had picked out in the beginning so the collar looks nice and neat.  

 

I needed to hem the bottom of the shirt since I had cut it. I turned the edge in twice and ironed a sharp fold. I wanted it to be smooth and the hot iron really helps.

 

I used my sewing machine to sew the new hemline with a straight stitch. This only took a few minutes but it really makes the shirt look well finished. 

 

My new collar is finished and I like the feminine ruffle. It is a fun change without a lot of time, work, or extra supplies. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 
 

 

 

 

 
 

 

Make Shorts Bigger

 Hello Readers. Sometimes we get too big for our clothes. It's sad but true. We gain weight and those clothes we loved are suddenly too tight. And what if they shrink in the dryer? It happens to all of us at some point. Let's find a way to fix that. 

These denim shorts got too tight, but it's a quick and easy fix. 

I needed to choose some fabric to put in the sides of my shorts. I chose this denim that I had on hand. You could choose a contrasting color if you want, any color will work. Try to pick a fabric that is strong and sturdy like denim. A thick woven cotton would be great. A thin light weight fabric won't hold up with the denim. You need enough to make 2 equal side panels. You can make the side panels any width you need to make your shorts fit again. 

I sewed across the top of my new denim piece. I wanted to keep the top edge from fraying. This new piece of fabric should be the same length as your shorts. You will want the side panels to be the a similar length as the shorts.

 

I turned that edge under and stitched it down with light blue thread to match the denim as best I could. Try to match your thread the best you can to your denim or the thread in the original shorts to get a uniform cohesive look. 

The first step is to cut the shorts open. I found the side seam and cut the seam open with sharp sewing scissors. Sharp scissors will give you a clean cut edge. Set the shorts aside for now.

 

Make sure to trim off any of the side seam stitching that might still be attached. The cuts need to be sharp and clean. 

 

I sewed one side of the new side panel to one side of the shorts. I made sure that the right sides were facing each other for this. I also made sure the top seam I just sewed on the side panel is at the top of the shorts. That will give me a nice neat waistband.  
 

I tried the shorts on. They wouldn't stay up yet but this let me double check the width of the side panel. How wide did it need to be to make these shorts comfortable? I needed about 2 inches at the waist, 3-4 inches at the hip and 1/4 inch for the seam allowance. 

 

I cut the extra fabric off my side panel. It's big enough for both sides. Now I can sew the side panel in on the other side. 

 

You can see my side panels are too short but I wanted to cut my shorts to match the length of the side panels. 

 

I used my scissors to cut the shorts to the length I wanted. The best part of denim cut offs is that we don't need to hem the bottom of each leg. What as time saver!

  

You can see the side panel here. It is sewn in well and the new length is fun too. 

I washed and dried my shorts to get that nice frayed edge along the bottom of each leg. 

My new shorts fit well and I was happy with them when I was done. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scarf to Top

 Hello Readers. I found this 2-piece set at a thrift store and loved it so much. It has wine & cheese and martinis & olives all over it. It was also very comfy to wear. I was sold. 

Before and after.

Here is the problem. There was no matching top, just a matching scarf. I really wanted a matching top to go with these very unique pants. So, I decided to make one. The only fabric I had was the scarf so it was going to have to work. Could I make a top of some kind with this square of fabric? I was going to try. 

 

I folded the fabric in half. To make a top that fir all the way around my body I would need all this fabric.

 

I cut the square in half. I had 2 identical rectangles here. I wanted to be careful with the pattern. I didn't want some of it to be upside down. 

 

The simplest top I could think of was a tube top. I would need all of one rectangle and most of the second to make a top big enough. This cotton had no stretch at all. It could not be tight, it had to be roomy so I could move and breathe. 

 

I sewed my pieces together to make a tube. 

 

And here is my tube. It is not even near done. And I want straps, I don't really like strapless tops. Let's keep going. 

 

I had these two end pieces left over. Could I make straps from these? I think I can. 

 

I folded the edge over and sewed it down. I put elastic through that casing to make a wide puffy strap. I was just making this up as I went and hoping for the best. I didn't have enough fabric to make real sleeves so wide straps was going to be what I ended up with. 

 

I turned the edge of the top under and sewed that down. I put narrow elastic through that casing top keep the top edge close to my body.Then I pinned my straps in place. Having a dress form made this easy. 

  

I sewed across the fabric where the pins were to attach the straps to the top. 

 

I cut the pants shorter and made a new hem. I am short so I usually, almost always, need to shorten my pant legs.

 

 

I can tuck the top in or...

 

I can leave it out. The straps cover my shoulders and I like how it turned out. Thanks for reading along, now go make something for yourself. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

Shortening Linen Tunics

 Hello Readers. A lot of my sewing stems from being super short. I am only 5' tall. Clothing manufacturers do not have me in mind when they make clothes, everything needs to be shortened. That's OK, let's talk about shortening tunics. Tunics are meant to be long but what if you want a shorter length? How do you decide on a length? 

Before and after.

Is it a tunic or is it a dress? I like to thrift and I ended up with these 2 linen tunics. I love linen, it's so nice for summer. These tunic tops were too much to tuck in when wearing pants and not enough to wear alone as a dress. I really wanted 2 shirts. Shirts are kind of boring but we all need those kind of basics in the closet. Let's make a couple shirts from these tunic tops. 

 

You don't need a paper pattern from the sewing store, you just need a shirt you already own and like to wear. If you want to tuck your shirt in, get a shirt from your closet that fits you well and tucks in nicely. If you want a more cropped length, grab a shirt you already own that is a good length for that. I used a shirt I already liked as a guide for the length I wanted to make my new shirt. Using a shirt you already own and like is great because it doesn't cost anything and you know you will like the fit & length because you like the original shirt's fit & length.

 

I like the length of the floral shirt here and used it to cut the excess length from my tunic. I didn't cut it the same length, I need extra to make the new hem. Linen frays like crazy, a new hem has to be sewn. I left an extra inch in length to make the hem. Use sharp sewing scissors to make a clean cut. That will make it easier to sew the new hem.

 

I used the floral shirt for the pink tunic too. I left an inch of length to make my hem on both shirts. 

 

I used my serger on the cut edge of my tunics. I stitched all the way around the bottom of each shirt. Linen frays so quickly and easily, I wanted to keep that fraying to a minimum. 

 

You can see the serger seam here. I ironed each shirt with a very hot iron. I wanted the edge turned in so I could sew my new hem. I could have turned the edge under twice but linen can be thick and I did not want the hem of the shirts to be too thick or bulky. The serger will keep it from fraying and...

 

I used my sewing machine to sew the new hem in place. I sewed using a straight stitch all the way around the hem of my shirts to keep the hem in place and keep the serger stitches hidden. 

 

The shirts had long sleeves and my arms are pretty short. (Short woman-Short arms.) The blue shirt had straps and buttons to keep the sleeves pulled up a bit and out of my way. 

 

The pink shirt had plain simple sleeves and they were too long on me. I decided to add elastic so I could push the sleeves up and keep them out of my way. 

 

I used my seam ripper to open the end of the sleeve. I didn't take out the whole seam, I only needed a few stitches removed. 

 

I used a safety pin and narrow elastic to alter the sleeves. I attached the pin to the elastic and threaded the elastic through the opening at the end of the sleeve. This only took a few minutes. You can wrap the elastic around your arm to get the size correct. Everyone's arm will be different size so check your elastic before you put it in the shirt. 

 

I tied my elastic in a little knot to connect the ends of the elastic. When I was done, I tucked the knot into the opening. 

 

I sewed the opening closed again so that it will look nice and neat. The elastic is hidden but I can keep the sleeves out of my way. 

 

 Both of my shirts turned out great, I love the new length. And those long sleeves cover my arms but stay pushed up, out of my way. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.