T shirt refashion - Stripes and flowers
The completed T shirt, inspired by a trip to Venice
I've really enjoyed giving this second hand T shirt a makeover. It was a charity shop bargain.
My inspiration for the refashion was Venice. I had wanted to visit Italy for so many years and a wonderful opportunity came up to visit and work with an organic clothing company. I spent a day in Venice, taking in the views, the architecture and soaking up the atmosphere. I was particularly taken with the rich fabrics and colourful textures on the gondolas. What an experience!
Here's my Pinterest board, which I put together last week. It really helped me bring my ideas together and get stitching! Venice, stripes and flowers
I wouldn't usually mix stripes and flowers, however, I love stepping out of my creative comfort zone and trying new things.
My top tips for refashioning second hand clothing are, firstly, to check the garment over for general quality of making. In the case of this striped T shirt, I liked the quality of cotton jersey fabric, it wasn't pilled and the stripes matched at the side seams. I like a good quality, blank canvas to work with. Whilst tidying my fabric scraps, a floral print scrap stood out as being the perfect fabric for this project as it reminded me of a plant I admired, growing against a white wall, in the garden of where I stayed in Italy.
I think it'd work just as well on a plain top and also on denim too.
Here's my step by step guide.
With the T shirt on the dress stand, I cut and pinned flowers in place, moving them until I was happy with the positions
I removed the T shirt from the stand and with it on the ironing board I used small squares of Bondaweb to attach the flowers to the T shirt.
With the flowers bonded in place I then took it to the sewing machine and sewed lines of straight stitch (stitch length 3), all around the edges of the flowers and leaves
I incorporated some small creases rather then having completely smooth appliqué
Using small tabs of Bondaweb means the applique is attached to the T shirt but isn't rigid. I didn't want to lose the stretchiness of the T.
The sewing was really enjoyable and relaxing. I made sure I sewed an outline around all the pieces to secure them. One of the many reasons I love refashioning projects is the creativity and breathing of new life into an item of clothing, without spending a lot of money. This is a great way for trying out new skills and experiment with colour combinations. If you purchase a garment from a charity shop you're also spending your money in a meaningful way.If you try these techniques, do share your images with me!
Jennifer x