DIY Ruffle Shirt

Ruffles. Don't they just add a touch of girliness (if you will) to a garment? The answer is, of course, yes. And as far as garments go, they are one of the easiest embellishments you can do yourself. This tutorial will instruct you how to add ruffles to a plain Tshirt. You can use the same color shirt, or do what i did & use a contrasting color to keep things interesting. i am using a fitted tee i found at a thrift store for $1.10, & a too old & too big Tshirt from elementary school that i actually kept. (Yes, the light gray tee is an XL, & it's from 8th grade. i wore super baggy clothes when i was 13. Don't judge.)


To make my ruffle Tshirt
You will need:
Needle, thread, scissors
2 shirts. One that fits & one that is too big.

Let us begin!
1. First, cut the sleeves off of the big shirt. Keep the hems of the sleeves intact. Also cut off the bottom hem, about 3 inches of it, all the way around.

2. Cut the sleeves open and the bottom of the shirt open. You will have 3 strips of fabric. 2 sleeves, 1 bottom hem. Cut each piece down, keeping the length, but making it thinner. One slightly bigger than the next. For example, cut the first sleeve down to 2 inches. Make the next sleeve 3 inches. Make the bottom hem 4 inches.

3. Ruffle each piece. To do this, start at one end and fold over the fabric. Pin the fold in place at the top of the fabric (not the hemmed side).


4. Make these folds all along each strip of fabric and pin each fold in place.



5. Hand or machine sew the folds in place. Keep the pins in as you sew (but be careful!) & remove them as you sew & secure each fold.

6. Now you should have 3 ruffled strips of fabric, 2 the same length (the sleeves ) & one that is slightly wider & longer (the bottom hem).

Arrange each ruffled piece along the Tshirt. It can be in any design, but i did an off center, cascading design for mine. i arranged the smaller pieces on top & the larger piece on the bottom for a slightly dramatic look.

7. Pin the pieces in place & again, sew the pieces on, removing the pins as you go.

Ruffle shirt!

DIY tshirt skirt

Yay a DIY! The t shirt skirt is a relatively easy project, & it's also common. So i know, what makes mine different? The "traditional" (if there is such a thing) t shirt skirt is made out of 2 large t shirts that are cut in triangle type shapes & stitched together to make a kind of parachute-looking pattern. Well it's been done. A lot. & i didn't have 2 large t shirts. i had a bunch of smaller ones.

Yes, yes i come from the days of crop tops. Anyone remember those? Well in elementary & high school they were mostly the rage, those shirts that were cut just at your hips so whenever you moved an inch, part of your stomach or back or something showed just a little. Or a lot, depending on how short the shirt was! Well i thrifted aplenty back in those days as well & as a result i now have several shirts that are too small. No they still fit me, but they are way too tight & way too short! Even too short for layering, trust me i've tried. The thing is they are still perfectly good, & while i could give them away, i'd rather be creative & change them into something i will wear.

Hence, my version of the tshirt skirt!

You will need!
at least 2 too small shirts. (i used 4)
Scissors
Needle & thread or sewing machine
Fabric / Ribbon to use as a drawstring

i went with a common theme, places i haven't been! (Except Colorado.. still).




Cut off sleeves (if any) & cut up the side seam (if any), separating the front & back of the shirt, so you have 2 pieces per 1 shirt.
This is where you be creative. While i used 4 shirts & only used the fronts of 3 of them, you can use both the fronts & back of 2 or more, mix & match however you like. In this particular skirt i'm using the 4th shirt (yellow) as an accent stripe between colors. This is optional.





Take the smallest shirt & measure it up against the rest, using it as a kind of pattern. Cut the shirts down to this size. It will be easier to sew this way.



As i said i'm using the yellow as an accent instead of a full panel. If you want to do it this way, cut 3 strips of even length (same length as the smallest shirt), about 3 inches in width, from anywhere on the shirt.



Arrange the pieces, right side down together, & pin the sides together, so the raw edges are upwards. If you turn the pieces over (right side up), you won't be able to see the seam.



Sew the pinned edges together. This doesn't take long, by hand or sewing machine.



Now you have a skirt, kind of! With the right side of the skirt you're working on, facing down (so you're looking a the inside of the skirt, seams & all) fold the top edge down about an inch. Pin the edge down all the way around the skirt, leaving a 2 inch section unpinned. This section will be where your drawstring will go.
Sew the edge down all the way around except for the 2 inch section.



Cut out the 2 inch section of the folded edge, so you have a beginning & ending of your drawstring-holder. (What's that called??)


Thread your ribbon or fabric through the folded edge. It's easier if you pin a safety pin on one end, & use the pin to work through the fabric as you pull the drawstring through.

Having a drawstring makes the skirt easy on & off, & adjustable so you can wear it on your hips or at your waist.


Just another tiny note...
i'm participating in NaNoWriMo for the first time ever this year. The writing begins on Novemeber 1st, meaning much of my energy will be going towards that. Of course i'll still be updating the blog. But if you'd like to track my progress of writing 50,000 words in 30 days, you can do it here.