Making a Shirt out of a Random Pattern and some Scrap Fabric
Remember back to 5 months ago when I hinted at a new project I was definitely going to be working on in the near(ish) future? I really had plans to get this done and posted closer to finishing my laptop lap desk. I even cut all the pattern pieces out right after finishing that.
Unsurprisingly, I set it aside and sort of forgot about it.
Now you’ll remember this from the lap desk.
I cut out the pattern pieces right around the same time I was working on that. I then appear to have lost the pictures of that process.
Or I didn’t take any because it was dark and I was watching a movie and possibly still sick (a slightly disastrous combination as we’ll soon see).
Fast forward roughly 5 months to the 16th of August when I decided to finally finish this project.
I dug everything out around 8pm as the light was rapidly fading. I figured if I started right away I could probably have the whole thing done by 10pm.
But alas she did not start at that exact moment because she desperately wanted some peanut butter cookies and decided that whipping up a quick batch wouldn’t take too long and should only push the completion of the shirt to 11pm.
P.S. here’s the recipe if any of you are now also craving peanut butter cookies… you’re welcome :)
Easiest PB Cookies ever
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of peanut butter
1 egg
Some vanilla (optional)
Mix all those ingredients together. Roll into balls. Grab a fork and press that signature cross hatch pattern into each cookies. Toss them in the oven and that’s it.
I don’t really remember what temperature they bake at or how long they need to bake for, but just go for standard cookie temp and bake length. Maybe try 325°F for 15-20 minutes or if you forget to set a timer, take them out when you start to smell them.
These did not have enough peanut butter in them and I fear I baked them too long at too high of a temperature.
But, ta da, there you have some super yummy, super easy peanut butter cookies.
Anyhow, by the time this was all done, it was late and I didn’t want to keep people up with my sewing machine. So I hand sewed the gathers and called it a night.
Saturday, I remembered why I gave up on this project back in March. I needed interfacing and didn’t have any. Surprisingly none has spontaneously materialized in my fabric stash.
After a not-so-quick trip to the fabric store I had everything I needed.
Or so I thought…
Now gentle readers brace yourselves for the series of unfortunate events that occurred after this seemingly victorious acquisition of fusible interfacing.
First I came down with a horrible migraine, then decided making tortillas was far more important than sewing a shirt. Yes, these tortillas were easy enough to make with a migraine and they turned out really well. Oh you want that recipe as well? Here’s the best homemade tortillas ever. Enjoy.
Alas, after that I was useless to any creative endeavors and decided to finish the shirt on Sunday instead.
Sunday morning, ehm I mean afternoon (I still had a bad headache and didn’t wake up till around noon), I got my whole sewing station set up.
On the floor.
Next to my plants.
The top of the sleeve pinned in place.
Yes, pins are very integral to this process as the fabric is extremely slippery.
And started to sew.
Or I tried to. Except nothing happened. I tried again, and still nothing. I ran a bunch of tests, adjusted everything that could be adjusted, and a whole lot more nothing happened.
After some research I discovered that I need a special needle to sew with stretch fabrics. I didn’t particularly feel like going to the fabric store again so I gave up and read for the rest of the afternoon instead.
At this point you may be asking, “Did your floors change color?” and no, no they have not. I just moved again and now live in a new apartment with a different floor color. Out of all of the places I’ve lived this is the one I’m most excited about as the natural lighting and color of the floor lends itself really well to taking pictures.
I think out of the 9 different places I have lived in over the past 6 years, I’ve posted from at least 5 of them. It’s kind of cool to have this as sort of a journal of my life and memories from each of my homes.
Right yes, I’m supposed to be making a shirt here. Apologies for the detour.
Finally, after another week passed, I got the right needle and was able to start sewing.
At which point, everything went so smoothly that I forgot I was supposed to be documenting the process. I really need to fire my photographer.
Anyhow, here’s an “aesthetically” beautiful shot of the top stitching on the inside of the collar.
After getting the back stitched up and the sides, I felt like I needed to try it on.
You know that old saying, “measure twice cut once.” Well I typically never measure and cut stuff out and hope for the best.
I mentioned earlier that I cut this shirt out while sick and watching one of my favorite movies. After I had cut all the pieces out, I decided to check my measurements and see what size I should have cut out. You guessed it, my size was not the size I had cut out.
The truly unfortunate part of this tale is I had enough fabric to cut out a bigger size, but not enough to cut out a second one after this one. Undaunted (well, slightly daunted, I did avoid making it for 5 months), I just took smaller seam allowances and hoped for the best.
As you can see, it’s going to fit!
Trying this on also made me realize it may be time to invest in some sharper scissors so I can cut straighter lines.
Anyhow, after that I gathered the bottom so it fit within the circumference (oh, big word) of the waistband. Then sewed the waistband on.
Once it was fully attached, I folded it in half and pinned it in place on the inside of the shirt.
It also seemed necessary to try it on at this point, which was a terrible mistake as there were a lot of pins and it felt like what I imagine hugging a cactus would be like.
Hand sewing the waistband down took me around an hour and a half.
It may have been faster if I hadn’t tried to do it while watching a movie that weirdly applied exactly to where I’m at in my life. Also, it got dark and eye sight is slightly important for sewing little details.
All that remained was attaching the buttons, sewing a button hole, adding a loop for the back, and hemming the sleeves, and then it was done.
I am so excited by how well it turned out! A lot of my projects don’t always work out as well as I’d like them to, but this one is prefect! Well, as close to perfect as I’m capable of.
It fits well enough that I can wear it for dancing. It’s sparkly and surprisingly comfortable. Pictures are not doing it justice (rather, I don’t have a great set up for pictures at the moment and the mirror is the best option). Also, I need different pants to wear with it, but this is what I have at the moment.
The vision is wide legged black trouser style pants. They’re great for dancing and I think would look great with this. Alas, right now, it’s more important to me to have the shirt done and I’ll figure out the details at a later time.
Thank you all for joining me on this journey. I have a skirt pattern that I want to make next I think. We’ll see what happens.
