Just Something I Made: A cheap lesson

Okay, so I really try not to criticize my work too much. But, this one, I just couldn't help. I love the idea of this shirt but the outcome wasn't so great. It's frustrating that it didn't turn out just right but on the other hand, I look at it like this: it was a 50 cent lesson.


Before (I hope to finish the remaining 2 shirts by next week.)



On a whim, I ran into Salvation Army between grocery stores last week. I can't remember what I was actually looking for but I ended up walking out with 4 men's shirts--all for around $2.00. I saw this tutorial a while back and was inspired to make my own shirt. Or rather, Adrian's shirt. I simplified it (or at least, I thought I did) and made my own pattern out of one of A's shirts--just a regular crew-neck tee. I didn't take a picture of the first shirt (it's dirty right now) but it was a simple orange, striped pattern. I made it very basic, a short-sleeved, crew-neck tee. The only problem was, I popped a few stitches when I tried it on Adrian and once it was on, the neckline seemed a little too baggy. I was already starting to see the beauty of the envelope-style neckline from the tutorial...

So, for the next shirt, I thought I would try adding a button. That way, it would fit easily over his head and the neckline could stay smaller. I copied the way everything was laid out on the original men's shirt, minus the collar. Agh! I don't know if it would have been easier to try my own thing or not. My stitching ended up being all uneven because I couldn't get the fabric to come together just right. Maybe I should have started with something simpler! 

The buttonhole was the last step. I had never made one with my sewing machine so I looked it up in the manual and put everything together right, or so I thought. It probably took me 6 hours before I finally got it right, it turns out I had missed one more attachment piece. Once that was in place, it was very simple, I lined up the machine and pressed the foot control until it was done. Easy peasy! Except, when I went to rip through the center, I snagged some stitches. I 'fixed' that but it looks really sloppy now and I still didn't figure out how to do it better. My practice buttonhole turned out pefectly! Anyhow, I'll probably be cringing everytime he wears this shirt but, again, it was a 50 cent lesson!

I love how the sleeves turned out anyway, I used the edge of the original sleeves. I still have 2 more shirts to upcycle, and plenty more waiting at the thrift!