Upcycle: T-shirt to Summer Shirred Top or Tunic Sewing Tutorial

Here’s a quick sewing tutorial for making a shirred top or tunic from an adult t-shirt. I had planned to give away these T-shirts, because they’re too big for me. Instead I thought I would repurpose them, because the knit fabric is really nice.  My daughter loves shirred tops and dresses, and loves to wear knits more than woven fabrics. This color is one of her favorites, so I think this will go over well 🙂

To do this upcylcle, you’ll need:

• Elastic thread (I used 2 1/2 spools of Gutermann) and regular sewing thread
• Stretch needle and Stretch Twin needle
• Iron/ironing board
• Straight edge, cutting mat, and rotary cutter–extremely helpful, but scissors will also do the job
• T-shirt
• Fabric marking pen, optional

Step one:

Measure how long you want the top or tunic. For smaller children, you may not need the entire length of  the Tee. If you don’t, then  measure from hem up to your needed length on both sides, to make sure you cut it straight and it isn’t longer on one side when all said and done.  If you plan to finish top edge by folding and sewing, the include a hem allowance in your measurement. For raw edge or serged edge, no hem allowance is needed.

For my 10 year old, she wanted a tunic, so I used all of the shirt that I could. Place the straight edge  just under the sleeves (or at the cutting line marks you’ve made).  Use rotary cuter and cut the bottom off the tee.

Step 2

<<Insert stretch needle>>

Hem or finish the top edge.You can fold over toward the inside and press, then stitch in place.

I did a simple rolled hem on my serger. Make sure you use a stretch needle in your serger as well.  You can also leave this edge unfinished, as the fabric won’t fray.

The lower edge is already finished and will be the hem of the top or tunic.

Step 3

Wind the bobbin with elastic thread. First put the end of the thread through the hole in the bobbin, then wind elastic thread onto bobbin. Make sure it is not loose, pull  on the thread very slightly as you wind. Don’t pull too much, just slightly. Try to pull and wind as evenly as you can for best results when sewing.  Make sure not to wind the bobbin too full, or it won’t unwind smoothly as you sew.

After bobbin is wound, trim end that you put through hole to get started.

Thread the machine with regular thread on top for the needle, and the elastic thread in the bobbin. Make sure you are using a stretch needle.

Step 4

If it helps you, then make sewing lines with tailor’s chalk or fabric marker on the right side of your fabric. I sew my lines about 3/8 of an inch apart. I prefer not to mark sewing lines and use the side of my presser foot to guide my sewing.

With the right side of the fabric facing up, sew straight stitching  lines. Use a long stitch length. I used 5 on this example. A 4 stitching length should also work just fine. Start sewing at one of the  sides, an inch before the side seam. Back stitch to secure (I sew back and forth a couple of times–just to be sure). Sew all the way around and sew past where you started about 2 inches. ** Then back stitch to secure. Trim threads and repeat for as many rows as you want for your top.

**Starting/ending each row of stitching: You can also tie the thread ends together to secure, but you will need to start and end in the same place, so that your threads are close enough to tie together. Below shows both sewing examples.

As you sew your rows, make sure you are pulling/holding the fabric flat as you sew, in front and in back of the presser foot. The elastic thread will make it bunch up, but you don’t want to sew it while it’s bunched. See photos below for examples 🙂 second picture show fabric flattened in front only, because I needed my other hand to take the picture. One hand in front of the presser foot and the other hand in back of the presser foot to hold fabric flat as you sew works best.

Step 5

Ribbons or bias tape could be substituted, but I love the stretchy feel of knit straps.

Cut straps from the top portion of the tee. My tee was a V-neck, so I could only use the back of the shirt. Cut the top portion of the tee open, by cutting the sleeve open. Then I cut strips 1 1/2 inches wide with my rotary cutter and straight edge.

Fold the raw edges in toward the middle, and iron the straps, as shown. I use spray starch to help them stay pressed.Make sure the right side of fabric is on the outside.

Insert a stretch twin needle and thread your machine. I explain how to properly thread your machine when using twin needles here. Make sure you replace the bobbin with regular sewing thread. With right side facing up, sew down the center of the straps. It’s important to either use a twin stretch needle or a zigzag stitch with a single needle, so that your strap can stretch without breaking the thread.

Step 6

If possible, have the child try the top on and mark where the straps should go. For my example top, the straps have 6 inches between them (in the middle of the top).

Sew the straps in place. Tie the straps into bows (again, this it’s best to have the child try it on and tie to fit). Tie end of each strap into a knot  and trim any excess (if straps are too long). My daughter ‘s straps ended up being 15 inches ling each, but could certainly have been shorter.

Steam press your shirring, so it cinches up nicely.  I spray mine with a mist of water, then iron it. It will also cinch up after washing and machine drying your garment.

Viola! Summer top is complete. I hope this tutorial helps! My daughter loves her new knit tunic and wants more. Since these tops only take a short time, I think I will be making more. Will look so cute with shorts or capris leggings!

If you use this tutorial to sew some fun tops or tunics, I’d love to hear how it went!

~Erin

How to Thread a Sewing Machine when Using a Twin Needle

Threading the sewing machine for sewing with a twin needle: You will need to keep your needle threads separated in 3 places (if possible. this is how my machine is and many others, but you may want to look in your machine’s manual for specifics for your machine).

1. threads must unwind in opposite directions to keep them separate. The first spool, shown on the left below, will unwind over the top to the left side.

The second spool, shown on the right side will unwind over the top to the right side.

2. threads should be kept separate in the tension disk.There is usually a divider piece inside the tension disk, to create an inner and an outer path within the tension disk. It’s hard to get a photo of this, but you can see the thin metal piece sticking up in the pic below. This divider keeps the two threads separate, yet still fed through the tension disk.

3. the thread guide just above needles

Thread first  spool completely, then thread the second. The first spool should be threaded through the inside track of the tension disk, and through the last thread guide (just above the needle). The second spool will then be threaded through the outer track of the tension disk, and will not be threaded through the last thread guide. Bobbin has no special instructions. After threaded, I am able to place the first spool back down into sewing position, to help keep the threads from touching.

Remember not to back stitch when using a twin needle, for most often the needle will break. Instead sew past the place where you began sewing.

Happy Sewing!

~Erin

My Cherry tree is gone…

It is very sad; our Cherry tree died.  After unsuccessfully  trying to figure  out what was wrong with my cherry tree on my own, I took a branch into my local nursery. They are so helpful and knowledgeable. They said it could be several things, and we looked through this extremely large book with all the different diseases and problems plants can have.  After exploring the section on cherry tress thoroughly, I went home to investigate.

Here are the things I found that mean trouble for my mini cherry orchard:

Nope, sap looking stuff on a cherry tree is not normal. I could mean different things, but I’m supposed to clean it off and bandage or treat the area–just like a wound. But see the horizontal track line that look like a scratch? Not normal either.

Don’t let the size in the photo fool you. This hole is teeny tiny, and can easily go undetected for a long time, which they did in the now passed on tree. It was created by a little insect, a borer beetle. They drill these fine holes, and lay their eggs inside. The babies feed on the inside of the tree, which is what happened to my young tree.

There are a few holes on my other trees that are seemingly doing well, but have the sap like ooze. When I removed the oozy, sap stuff, I saw a little, teeny, tiny hole. So today we will go back to the nursery and buy some organic  spray with which to evict our cherry tree  tenants.

Hope this post helps others with cherry trees to keep them healthy and strong. Another thing I  learned is to spray copper on your cherry, apple, and pear trees, as well as blueberries, at least once a year to prevent disease and problems. Spraying should be done in the fall, before the heavy rains come.

~Erin

Operation Prom: day 10 ~ C’est bien fini!

Vogue  vintage pattern 1094 goes to the prom.

I worked for a few more hours on Saturday and finished hemming the prom dress at 2:30 the afternoon of prom. Cutting it very close, but who knew it would take 7-8 hours to hem it by hand? Obviously not me. Well worth it when your teen-aged daughter says, “OMG, it’s perfect! Just how I pictured it would be.” Okay, she didn’t say “OMG,” but she was very enthusiastic and happy to see how it turned out, and even more so when she saw herself in the mirror. That makes it worth it.

so the long process is completed . This:

Into this:

The shoes she chose…

And to complete her look… a vintage purse. A friend loaned it to her after hearing all about her vintage dress. It was her aunt’s. It is a treasure for certain, and has the original box and tissue to accompany it. Oh, how I wish I took a photo of it with its box. Here is a close up from our pre-prom photo session:

Here she is with her gentleman caller:

The following day, I found a thoughtful thank you note propped up against my sewing machine. In her note to me, she mentions her only disappointment: that the night had to end…

~Erin

Now to get back to the numerous things I had been neglecting or ignoring the existence of while submerged in operation prom. Still not caught up…Thanks for following along!

Days 7, 8, and 9 (condensed): Operation Prom

Sewing the prom dress during midterms has been a huge stress factor that’s bringing me down  interesting and eventful. I’ve been so busy, I have not had time to post any of my progress or events.

Day 7:

Inserted a beautiful invisible zipper. I had planned to do a photo tutorial, because I love invisible zippers. They are so easy to sew and look fabulous without a lot of effort. This time was no exception. Went in easily and looked flawless, but when she was trying it on–the zipper broke. Not the stitching or anything to do with sewing–the zipper teeth came apart and refused to submit to my will. It was a terrifying moment with only 3 days until prom. I think we were both about to cry, and I had a few choice words for the zipper–words I have not said in many years. I’ve never had a new zipper fail to preform its job. Never. So why now? Why on this dress? (btw no picture of my beautiful zipper application before its epic fail) UUGGHH.

I carefully removed the contemptible zipper and that completed day 7: inserted zipper. Remove zipper. Back right where I started.

Day 8 of sewing. 2 days until prom and an 8 chapter psych midterm the following day.

I decided to go with a traditional zipper. Not my favorite, but definitely manageable. And I think the design of the dress needed a more industrial zipper. The problem with the invisible zipper may have been at the bodice/skirt/lining junction, as it is very bulky and had trouble going over that hurdle.

To ensure a clean look, I hand baste my zippers in place. I then sew them in with the right side up. This way I can sew the same  distance from center opening on both sides of teeth, when it’s a traditional zipper.

Zipper went in and functioning as it should. No pictures, as I was tying to move quickly and it was at night with bad lighting. Sweet, back on track.

Day 9 of sewing

So DD tries it on; zipper functions perfectly and she says: It’s too loose.

She immediately decides to start adding a sash, to see if that improves the dress. Her: yeah, that’s better. Me: not so much. In fact, I feel myself cringing. It was not good. At all.

I have her try it on inside out and adjust the darts, yet again–against my better judgment, I proceed to alter the bodice after the skirt and zipper have been completed. The result: she thinks it perfect again. I’m not as pleased with the results,because the darts aren’t exactly perfect,  but it’s her dress.

Moving forward, I attached the horsehair braid to the hemline.

I iron the hem up and over horsehair braid and proceed to sew the hem by hand, folding the raw edges under the horsehair braid as I sew.

I am not as experienced at handsewing and spent 4 hours last night (prom the following day) hand sewing. Not done yet, but needed sleep after an exhausting week.

The whole time sewing, I thought of how it would be to sew an entire dress by hand, as they did a long time ago. I have always admired those who can sew well by hand, especially those who can sew a blind hem by hand and have it look uniform. I have an even stronger appreciation for their skill now, and for their patience. My hand was cramping a lot last night, and would have to  shake my fingers loose , in order to keep sewing. I pricked myself  more than several times, taking breaks just in case I started to bleed.

End of day 9 and prom is the next day.

~Erin

I Think Our Cherry Tree Is Sick…

I’m a bit distracted this morning… We landscaped the backyard over the past several years. We included in the plans some ways to grow our own food. We made some lovely raised vegetable and herb beds along the side yard. We also planted blueberries and fruit trees along the perimeter of the backyard, so we could have fresh, healthy fruits during the summer and fall: 2 dwarf apple trees, 3 Blueberry bushes, and 3 dwarf Bing cherry trees. Great right?

Well something is up with one of the cherry trees. This is what the first 2 look like:

and this is what the third one looks like:

Pathetic and sad looking isn’t it? It did not have this issue last season. And it appears to have started to grow its leaves at one point, but the leaves are shriveled now. I am not knowledgeable about gardening, and certainly no expert on Cherry trees specifically. The other two trees have the same growing conditions and environment as this sad tree. So why is it doing this?

Any thoughts? I know this post is completely random, but would love any help or guidance. . .Oh, our poor cherry tree.

~Erin

Operation Prom: Day 6

Nope, not done yet, but almost.  Yesterday was filled full of gathering. My DD loves lace and frill, so I modified the Vintage Vogue  dress pattern a little.

The slip consists of 4 gores. I used a very light weight lining fabric, which I am glad for now that I see how much fabric is used on the lining and the skirt. Even a cotton batiste would have added a lot of weight. I needed to adjust the length for both the skirt and lining. I used a handy french curve to do this. First I marked my new length every inch-2 inches along the hem line on the pattern. Then I used the french curve ruler to draw my new cutting line, lining up the curve that best matched my markings. This is great when adjusting a rounded hemline, such as this or a circle skirt.

Because I wanted to add a ruffle to the hem line of the lining, I shortened the lining pattern piece by 5 inches. First using the regular ruler to mark the adjustment:

Then connect the markings, using a french curve ruler to retain the nicely rounded hemline.

I used this method to add 2 inches to the skirt piece, since my daughter wanted her dress a bit longer than view A, but not as long as view B.

With my new cutting lines drawn, I cut out my skirt gores. Did I mention the outer skirt has 6 gores? That’s a lot of skirt for one dress. I measured, it is about 5 yards around the hem.

I used my serger to sew the gores together and thought I’d show how to secure the threads. As most things, there is more than one way of doing things. This method is pretty fast and simple, and doing this seemed neccessary when considering the messy gathering I was in for.

To secure at the beginning of your seam,  begin serging and stop after a few stitches. With the needles in the fabric, lift the presser foot and pull the thread chain gently toward you and align it under the presser foot, so that it is in the middle of the seam allowance.

Serge over chain for at least an inch. Once you’ve sewn as much as you want, pull chain over to right and knife will cut excess off for you. Here’s a side view of what serging over your thread chain will look like:

To secure threads at the end of seam, stop serging immediately after fabric has passed presser foot. Lift presser foot and gently pull threads off the stitch fingers (these are the metal prongs on the needle plate). If the thread doesn’t come off easily, then you can place your finger in between the thread and the needles (above the eyes of the needles), and  gently pull them slightly to loosen threads. Doing this should help you to gently pull threads of stitch fingers successfully.

Now flip the fabric over and place it in front of the needles, making sure fabric is out of the way of the knife. Lower presser foot and serge for at least an inch, then serge off  and trim threads.

I gathered the skirt and attached it to bodice-right sides together. There was a lot of gathering. The one side is completely open, because this is where the zipper will go.

I added a ruffle to the lining and used lace hem tape to give it a little extra touch. Here is the finished lining ready to be attached to skirt and bodice, which I have since sewn to the skirt and bodice.

That was all I could manage yesterday. The end of day 6 sewing and the dress actually looks like a dress . The only 2 steps remain: zipper/side seam and the hem. I may have a couple more steps if DD feels the skirt does not flare enough. I need to see how the horsehair braid along the hem works to achieve a poofy skirt. I think she would love it if Southern belle dresses, complete with hoop skirts, came back in style 🙂

Not sure if I’ll be able to sew much  today, but with only 5 days remaining until prom, I think I will need to.

~Erin

Operation Prom: Day 5

Bodice is complete! Again, not the most productive day, but I feel as if I’m in the home stretch. With the neckline facing sewn, I will move to the skirts today.

After following the Vogue instructions for the armscye facings, I did the neckline facing my own way. The armscye facings are very bulky, being 4 layers thick, plus the bodice layer. My method is very similar, but eliminates 2 layers in the facing. The armscye is the armhole.

First, I cut about 3/8 inch off the facing on its lengthwise side, making it more narrow.

Then fold over that same edge toward the right side and press it with hot iron. The give it a sure press, I use Mary Ellen’s Best Press.

Once sewn to the neckline, as instructed,  I then understitched the facing, which Vogue does not include in their instructions.  After trimming seam allowances and clipping curves, press the seam allowances toward the facing. Understitch: Stitch close to the seam along the facing side, sewing through all layers of the seam allowances and facing.

Here is what it look like on the wrong side:

The facing can now be folded toward the inside of the garment (wrong side of fabric), pressed, and sewn in place.The folded edge, not shown in photo, will be tucked into the inside of the facing and stitched closed.

Now that the neckline is completed, the bodice just need to ironed–Oh and needs a skirt and zipper 🙂

Here it is in all its splendor!

That’s not a large dart–it’s folded weird. I didn’t smooth it out as nicely as I should have for a picture. Day 5 got hijacked with trips to the store  for school projects and other various family stuff.

Today’s a new day and I am determined to sew A LOT. Thanks for following along with the process. It’s a definite adventure! I hope this inspires and motivates others to make a prom dress for you DD’s instead of settling for mediocre or immodest dresses that are being mass produced. It’s not as difficult to sew as one might imagine. Go slow, following each step carefully through completion makes for a lovely, one-of-a-kind dress she’ll remember her whole life.  Plus there’s no fear of anyone showing up wearing the same dress <<awkward>>. It’s a very special time in a young lady’s life, her dress should be special, too. Don’t you think?

Yikes! Only 6 days until

~Erin

Operation Prom Day 4

Day 4 was interrupted. Thursday was hectic and no sewing was done. I have 2 big midterms coming up next week and I succumbed to a bit of anxiety over them. Yesterday was better, so Friday turned out to be my meager Day 4 of sewing. My son finally made it back to school and I was able to get some solid studying in as well.

I was only able to sew a little on the dress. I contemplated for a while over  finishing the arms and decided not to do them as directed. Going rebel, I trimmed and overcasted the seam allowances instead. It was faster and will not be any less finished than the front and back of the bodice, so why spend all that time? I used my regular sewing machine, not a serger. I want to be meticulous and did not want to risk going under the knife.

If your machine has an overcast stitch, then use it instead of a zigzag stitch. Your seam allowances will stay flat. A zigzag will also work to keep that unraveling at bay.  Another option is to use pinking shears to trim seam allowances. Trimming with pinking shears actually works. I tried it once just to see for myself.

I attached the upper band to the bodice, which needed much less easing.

Before attaching the neckline facing, I wanted my daughter try it on. Since she was competing at State with her school choir, I had to wait until after 9 pm. It fit and she loves how it looks, so today I will proceed as planned.

So Day 4 was not exactly the most exciting day,  but it is looking more like a dress. I am really glad my daughter is happy with its look and how it looks on her. That’s why I’m doing this at all. She said she was telling her choir friends all about her dress. She came home so excited and not just because they placed 3rd in the state. (missing 2nd place to their rival school in town by 1 point! and that they lost 5 points for going over on their time by a few seconds! what an amazing competition that must have been–so much talent. She also got to visit George Fox University for a 2nd time–that campus is beautiful!!) It was the oo’s and ah’s that she was getting from her girl friends over the description of her dress that had her reeling. I’m feeling a bit proud myself at the idea she is  sharing that her mom is sewing her dress.

Prom is exactly one week from tonight!  Day 5 will be today and it should be a productive one, filled with gathering, lace, and horsehair braid as I attach the skirt, along with  a soccer game and nature hike mixed in :).  We should be planting our veggies and herbs in our raised beds this weekend, now that the fear of frost has finally past for the Pacific Northwest. It’s nice to finally need sunscreen. What are your spring weekend plans?

~Erin

Day 3 of Operation Prom

Bodice is nearly complete. Here is a pic of it at the middle of day 3, after ironing the darts and sewing side seams and shoulder seams:

Had my DD try it on for fit when she got home from school and the front looks great. But the back…well…”Mom! It looks like I have back boobs!!” It kind of did. It fit fine along the waist, but the upper part was poofy and well, kind of like it’s supposed to accommodate breasts–what she said. She was freaking out a  little  and my laughing didn’t help. After being reprimanded, I had her put the bodice on inside out and began adjusting the darts.

This is a great technique I learned while making  my “flower girl” dress, when I was a teen. Yes, I was a flower girl at 17. There’s nothing wrong with that.  I made my own flower girl dress: a pretty moire taffeta dress in the style of Lady Di’s wedding dress–screams 80’s. I matched the 7 year old flower girl perfectly and that’s NOT embarrassing at all.  Anyway, I was not alone in that adventure in dress making. I had an older and more experienced seamstress helping me (and making sure the dress looked good enough for her wedding). She showed me this method and it is brilliant.

While wearing the dress (or bodice in this case) inside out, the darts can be  pinned to fit, carefully pinning along the desired sewing line. The pins mimic the sewing line, so one can see what the alteration will look like before sewing.

After all darts and seam lines are pinned and the bodice or dress fits as desired, carefully remove the bodice or dress. New dart lines can be drawn where the pins are. I like to use a ruler to guide my markings. Sew along dart lines and try the bodice dress on to make sure it fits and looks the intended way. If so, tie the thread ends at the point of your darts to secure. If a bodice is very fitted , you may want to reinforce darts with an additional row of stitching.

With the bodice fitted and back boobs removed looking as she wishes it to look, I begin work on the underarm facings and yoke details. The yoke has an interesting construction method and I am ambivalent about it still. The dress has many unfinished aspects, leaving many raw edges exposed, which I am not used to. I also adjusted the yoke band to fit with much less “easing”. The easing was looking more like a gathered flounce and I did not want to bother with spending so much time easing it until it actually  looked eased instead of gathered. After all, prom is in 9 days from today.

The instructions for the bands along the yoke/neckline are a bit much… As you can see in the photo above, the yoke is clipped to the seam allowance at the point where the shoulder and underarm facing meet. Along the front and back of the bodice the seam allowances are trimmed and left as they are shown above. Along the shoulders, it instructs me to trim the middle layer, fold under and stitch the remain two layers together. We’ll see how that goes today.

With each step, I keep thinking there is a better way to do this, a less complicated, more finished looking way. There will be clips and raw edges with the given method and the thought of fraying threads hanging out are haunting me something awful. I’ve soothed myself by thinking it will need to be worn only once, only for several hours really. To me, that seems  irresponsible and wasteful. Not my usual style of doing things.

At the end of day 3,  the bodice fits 🙂 and I have almost completed the lower yoke band. At this point, I’m not sure how the band will stay folded down. I’m having concerns about it flipping up, but will need to see how it falls when dress is more complete and she tries it on for final fittings/hemming. Any thoughts on this?

~Erin