Embellished Tee’s

While visiting Clever Sister Marie in NYC, I had the opportunity to stroll from store to store (those not in the Rogue Valley Mall). Though I definitely pushed my budget, one of the items I fell in love with (in that I like to shop on vacation kind of way) but did not buy was a t-shirt with fabric flowers accessorizing it. It’s not that I didn’t like it, but slowly learning more about the magic of sewing I’m a little critical about spending $$ on a t-shirt that I can make on my own. And, so, after a little searching on the Internet and researching from the pricey but pretty catalogs waiting for me upon my return, I decided to give it a shot.

I picked up some simple light-weight cotton t-shirts at a local discount fashion store (okay it was Old Navy — we do have that) and then matched them with some bedazzled tulle type material at JoAnn’s fabrics. JoAnn’s is very good for such a thing!

First, I cut 2 in strips, the length of the tulle, and sewing them lengthwise inside out. And, here’s the only tedious part of the process, turning them right side out. The thinner the strip, the more tedious it is. I then snipped and hemmed them into smaller 4 to 5 in segments.

Sewing the Strips

I folded and played around with the shape until I came up with something I liked. I quickly pinned it and tried to secure it with the least amount of crazy stitches, preferably a simple “x” that held together each old.

I tried on the shirts so that I could, ahem, strategically place the embellishments. I hand stitched these on as well, being careful only to sew the bottom layer of the embellishment.

Detail

I also had a few pretty buttons as the final touch to hide or maybe just detract from the “x”. Voila! And, of course, I haven’t made one for myself yet, although I’m on my third gift–so many May and June birthdays!