Thursday, January 31, 2013

To a Tee!

Everyone has big sloppy unisex t-shirts laying around for those days you just don't want to think about what to wear. But those lazy days don't have to mean looking frumpy. You can take those plain old shirts and convert them to fitted baby-doll tees. Here's how!

To a Tee Before & After

Start with a t-shirt with a design you like, but that's at least a little too large.

Tee Refashions

Now grab another tee that fits you well. Flip your big tee inside out and lay your fitted tee on top. Fold the sleeves on the fitted tee so you can see the shape of just the body portion. Pin your big tee along both side seams, as well as along the curve of each armhole. If your fitted tee has some stretch to it and your big tee doesn't, be sure to leave a little space between your fitted tee and your pins. That way, your altered tee won't be too tight. You may also like to use two different colors of pins, as I did, changing out colors at the underarm.

Tee Refashions

Now sew along the side seams (the red pins in the picture above), stopping before you get to the armholes (white pins). Then you'll trim away the excess fabric about 1/4-inch from the pins, like so. Then you can remove the armhole pins.

Tee Refashions

Next you'll lay out your sleeve scraps from the big tee (still inside out) and place your fitted tee sleeve on top, lining up the hem and folded top edge.

Tee Refashions

Again, you'll pin around the fitted sleeve (red is where you'll sew, white is where you'll cut). This can be a bit tricky, but with some finagling, you can do it.

Tee Refashions

Cut around the pins. Then lay your first sleeve on the second sleeve and cut it to the same size.

Tee Refashions

Now sew along the red pins on each sleeve to create a tube. Then flip the sleeves right side out and insert them into the armholes of your shirt, with the shirt still inside out. Pinning these edges together can be difficult since they are both curved edges (and curved in the opposite directions). I like to pin the underarm seams together, then the opposite sides, at the top of the shoulder. Then pin halfway in between each of those pins, then halfway between those, and so on until you feel you have enough pins to hold it in place while you sew. Now sew it!

Tee Refashions

And there you have it - a too-big-to-baby-doll tee conversion!

Tee Refashions

Once you've got the process down, you can go through your entire t-shirt drawer...

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I like my tees so much better now, i.e., I'll actually wear them now!

Tee Refashions

6 comments:

  1. great tutorial, I was having problems with the sleeves, thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Super t-shirt refashions. I've followed many of your projects on Refashion Co-op.

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  3. Hi Carissa!
    UAU! What a great Post! Thank you! Now I know what to do to my tees that are too big!!!
    Kisses from Portugal!

    ReplyDelete
  4. "She runs... she passes.... AND SCORES for BABYDOLL-TEES, making this yet another refashioned fashion! Score ONE for CarissaKnits and ZERO Landfill!!"

    ReplyDelete
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