• About
    • Contact
    • Press
    • Sponsor
  • DIY
    • Home & Garden
    • Jewellery & Accessories
    • Yarn Crafts
  • Sewing
    • patternless & self drafted
    • Refashions
    • Commercial Patterns
    • Sewing Tips
    • Overlockers
  • The Refashioners

makery

refashion, refashioning, Restyles, Thrifting

Refashion: Men’s Tee to 3/4 sleeve Tunic Tee

12th August 2014

So….it’s been a little while…and posting on this blog may be erratic for a little while more…however there are changes afoot that should put pay to that and mark my return to a more consistent blogging and sewing/DIY schedule…and that makes me very happy indeed. If you follow me on instagram you’ll have seen a few little references to some of those changes. You’ll also have seen that there is a backlog of makes that have yet to make it onto this blog. Lately it’s been a straight choice between either making OR blogging. My schedule isn’t currently allowing me to do both….and at some points hasn’t allowed me to do either. Well…that’s about to change as I can’t continue with that particular status quo any longer. But in the meantime…back to that backlog of makes…

First up is this quick and dirty tee refashion. Nothing spesh. A simple tee reshaping that takes about 20mins. ALMOST not blogworthy at all, except that I thought it would be a good opportunity to share my little technique for ensuring I adjust both sides of a garment evenly and identically…..

…(and let’s face it, a 20min refashion when your schedule sucks in sewing terms, is absolutely noteworthy!)

The first step is to establish a new stitching line on one side of the  garment. I tend to do this using a combo of pinning, eyeballing and very occasionally, when I’m feeling virtuous…measuring…

Next, fold the tee in half lining up armscyes, underarm and side seams; then pin along the newly marked line through all layers…

Pin through all layers directly on top of the marked line making sure not to angle the pins in any way, so the entry and exit points are completely consistent with the marked line…

Now flip over and there’ll be a line of pins that will mirror exactly, the line that is marked on the other side…

Mark between these pins and you duplicate exactly the line that is on the other side of the garment. Remove the pins, serge along these lines, and hey presto. The garment is reshaped identically on both sides!

I use this method on jeans and trousers that I want to reshape too. A quick and easy way to ensure that adjustments are even on both sides of any garment!

 

Related

21 Comments

  1. Linda Spears says

    12th August 2014 at 5:40 pm

    Now that is blog worthy! Love it! Thank you for sharing!

    Reply
  2. Louise Perry says

    12th August 2014 at 7:58 pm

    Yey, you are back. Good tip here. I have botched an attempt at doing this already so i’m going to try it your way next.

    Reply
    • Portia Lawrie says

      14th August 2014 at 8:10 pm

      Aw thanks Louise! Seriously been missing blogging! I have more botched projects than ones that make it into my wardrobe on a regular basis, lol!
      Px

      Reply
  3. Fabric Tragic says

    12th August 2014 at 9:13 pm

    I do this too, and it’s especially helpful if you’re taking in or letting out side seams – nice one!

    Reply
  4. joelle st-laurent says

    13th August 2014 at 11:33 am

    such a great tip! and good to see you!

    Reply
    • Portia Lawrie says

      14th August 2014 at 8:11 pm

      …and even nicer to hear from you Joelle! Thankyou!
      Px

      Reply
  5. acraftyscientist says

    13th August 2014 at 11:58 am

    Great tip, will use it to fit some of my husbands tshirts that are too baggy for him.

    Reply
    • Portia Lawrie says

      14th August 2014 at 8:13 pm

      So they fit you instead I hope! one of the many good things about a hubby is wardrobe plundering, no!

      Reply
  6. fadanista.com says

    13th August 2014 at 1:31 pm

    Great tip, thank you. I have a whole basket of t-shirts that I’m refashioning/reshaping/reworking and I’ll definitely use this tip.

    Reply
    • Portia Lawrie says

      14th August 2014 at 8:14 pm

      You could knock a shed load of these up in an afternoon then! Reminds me I must go thrifting for some more!

      Reply
  7. JustSew Jenna says

    13th August 2014 at 5:09 pm

    Genius! Good luck with everything!

    Reply
    • Portia Lawrie says

      14th August 2014 at 8:14 pm

      Thanks lovely 🙂

      Reply
  8. acraftyscientist says

    13th August 2014 at 8:35 pm

    Great idea, will use it to make some of my husbands t-shirts fit better!

    Reply
  9. senjivastudio.com says

    14th August 2014 at 12:47 pm

    I do the same thing! It works really well.

    Reply
  10. DressUpNotDown says

    17th August 2014 at 5:24 am

    I usually cut one side, then fold and cut the second using the first as my guide. I think your way might be more precise though. :o)

    JJ
    http://www.dressupnotdown.blogspot.com

    Reply
  11. Anonymous says

    18th August 2014 at 6:48 pm

    Totally blog-worthy. If you knew how many times I kept adjusting each side separately…

    Reply
  12. my way of... says

    22nd August 2014 at 9:37 am

    Great tips !!!
    Did you change the neckline too?

    thank you

    Reply
    • Portia Lawrie says

      24th August 2014 at 8:47 am

      I just trimmed away the neckline ribbing right close to the stitching 😊

      Reply
  13. Pipsa says

    8th September 2014 at 4:55 am

    Very nice! I’m wondering about the neckline too 🙂

    Reply
  14. TEMA says

    21st September 2015 at 11:46 pm

    Love this tutorial. I can see I will be using it on lots of things besides men’s shirts. Thanks so much!

    Reply
    • portia says

      22nd September 2015 at 8:12 am

      You’re welcome Tema!

      Reply

Leave a Reply to Pipsa Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Portia
  • Bloglovin
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
Follow
Sewbox

© Copyright 2021. makery. All Rights Reserved. Managed by WordPress Web Dev Cornwall .