The Refashioners 2015 – Sally

The raw materials for my refashion were chosen and sent to me by Elisalex from By Hand London. As you can see, naughty Elisalex (never one to play by the rules) selected not one but two shirts in similar sizes and colour schemes.

One shirt was stripy taupe and white.

The other was also taupe and white, but a subtle dotted pattern. The fabric was thinner and had an element of stretch to it.

I don’t know how she found two shirts in the exact same colours, but she’s right, they were destined to be together.

My ideas for combining contrasting fabrics in shirts were limited to bowling shirts and cowboy/country and western shirts. Since I already have a bowling shirt in my wardrobe, I went for a cowboy shirt.

To combine pieces of one shirt with pieces of another, some fairly drastic shirt surgery was required. I started by amputating the sleeves from both shirts.

I cut the yoke from the donor (stripy shirt), leaving a pointy edge.  I just cut this by eye, but I did fold the shirt over to try and make it the same on the left and right.

Then I pinned the donated yoke to the recipient shirt and cut roughly around it.

I prepared the yoke for transplant by folding up 5mm and pressing. Then I grafted it onto the recipient with white topstitching.

I also took the opportunity to do some minor cosmetic work; taking in the sides under the arms and using bias tape to finish the armholes.

I made flat felled seams at the sides, in keeping with the original shirt.

For decoration, I added some basic hand embroidery (chain stitch only) in a contrasting shade of pink.

I also cut off the buttons and added pink ones, which I think really helps distance it from its origins.

Overall I like the look of it but now seeing these pictures, it’s crying out for some pink piping to emphasise the yoke shape – I may add that at some point.

All in all, a successful transplant!

Thanks Portia for inviting me to be a part of the series again, I had a blast!

Thank you Sally!! And congratulations on your nuptuals!! (Psss…Sally only went and got married 2 days ago peops!!) Love the way these 2 prints complement eachother. Combining shirts is a great way to give yourself more fabric to work with and add visual interest. This has me thinking….you could probably take two shirts…do this for both….and still end up with 2 shirts with the colour/print blocking in the opposite configuration!  Hmmmmm…….

You can find Sally here and here. And don’t forget amazing prizes to be won as part of The Refashioners 2015 Community Challenge. Including a copy of Sally’s Bellini shirt pattern! So get involved for a chance to win!!! Grab a shirt and get refashioning! You have until Sunday 27th Sept to enter! Stay tuned for more inspiration throughout the WHOLE of August!