Saturday, September 8, 2012

Thrift Store Mash-Up #1- Tie Front Top





Finished Product
Welcome to this weeks Thrift Store Mash-Up!  This post is going to come to you weekly (hopefully) and feature something ugly in need of love that we found at the thrift store or elsewhere and gave it new life.  This idea came to me and my roommate Michelle last night.

We are super excited about it, ( I was so excited about it I stayed up until oh about 3 am working on the finished project. Don't worry the project only took about 1.5 hours to finish and that was because we were a- goofing off and b-just dreaming up ideas!)

We hope that these projects show you that you can up-cycle and turn things that were once a little less than pretty into something beautiful and customized for you!  Also soon we are going to have a post on how to spot things that you can use for Thrift Store Mash-Up projects.  For example; you find a hideous shirt but you love the pattern and material...Don't put it back! Think outside the box (this can also lead to a cluttered house so be careful with that tip ;) ) think what you could do with it.

That was kind of the inspiration for our first Thrift Store Mash-Up.  Michelle had found a shirt that she liked a lot BUT...

From about the 2nd button up it wasn't quite working out for her, but being the dreamer she is she bought it anyway thinking she could do something with it :) Good call!

So our first step in transforming the shirt, we started talking about what she liked about the shirt and wanted to keep the same.

She said the bottom she liked its flowiness (not a word, but you get the point). We came up with some different ideas and then decided on one and just went for it!

(Another great tip for doing your own Thrift tore Mash-ups, if it's not working out the way you planned change the plan, Modify and Move on)
So here was our process in pictures and descriptions. Simple and pretty.

1. First we started by simply cutting the sleeves off (gives you a new look already! If you don't want it sleeveless leave those suckers on there!)



2. Then we measured and decided what kind of dip would work since we wanted to alter the front and it wasn't fitting right.



3. Then started cutting from about the 3rd button up (JUST THE FRONT!) to the shoulders



4. Then decide what shape you want for the back, and draw it out.  We first went rounded then decided for a lower V for, as Michelle put it, a little SASS. :)


5. After that get out your sewing machine and do a small hem, around 1/4 inch, around any cut edges now to give you a clean shirt to work with.


6. After that you are ready to add the trim. I basically cut 2.5" wide strips, pinned them together to make one long piece, folded it over, pinned it, and sewed a tube. (You could use ribbon or anything else as well. We were just using what we had.)

 7. Then once you have your tube you can either turn it inside out (which is really hard with such a small long tube) or leave the raw edges. If you do that know it may fray unless you put something on it lie anti fray or use ribbon or other material that doesn't fray.

                                                   8. Trim the edges it up if you leave 'em raw.


9. Then pin the trim to the edges of the shirt that you already cut and hemmed.  Then try it on! (We left our trim long enough to tie a bow in. You can do whatever you like though!)

                 
                        10. Finally sew the trim to the edges- Very simple if you pinned it and then Voila!




















I hope this has inspired you to make something beautiful out of something you see beauty in but the rest of the world may not!

So go on...GET YOUR CRAFT ON!!!

-Nikki and Michelle


                  And now for something completely different...An artsy shot of an old tape measurer.

Photo Credit: Michelle

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