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How to Restyle a T-Shirt into a Ruffly Shrug
comments (51) February 18th, 2011
Vintage bed jackets are beautiful but harder and harder to find in thrift stores these days. Why not make your own bed jacket-inspired shrug out of an old T-shirt? Restyling is so timely right now. You get a new, fun piece to wear, it doesn't cost anything, and you're putting something to use that hasn't seen the light of day for ages. This sweet little number is the perfect cropped garment to throw on over a dress or tank when the weather warms up, which I'm told will happen again someday.
All you need is a T-shirt that approximately fits (a little big is OK), some scissors, thread, chalk or marking pen, and your sewing machine. Note: You may need a second tee to get enough fabric for the ruffles.
A plain old tee is ready to be transformed. |
Cut the T-shirt
1. Cut the pieces. Determine the length you want the shrug by deciding where it will end at center back. Remember: The ruffle will add length. Mark a line straight across the T-shirt at the preferred length. Before cutting, measure the length left below the line at the bottom, as this will become the ruffle. You'll need at least four equal strips of ruffle. If you have less than 6 inches, which would yield four 1-1/2-inch strips, you might need a second shirt or fabric scraps to make the ruffle. You can rip out the hem to give yourself extra length, or cut it off if you have enough.
2. Cut the shirt on the marked line. Then cut the bottom half of the shirt into four even strips, anywhere from 1-1/2 inches to 3 inches wide, depending on the T-shirt fabric and how wide you want your ruffle. You'll lose about 1/4 inch to seam allowance.
Shorten your tee to waist length; the rest will be your ruffles. |
Reshape the cut shirt
3. Refold the T-shirt so that it is creased at center front (shown on the left side in the photos) and center back (at right), and the shoulder seams are stacked.
Fold the shirt in half for reshaping the front edge. Center front is at left and center back is to the right. |
4. Draw a curve at the bottom of center front so the bottom rounds gently into it, as shown below.
This will be the bottom curve at the waistline. |
5. Also draw a curve along the center front into the neckline at the top.
This is how to curve the neckline. |
The complete front curved edge. |
6. Cut along the lines so that center front is open, and continue cutting all the way around the neckband.
Here's the reshaped edge before it is unfolded. |
Cutting the center front and neckband creates a shaped front opening. |
Sew the ruffle
7. Sew three ruffle strips together end to end to create one long loop.
Sew the short ends of two ruffle strips together. |
8. Designate one of the three seams as center back, fold to find the opposite halfway point, then notch or mark it. This will also end up at center back, but one will be at the neckline and one at the bottom.
9. Run a row of gathering stitches along one side of the ruffle loop, slightly less than 1/4 inch from the edge.
10. With right sides together, pin the ruffle to the body, matching at center back neck and bottom. Pull the gathering threads and evenly distribute the fullness as you pin the ruffle around the edge of the shrug.
Begin pinning the ruffle to the edge, evenly spreading the gathering. |
The ruffle is evenly distributed around the outer edge of the garment. |
Here's a close-up of the pinned-on ruffle before sewing. |
11. Sew the ruffle to the shirt at 1/4 inch. Press the seam allowance toward the T-shirt, and edgestitch from the right side close to the seam to keep the ruffle from flipping back.
Edgestitch close to the ruffle seam, catching both layers of seam allowance. |
12. Add ruffles to cuffs. Trim off (or rip out) the T-shirt's cuff hems. Check that the length of the remaining ruffle strip is at least three times the cuff circumference (so that when it is cut in half it will be 1-1/2 times as long as each cuff). If not, you may need to salvage more scraps or cut the ruffle's width in half. Once you have a strip for each cuff, seam the short ends and proceed as with the body ruffle.
The finished shrug is so cute.
The finished ruffled shrug adds a little coverage and a lot of style. |
After you make this project, show off your work to other members!
Post your project in the gallery
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Comments (51)
Posted: 1:32 pm on September 30th
Thanks again!
Posted: 3:44 am on March 27th
Posted: 6:27 pm on March 11th
This way I make recycled COATS:
Amberstudios.Etsy.com
Posted: 9:55 am on March 5th
Posted: 4:29 pm on March 1st
Tammy
Posted: 10:14 pm on February 27th
Another idea for those who aren't the "ruffly" type is to use those strips cut from the bottom as a binding for the edges. Since they are stretchy, they would conform easily to the curves.
Thanks, and I CAN'T WAIT to try it.
Posted: 10:34 am on February 23rd
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Posted: 11:02 pm on February 18th
There are many angles to this idea and it's simply an inspiration in my opinion and one heck a great job!
Well Done!
Posted: 8:49 pm on February 18th
thank you
Posted: 10:31 pm on January 23rd
Posted: 1:28 pm on January 17th
Posted: 3:03 pm on August 4th
and i always to two rows of gathering stitches, though i don't necessarily know that it'll keep your stitches from sliding after the seam is sewn; that sounds like your tension may be off. i would edgestitch the seam to secure it. the two rows of gathering is mainly to prevent the thread from breaking as you gather.
good luck!
Posted: 2:59 pm on August 4th
My question is, what is the normal length of one piece of ruffle strip? Also another question is, did you do two gathering basting lines or just one? I did one, and I gathered, and I sewed the ruffle, but the ruffle wasn't set, and I could still spread it.
Posted: 10:20 pm on August 1st
Just wanted to let you know I featured this tutorial in a post all about upcycle crafting. Thanks!
Emily
The Handmade Experiment
http://emilyflippinmaruna.wordpress.com/2009/07/13/must-make-monday-upcycled/
Posted: 4:51 am on July 13th
Thank-you!
Posted: 11:42 pm on April 22nd
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Posted: 3:26 pm on March 24th
Thanks cal patch, you saved my favorite T. ")
Posted: 5:43 pm on February 15th
Posted: 10:39 am on February 11th
Thanks
Posted: 7:12 am on February 7th
Posted: 2:30 am on February 2nd
Posted: 6:40 pm on February 1st
Another awesome creation!
I can't wait to make one. I bet I can make it in around one hour. LOVE it! I will try to upload a picture if I can.
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Posted: 1:40 pm on January 20th