"I'm not wearing that!"

Well, Monday posts are NOT going to happen as long as I'm in school. So, here's the latest project.

I've been inspired by "upcycling" or changing something into something else. I've been using up boxes full of holey jeans this summer, making purses, bags for umbrellas and hot dog roasting sticks, shorts or capris and even skirts from a pair of pants, and squares for quilts. But, this goes beyond the levi. I've seen so many cute remakes. So, when my friend approached me with this challenge, I saw a solution.

We started with a pale mint green long sleeve boys dress shirt. (Sorry, we didn't think to take a before picture, so just imagine this in light green.) Her oldest, a boy, said there was no way he was going to wear a shirt that color. But it would be perfect for younger sister, so I set out to make it a girly shirt.

We started by putting it on her and marking where to cut off the sleeve and where to have it fall on her hips. Then cut. I left a slight curve to the bottom of the shirt, but not as much as it was before. Then I hemmed the sleeve. It looked too big, so I made a pintuck on each sleeve to give it form. Then we had her try the shirt on again inside out, and I pinned in the sides to make the shape more feminine. I ended up sewing from the underarm seam, to 2" in in the middle, then curved out so I took off only 1" at the bottom.

Then I cut the left-over material from the sleeves and the bottom into 2" strips and sewed them all together. I roll hemmed one edge, then gathered the other. Turns out, there was so much fabric, I didn't just add the ruffle to the bottom, but on both sides of the buttons.

And, tada! A now feminine, mint green shirt with ruffles (which are all the rage right now!).