Continuing with my inadvertent "Don't say no to stripes" campaign, I purchased this oversized shirt from the thrift store, hoping I could belt it for a chic look. But instead of chic, it just looked sloppy. That's how the blouse become the target of my most recent scissor snipping fest.
I wanted to shrink the top of the blouse, and gather the bottom portion. So, I cut apart the two pieces and used another blouse in my possession to size how to correctly trim the sides of the top. A few snips later, and I ended up with what you see below.
After I sewed darts into the bodice, I tried it on and realized that I cut the bodice too small, so I left one side open and stitched ribbons on the front and back to enclose the side like you might see on a pinafore. Lastly, I hemmed where the sleeves had been removed, and did a loose stitch around the top of the bottom portion so I could gather it to the perimeter length of the top portion. After I stitched the two portions together, it was finished!
It took me about two hours to figure out how to construct this blouse, as I was careful not to make any mistakes. Funny thing is, I still made a mistake, resulting in needing ribbons for the side rather than having room for a zipper. Oh well. I think I really need a dressform that I can tailor to my own size, in order to prevent these mistakes in the future.
Even though I messed up a little bit this time, I'm not going to give up on this style. In fact, I with I had more fabric for the gathered "skirt" portion of the shirt, so I might even hunt for more striped blouses to alter from the plus size section of the thrift store. Oh, the possibilities!
I love this little blouse! It really looks great on you, pefect to wear with jean cut offs too!
Posted by: Alessia | June 07, 2011 at 12:19 PM
The blouse looks great on you.
Posted by: Katie | June 07, 2011 at 12:23 PM
Lovely! Total improvement! The bows on the side are adorable!
Posted by: Vanessa, Take only Memories | June 07, 2011 at 12:26 PM
Great job! This turned out beautifully and I would have never guessed you didn't intend the ribbons to be there. They add a great soft touch to the blouse!
Posted by: Robin | June 07, 2011 at 12:30 PM
aww well i think you fixed up the mistakes well enough with the cute ribbon on the side. I really think this is a pretty DIY though.
Posted by: Victoria or Justice Pirate | June 07, 2011 at 12:36 PM
love it!!
Posted by: andrea gutierrez | June 07, 2011 at 12:48 PM
The ribbon on the side is cute but if you wanted another option to fix the oops, you could have put thin panels of a solid-color knit fabric on both sides. This would b a nice solution if you didn't want to worry about layering, and it adds a little stretch/fit as a bonus.
This really is inspiring to me to make thrift mods!
Posted by: maren | June 07, 2011 at 01:23 PM
I love the colors and images. Clothes are very original.
xoxo
http://prisonerofashion.blogspot.com
Posted by: çiğdem | June 07, 2011 at 03:56 PM
I actually love it this way it has character.
Posted by: zelina | June 08, 2011 at 01:12 AM
Wow! This is super creative. I love the finished result ...
Kelly
Elegantly Academic
Posted by: Kelly | June 08, 2011 at 02:36 AM
That is just lovely! It looks great with the ribbons, i think that was a pretty happy accident :)
Posted by: kara marie riley | June 08, 2011 at 02:04 PM
That turned out so cute! Now I got even more inspiration to go out shopping :)
Posted by: Hazel Lou Anna | June 08, 2011 at 03:11 PM
I truly love this makeover. I'm constantly finding vintage shirts while thriftin that I fall in love with and then talk myself out of buying because they're too big. You're a fantastic motivator!
Posted by: Mallory G | June 09, 2011 at 10:52 AM
Cute makeover - thanks for sharing!
Posted by: geek+nerd | June 13, 2011 at 07:24 AM
This DIY is amazing such a great idea, im so so excited to give it a whirl. Thanks for sharing.
Zoe x
http://blessedbeeapothecary.blogspot.com/
Posted by: Zoe | June 16, 2011 at 10:48 AM