Refashion Lace Scallop Shirt

August 1, 2013 Lindsey Campbell

The first time I sat down at a sewing machine, I was 12 years old.

Now, don't think this is going to turn into a triumphant story about how I fell in love with sewing, started my own couture collection and became an expert! Far from it.

My mom always hated sewing so I took over the project of stitching straw onto a vest so my younger brother could be a scarecrow in a dance number. Since then, I have only taken classes from my Grandma and still can't figure out how to change my needle. Basically, if I can do these projects, anyone can. Probably better!

(more after the jump...) ↓

This project combines two shirts into one.
The first is a full lace top that I bought for a few dollars on the sale rack. I love the lace scallop pattern, but whoever designed it was obviously a fan of Dr. Seuss. The sleeves are longer than the bodice and it just looks horrible when I try to wear an undershirt with it.
I only wanted to use the front half of the bodice and the a small length of the sleeves, so I cut the shirt along the pattern of the lace and set aside the other pieces for a future project.

The second shirt is a silky, white, long sleeved shirt from the thrift shop. It had nasty shoulder pads and was way too big, but I figured it would work well as a liner for the shirt above because the colors matched perfectly. Again, I cut it up.

Because the lace shirt was pretty much the right size, I needed to keep as much of the included seam allowance as possible. Very carefully seam rip the sleeves from the bodice as well as the underarm seems so that they lay flat.

I added a few inches to the neck of the lace bodice after accidentally burning a hole in the top while ironing. Oops! Through my years of DIYing I've learned that mistakes can turn into blessings though. I ended up loving the layers of scallops that i added along the neck by simply cutting a few pieces from my leftover shirt scraps and folding them along the outline of the existing neck.

Lay all pieces out flat with the lace on top. Pin the outlines together and carefully sew along the very edge so that the lining stays in place. Don't sew along the scalloped edges of the bodice or the sleeves. Leave them open for movement.

Cut along the perimeters of your sewn lining as well as trimming the bodice to the right width. This is easily done by placing a good-fitting shirt ontop and tracing the general width/shape of it. I kept the bottom of the lining shirt so I didn't have to worry about finishing it.

Begin putting your shirt back together! Start by sewing the sides and the top of the bodice inside out and the underarms of the sleeves so that they are cylindrical again.

Then turn the sleeves inside out, pin them to the arm holes of the bodice and sewing them on. When you turn everything right back out, you're set!

My later refashion projects will touch more on how to sew a sleeve back onto a shirt, how to fit a baggy shirt, how to finish an edge and how to change a silhouette so check back for more tutorials! Also, please include any questions, suggestions or links to other great tutorials for me in the comments. If you try this tutorial yourself I really want a pic of your masterpiece!
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