Have a shirt that’s too small for your child or one that you just don’t love? In this tute I’ll show you how to do a quick and easy refashion to turn it into a faux-cardigan tee. You could even use a too small cardigan and add a faux panel.
What You’ll Need:
-A cardigan or tee you want to re-fashion. I used a tee that was a size up.
-Knit Fabric Scraps (I used a two too small dresses for the faux tee panel and pocket)
-Ball Point Needle in your Sewing Machine (for sewing with knits)The pic below shows the purple tee which I am using as the cardigan part of the re-fashioned shirt. The white tee was original going to be the t-shirt panel but I realized it had too many stains, so as you’ll see later, I used the striped panel as pictured above from a portion of a too small dress.
First, cut an even portion out of the middle our your cardigan tee. Since this tee was a size up, I only cut a few inches out. I also cut off the collar.
I cut a strip out of the dress about an inch wider than the section I cut out of the t-shirt.
I serged and hemmed the top of the faux tee insert strip (serging isn’t necessary if you don’t have one since knits don’t fray).
Then I simply laid the insert in the cardigan and sewed two lines down one side. I didn’t even pin. I just eyeballed it. I like the raw seams on knits so I didn’t hem the edges of the cardigan either. I left the other side open so it would be easier to sew on a pocket (I’m just not a big fan of overly cutesy stuff on my kid’s clothing…like that little elephant so I did a quick cover-up with a pocket).
Basic pockets are easier that you’d think. Just cut two pieces of fabric the same size. Mine were about 3×3.5″.
With right sides together, sew around the whole pocket leaving a few inches open. Clip corners and turn right side out through the opening. Iron the opening’s edges under but don’t sew yet. We’ll seal it up when we sew the pocket to the shirt. Just make sure the edge with the opening isn’t the top edge of your pocket. Pin your pocket on:
Sew around the side and bottom edges with an 1/8″ hem, ensuring you sew up the opening we left for turning the pocket. I hand-sewed on a button as well for a little added detail. Then just sew up the other side of the shirt with two seams and you’re all done!
Here’s a close up of the two seam lines:
Wondering why these pictures are from the neck down only? Here’s why…
Poor thing just wasn’t wanting her pics taken. At all.
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Cute idea… I like the elephant.. I didn’t like the polkadots with the stripes…but then I am of the old old school about not putting stripes and figures together. My home ec teacher did a good job instilling that in me.
I like the idea though… everybody should try it.
Thanks! To each his own is the beauty of fashion/creativity, right? Mixing polka dots and strips has actually been a big fashion trend for 2011. I don’t know that I’d wear it myself but I do love it for my little girl.
I think I’ve got a bunch of uncooperative pics, too, we all do. Good job on the refashion.