A Tale of Two Shirts

I seem to end up with lots of t-shirts that shrink up and get too short for me.  Its very annoying and as I was making my latest bag for Goodwill, it struck me that I might be able to fix the problem myself, without having to buy any more shirts.  I took a turquoise shirt and a light blue shirt back out of the bag, cut the bottom 3.5 inches off of the light blue shirt and sewed it to the bottom hem of the turquoise shirt, making a faux layer at the bottom.

I stitched right along the existing hem seam on the turquoise seam so you can’t see the stitches.  Then, since that went so quickly, I got all Natalie Chanin on it and did a little reverse applique flower on the left shoulder.  (Okay, so her stuff is way cooler and more intricate, but it was fun and I’ll do more.)

To do it, I drew a flower template on paper then traced it onto the turquoise shirt with a fabric marker.  Then I cut a square out of the light blue shirt and pinned it to back of the shirt, making sure that it covered the entire area of the flower design.  Using 2 strands of blue embroidery floss, I did a basic running stitch by hand around the design, about 1/4 inch or so from the drawn line, through both the t-shirt and the square pinned onto it.  Once it was all stitched and secure, I cut out just the top fabric along the drawn lines and I was done.  Since its a knit fabric, it won’t unravel or fray.

I’ve really been enjoying hand sewing lately so this was right up my alley.

I’m pleased with how it came out, but I’m mostly just surprised that it actually worked and I can’t wait to try some more.  And it’s one less shirt I have to go buy!