Monday, September 17, 2012

How to sew your own drapey oversized top


Do you have an oversized shirt that you wished you had more of? You can make as many as you want if you follow a few easy steps.  

All you need is some fun fabric, tracing paper, a ruler, scissors, a pencil, a sewing machine, an oversized shirt to trace from, and pins.


Now lets get started…Grab an oversized top out of your closet that you want to replicate. (Mine is from Brandy Melville)


lay your shirt as flat as possible and place a sheet of tracing paper over the shirt. The goal is the trace around the shirt, therefore pin all around the shirt for it to be stable while you trace it.


you only need to trace half of your shirt because we are going to cut the fabric on a fold once for the front and again for the back. Add half inch all the way around your pattern and an inch at the hem. Your patter should look like this:




To have finished edges on your garment you can either add facing or lace like I did here:

Facing:
or lace:

Lay your pattern on the fold of the fabric like this:

Cut on the fold once for the front and again for the back, it should look like this:




Put the right side of the front and back fabric together and mark half an inch all the way around with an inch at the hem and pin.


sew side seams and shoulder seams, then add facing or lace

After you complete the hem you are finished!;)

-CM











Tuesday, September 11, 2012

DIY - Draped Muscle Tank

MUSCLE TANK - DIY

Luckily for us, the Muscle Tank has come back into style! Over the summer the muscle tee became apart of every teen or young adults wardrobe. A muscle tee can add spunk to an outfit or more of a casual feel when mixed with high end clothing. 

For the longest time I have been on the lookout for some old Rock N' Roll tees, but haven't had much luck at the Goodwill. Normally, I would just go buy a new shirt with a design of my choice, but the wear and wash on vintage shirts add so much more character.  Plus, adding a personal touch to garments can make it highly exclusive and unlike other items in similar clothing stores. These next 4 pictures are of  current and higher priced clothing in retail stores around you. Cute right? Wrong. In my opinion, nothing can ever be as cute as the price tag... and as a frugalista its either no deal or a steal. 






Neiman Marcus
WILDFOX Tank - LA Skyline Muscle - $64.00



Urban Outfitters 
Bravado Guns N' Roses Tee - $39.00



Urban Outfitters

Metallica Muscle Tee - $44.00





**REVAMPED VINTAGE VERSION**
DIY - MUSCLE TANK

What You Will Need:
 Flat Surface
Oversize shirt - (preferably Mens, I am size XS so I chose Medium in Men)
Fabric Scissors or Regular Scissors
Sewing Pins

Where to Find / Purchase Shirts as a Frugalista:
Your Own Closet - FREE!!
 Garage Sales- $0.25- $1.00
 Goodwill - $1.00 (only in Men)
Flea Market- $5-15





Steps:
1. Turn shirt inside out and line up the edges on the sleeves, especially from the shoulder to the armpit.



2. Repeat on opposite sleeve. Then stretch and pull the cut edges of the sleeve so it rolls outward.


3. Fold the shirt in half and match each side of the tanks together (top, bottom, and sides) Now flatten out any wrinkles in the fabric while keeping all edges even and pin a curve from the middle to the outer edges (The curve should look like half of a sloped hill). Once you are happy with your curve, cut the fabric.



 4. Turn tank inside out and then pull  along the bottom cut edges so they turn outward.


and its really that easy!!


Fairfax Flea Market
OBEY (revamped by me) - $5.00








We hope you liked the first post! If you have any questions, compliments, complaints, or concerns do not be afraid to send it our way. Thanks! ~ Y.R.