Refashion: How to Add Stripes to a Plain T-Shirt

I am so excited about adding floral stripes to one of my plain old t-shirts. But... I have to tell you something. I did this re-fashion a while ago. I have wanted to share it forever but there is something that makes re-fashions really hard for me: taking pictures of myself. Having people take pictures of me. Etc. Generally I am comfortable in front of the camera, like when I am with someone else or I'm in front of something neat that is worth taking a photo of. But taking a picture of just me and my outfit becomes this whole new uncomfortable thing. I have tried doing it on my own, and I have tried having husband take them for me, it just never really turns out. I make nervous faces and I don't know how to "model" them, if you will. Kudos to fashion bloggers! Anyway, I finally got some "after" photos of the shirt but it was when Jess and I celebrated our 6-month blogaversary last weekend and took some pictures together so I just cropped one so you can see the shirt better. Someday I will get more comfortable with it...right?! Anyway, here is the basic how-to:
I have to say first that I am not a very experienced seamstress, and I had my mom help me with this as she does with most of my sewing projects. If I am not super clear on something and you have a question feel free to ask, and I will answer to the best of my knowledge. I am still learning! Also, I was inspired by this tutorial to do this project, and it's a really good one, so check it out.

Things you need:
A plain t-shirt (Mine is one of those Hanes v-necks you get in a 3-pack)
Another shirt or fabric for the stripes (Found my floral fabric at a yard sale in a free box! bonus!)
Good sewing scissors
Measuring Tape
Pins
Thread
Sewing machine
Pencil

Stripes: First, you choose where you want your stripes to be and how many you want. I just wanted two thick ones, four inches each. Whatever the width that you want them to be, add an inch to that. (For me, 5 inches.)You want to have half inch on the top and bottom to spare.  This is also where you can decide how long or how short you want your shirt to be.  If it's not long enough, cut out less from the t-shirt, if it's too long, cut out more.  You decide!

I liked the length of the original t-shirt, so I cut out two 3 inch sections.  (Remember that since I wanted 4 inch floral stripes, I had
to add an inch to the width?  It works in reverse when you are cutting pieces out of the shirt.  Because I didn't want to change the length
of the shirt, and taking into consideration the 1/2 inch seam allowance on the top and the bottom, I subtracted an inch from the 4 inch strip I needed.)

For the floral sections, you measure the length of your shirt across and double that number so you know the length you need, then add an inch for the seam allowance. Now you can cut the two 5-inch stripes from your floral fabric.  Fold the fabric in half and sew the ends together with a 1/2 inch seam allowance.  Now you have two floral tubes ready to attach to the shirt.

Cutting the t-shirt: I chose where I wanted my top stripe to be, measured half an inch below that, measured every few inches going across and drew a line in pencil so I knew it was even all the way across, then cut on that line.  Use the bottom of the T-shirt as the straight line guide for measuring the line to cut on.

Next I cut out a the 3 inch strip of t-shirt to throw away, (or use for something else, there are lots of fun things to do with pieces of
t-shirt material), then cut a 5 inch wide strip of the t-shirt, which will attach to the bottom of the first floral stripe, cut out another
3 inch piece to scrap, then I have the bottom of the shirt left.

The pieces you should have at this point, are the top of the tee, 2 floral 5-inch wide sections of material, one white 5-inch strip of
material, and the bottom of the t-shirt.

Pinning the stripe: This is important. The top of the tee needs to be right-side out, and then you pin the right side of the stripe to it (as

shown in the picture) inside-out and upside-down.  Sew together with a 1/2 inch seam allowance.  At this point you have two options with the seam.  If you have access to a serger, you can serge the seam along the seam you just made with the sewing machine, or you can just press the seam to lie against the floral fabric.  Because the t-shirt is white, you don't want the seam to show, thus pressing it back against the darker floral fabric where it can't be seen.

Repeat those steps three more times: stripe from original tee, another floral stripe, and again with the bottom of the tee.  Don't forget to make sure the right sides are together when you sew.  Press everything out as you go.  It makes it easier in the long run.

It's important to take your time to make sure you have things the way you want them before you start to sew.  It's not fun to take out the
stitches if you do it wrong, but if you do, don't worry, even the best seamstresses have to take out their stitches at times.

 

The last thing I did after getting the t-shirt assembled the way I wanted it was to take it in on the sides a little bit so that it was

more fitted at the top.  To do this, I pinned the sides together and starting just inside the sleeve line, I angled a line that took in
about an inch on both sides through the bust area, and angled down and back out so that it was the original width by the time I got to the hip area.

And here are a couple more of our blogaversary pictures doubling as my "after" pictures! Thanks to Pam from Over the Big Moon for taking them. Yay for six months of wonderful blogging! We love blogging here at PP and we love all of you for coming and being part of this little community with us. Here's to many many more blogaversaries.

 

If you like this post, you may also like:
Mint Jeans
His to Hers Shirt Refashion
How to Take In A Shirt 

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