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The Embellished 5 – Pink Tee Edition

February 5, 2011 By Amy @ Positively Splendid

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A few weeks ago, I was approached by Stefi from Just Chic to participate in a project that really sounded like fun: 5 different bloggers are each be given the same item to embellish or refashion to their hearts’ content, and then everyone posts their creations in a series called The Embellished Five. Fun!

I am thrilled to be participating in this series with these other marvelous bloggers…
Stefi from Just Chic
Jennifer from My Two Butterflies
Sarah from Sweet Pea and JoJo
Larissa from Just Another Day in Paradise

This week’s item to liven up was a plain-Jane pink tee from Joann. With a bit of snipping and a bit of stitching, I transformed my tee into a fun little bolero. I used the fabric I trimmed away from the bottom of the tee to create the fun little ruffle detailing around the neck, and to finish the raw edges, I used lettuce stitching for added interest. Overall, this was a super simple project to put together!

step 1 / Fold your tee in half, as shown below. Use a washable ink marker to mark the overall shape of your bolero. As you can see, it took me a couple of tries until I was satisfied. 😉 With your tee still folded, trim along your sketched lines, and then unfold your tee.

step 2 / Measure 4 inches out from the top shoulder seam of your tee on your sleeve, and make a mark. Measure 1/2 inch from the bottom of this same seam, and make a mark on the lower portion of your sleeve. Connect these two marks with a line, as shown, and trim away the excess. Reserve this extra sleeve piece to use as a tracing template in the next step.

step 3 / Flip your tee over, so that the opposite sleeve is aligned in the same way your other sleeve was in the previous step.Using the extra portion of the sleeve your trimmed off as a template, trace a trimming line on this sleeve, and trim away the excess. Use a straight edge to draw a line down the middle front of your bolero. Cut down this line, making sure to cut only through the top layer of fabric. Now, go around the entire perimeter of your bolero with a lettuce stitch to finish the edges and give everything a fluttery, flirty look. You can find a great lettuce stitch how-to here.

step 4 / Take the excess fabric you cut away from the bottom of your tee in step one, and cut 3/4″ strips with your rotary cutter. Make a snip to open up these loops, and then ruffle each piece using the ruffling method I detail here. Now, arrange these ruffles in loops and swirls on the front of your bolero, stitching as you go.

All finished!

I hope you’ll venture over to the other four blogs to see their take on this challenge. Everyone did a marvelous job, and it was so enjoyable to see how unique each take was!

Have a terrific weekend!
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Amy @ Positively Splendid
Amy @ Positively Splendid

Having grown up in a home brimming with sewing notions and paintbrushes, Amy has a deep love for all things creative. On any given day, you’ll find her knee-deep in her latest creative endeavor, with projects ranging from sewing and crafts to home decor and kid-friendly ideas. Amy believes that everyone, regardless of skill level or experience, possesses the ability to create something beautiful, and Positively Splendid was born of her passion for helping others harness their innate creative potential.

EVEN MORE GREAT IDEAS JUST FOR YOU!

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Filed Under: Sewing, Tutorials Tagged With: Embellished Five, Embellished Tees

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. claudia b says

    February 5, 2011 at 9:21 pm

    This is SOOOOO cute. I am totally going to make this!

    • J C W says

      July 15, 2013 at 4:07 pm

      I so love this Tee shirt; I can’t wait to create several; i’m even going to make some with longer sleeves for the fall. Thank you for letting everyone in on the process.

      • Amy @ Positively Splendid says

        July 15, 2013 at 5:15 pm

        You are so welcome! I am glad to hear you enjoyed this project.

  2. Alayna Howard says

    February 5, 2011 at 9:22 pm

    I love this! Too cute. I have so many shirts that I could do this to. Thank you for sharing. http://alaynahoward.blogspot.com

  3. twobutterflies says

    February 5, 2011 at 10:01 pm

    Beautiful!!! Love, love, love, the ruffled details!

  4. [email protected] says

    February 5, 2011 at 10:09 pm

    darling! I love the lettuce edge! I have an extra shirt in my stash. I might have to try this!

  5. Stefi says

    February 6, 2011 at 12:16 am

    This is so adorable! You came up with such a nice idea!

  6. [email protected] says

    February 6, 2011 at 6:11 am

    so so so cute! LOVE IT! I am featuring it at somedaycrafts.blogspot.com tomorrow!

  7. Brenda says

    February 6, 2011 at 3:54 pm

    I LOVE THIS!! Everyone did such a great job on their shirts. Yours jumped out to me in that you added nothing from another shirt or anything else to it. Everything you used came from the original shirt. Fascinating!!

    It turned out so cute. I would have never guessed it started out as a t-shirt.
    Great job!

  8. Sarah Masci says

    February 6, 2011 at 4:17 pm

    Oh my gosh, I love this! I just broke out my brand new sewing machine last night (1st one) and took an hour just to thread the bobbin and needle! Needless to say, I will file this one away for a day when I am bit more skilled. Thanks for sharing, it is so adorable!

  9. nikkijoy says

    February 6, 2011 at 8:02 pm

    Just saw this over on justchic… It’s AMAZING!! I absolutely love it! Well done =) x

  10. Tanya says

    February 7, 2011 at 2:33 am

    Well done!

  11. Linda says

    February 7, 2011 at 2:47 am

    I just love all those ruffles! Great project!

  12. Brenda says

    February 7, 2011 at 3:54 am

    Love it! Way to go! I love the ruffles!

  13. Mary Lea says

    February 7, 2011 at 7:42 pm

    What a cute, cute transformation! This totally rocks! I an hardly wait to go find a t-shirt to try this with!

  14. Moms of all Trades says

    February 7, 2011 at 8:52 pm

    I also love this , Proud to be your newest follower!!

  15. laxsupermom says

    February 10, 2011 at 3:15 pm

    Love this! Super cute transformation! I need a ruffler foot – I keep seeing all these super cute ruffled creations all over blogland. Thanks for sharing.

  16. My House of L says

    February 10, 2011 at 8:31 pm

    Very cute!

  17. Jennifer Rodriguez says

    February 10, 2011 at 11:09 pm

    I am soo doing this!
    Love it, great tutorial!

  18. Kim @ Cheap Chic Home says

    February 11, 2011 at 2:17 am

    This is super-duper cute! I really like the way you made ruffle flowers.

  19. Barbara says

    February 17, 2011 at 3:05 am

    Brava! Applause, applause! You did so very well with your project!

  20. Tea Jurković says

    February 17, 2011 at 5:50 am

    Such a great idea! I linked this tut on my blog, thank you so much for those great step by step instructions. Greetings from Croatia!

  21. CREATIVE MIND says

    February 17, 2011 at 2:53 pm

    super cute..totally awesome.thanks for the tutorial

  22. Tricia says

    February 17, 2011 at 6:18 pm

    I love this !!

  23. Lacie ♥* says

    March 3, 2011 at 2:53 am

    OH MY GOODNESS. I am speechless! Ok, well not really, I ALWAYS have something to say, but this is AMAZING in every sense of the word. I could have a fit right now because I want to make this THIS instant. I’ll be purchasing a sewing machine ASAP. GREAT WORK! <3
    Thanks for sharing with us!

    <3 Lacie

  24. Denise says

    March 3, 2011 at 12:33 pm

    Amy,
    This is positively amazing and I love it! I have scheduled a feature of it for this afternoon at Extreme Personal Measures.

    Denise
    Extreme Personal Measures

  25. Teri Bueno says

    May 4, 2011 at 6:27 am

    Amy, amazing, I love it, I am going to make it, but I am making for my granddaughter I think it will be so cute and she will love it. Thank you for share.

  26. The LadyBugs Garden says

    September 29, 2011 at 1:43 am

    I love it. So easy and cheap is better..
    Stephanie

  27. Aussie Em says

    January 7, 2012 at 11:37 am

    wow, what a fantastic idea! I had a really cute tee sitting in my cupboard, not getting much use because I don’t like the way the fabric clings to the tummy. It already came with a floral detail quite similar to the one you have sewn onto your t-shirt. All I did was cut the t-shirt all the way through the middle at the front, and I have a lazy cheat’s version of your gorgeous bolero! Thanks for the idea!

  28. sewingbreakdown says

    March 15, 2012 at 2:04 pm

    How wonderful this will I try it Thank you

  29. Trisha says

    April 18, 2012 at 2:24 pm

    This is so cool! I love the idea and it looks like it will be great finished up! I might play with the directions a bit, of course…thanks for sharing!

  30. Trisha says

    April 18, 2012 at 2:25 pm

    I love it! Thanks for sharing. This could turn out to be a lot of fun.

  31. meijo's JOY says

    May 23, 2012 at 9:56 am

    The color, pattern, tutorial, photo… too pretty! Love it1

  32. Cindy Nipper says

    September 7, 2012 at 10:45 am

    What about the back. Isn’t the back solid? If you cut it like described, the back wouldn’t be attached. Can you include a picture of the back? Thank you! It’s very cute! Especially the punch of bright color!

  33. Samantha says

    February 25, 2013 at 7:16 am

    This is cool! I have a purple t shirt & a gold t shirt. I’m going to put the purple ruffles on the gold, and the gold ruffles on the purple. For Minnesota Vikings colors!! Thanks for the tutorial 🙂

  34. Antonia says

    August 8, 2013 at 3:49 am

    Hello there! I could have sworn I’ve been to this blog before but after reading through some of the post I realized it’s new to me.
    Anyways, I’m definitely delighted I found it and I’ll be
    book-marking and checking back often!

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