Hey there! :)
Well guys. It's MAY! Can you believe that? My baby just turned 3 months and it has seriously been the fastest 3 months of my life. Also. It snowed this past week in Provo. On April 28th. Seriously, Utah? You need to go back to elementary school and learn the seasons. Spring means flowers and sunshine and green and perfect temps and yes, the occassional rainstorm. But snow? Nope, nope, nope. You got it allllllll wrong.
Kay. Annnnyway. What was I saying? Oh yeah, May. I'm extra excited for May this year because I am participating in the #MeMadeMay challenge. Have you heard about this before?! If not, you should read about it here. Basically, you make an individual goal in regards to your #memadewardrobe... whether that's to wear something you made 3, 4, 5 times a week... to
create more pieces for your closet... or to tackle a new and exciting technique, style, or project. I LOVE this idea because you get to decide the challenge for yourself. :) You can start wherever you are and go from there! Make sense?
For my first time participating, I have decided to....
- wear a "me-made" item (something I've sewn, refashioned, or altered) at least 4 days a week
- create more staple pieces for my wardrobe and replace some store bought ones
- complete more refashions (refashion atleast 4 items currently in my closet!)
I'll be sharing pictures, stories, and projects as I go both here on my blog and over on my insta.
I'm excited to challenge myself and really get a lot of use out of the handmade pieces in my closet! I went through my wardrobe the other day and pulled out everything I've made, refashioned, or altered and I was pleasantly surprised at the number of pieces! I can't tell you how good it feels to wear things you've made yourself. I always feel like I have this fun little secret to myself :)
So what do you think? Are you going to take the challenge, too? Let me know what #MeMadeMay looks like for you!!
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Kay. So to kick off #MeMadeMay, I ran to the thrift store this week and picked up several items to refashion. And a striped men's polo was one of them. :)
This refashion is super fun becaaaausee 1. buttons in the back are just this sneaky, cute little detail 2. ruffles are always a good idea 3. stripes should be a staple in every girl's wardrobe.
Check out the full tutorial below!
CAPTION: Oh look! My shoe's untied! ;)
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What you'll need:
- Men's polo (doesn't have to be in a huge size, just has to have extra length you can chop off. Also, make sure the shirt fits you fairly well in the shoulders, as adding ruffles to the shoulders if they don't sit in the right place will make you look droopy and very broad haha)
- Some double-fold bias tape (Here's the kind I used!)
Step 1.
Chop the bottom off your shirt to desired length. I did a rounded bottom for mine and used another shirt as my guide.
Step 2.
Cut around the collar to create your new neckline, keeping in mind that the buttons are now on the backside of your shirt.
Step 3.
Measure your sleeve from shoulder point to arm pit. Multiply by two. This will be used to create your ruffle pieces.
Step 4.
Using the measurement from Step 3 as the length, cut out two ruffle pieces (using excess you cut from bottom of shirt).
Step 5.
Fold your piece from Step 4 in half length wise and cut a curve as pictured above. My piece was about 2 1/2 inches at the point of the curve. Repeat for second ruffle piece.
Step 6.
Fold your ruffle piece in half length ways and match the center point with the shoulder point of your shirt. Pin in place, making sure ruffle piece is laying right-side down, with the curved edge matching the shoulder point and the straight edge pointing away from the shoulder, toward the neck.
Step 7.
Create a tuck/pleat at the point of the shoulder with your ruffle piece and pin.
Step 8.
Continue pinning your ruffle piece around the front and back of the sleeve, adding tucks/pleats every 2 - 3 inches.
Step 9.
Sew along ruffle piece where you have tucked and pinned.
**This is what your sleeve should look like after the ruffle is sewn in place and folded down.**
**Optional: I found that because we are turning the shirt backwards, the fit was a little wonky at the armpit/chest area. So I added a dart on each side to improve the fit.**
Step 10.
Using double-fold bias tape, wrap it around your raw neckline and pin in place.
Step 11.
Sew along your bias tape, all the way around your neckline.
And you're done! :)
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