Revamping a Shirt
There once was a shirt with lovely 3D organza flowers.
But, the organza DID NOT like it’s visit to the dryer, so those lovely flowers turned into a tangled mess.
Click any image for a larger view
You get the idea.
Since only the embellishments were damaged, I thought I could do some sort of interesting rescue of this garment. After removing the raggedy flowers, I began to consider options. Maybe some hands stitching. But what pattern/design?
Eventually, I settled on this. Simple black stitching in parallel lines.
The loop on one side plays up the skewed neckline.
It’s very satisfying to rescue something like this. I’ve even done it to quilts!
What sorts of things have you made over?
Ellen Lindner
See the quilt extreme makeover here.
Hi Ellen–Wow, loved that quilt extreme makeover. I have cut quilt tops and quilt blocks up, and been extremely happy with the results. But never a finished quilt. However, I have one quilt that I spent a lot of time on, that I do not like. I mentioned to a friend that I might cut it up to make potholders and coasters. However, now I will be brave and try what you tried first! Thanks so much for the inspiration!
Hey Debby,
It’s not the most efficient way to make a quilt, but it’s definitely worth considering! (Of course, experiment with a photo first.)
A couple of technical pointers:
– Add a buttonhole or other decorative stitch to the newly cut edges.
– I also “painted” the exposed batting (cross-section) with gel medium. This is an artist’s product that is essentially gooey plastic. It”s most often used to add body to acrylic paint. It comes in a wide mouth jar and it’s the consistency of Vaseline. You can use it as is, or thinned with water. It dries clear and is undetectable. It forms a thin plastic skin over the batting. After doing this, I’ve never had any batting escape those edges.
– Matte medium which is the basically the same thing in a liquid version, should also work. It’s cheaper.
– Don’t use Elmer’s though, as it will eventually turn yellow
I’d love to see your results!
BTW, I’m definitely considering using this technique again. Some of my quilts whimper when I get a little close with the rotary cutter.