Refashioned

Last year I bought a shirt that I really liked until I saw myself wearing it in a photo. Not flattering. While it looked fine when i was standing in front of a mirror -- you know, standing straight and tall and trying to make it look good -- out in the real world it looked awful. So every since I saw that photo the shirt has stayed in my closet.

Until just recently. I've become very interested in the idea of refashioning clothing, so I decided to try my hand with this shirt. I was never going to wear the shirt again anyway, and if it didn't work out I could use the fabric for something else.

Against my better judgment, I'll include one of the photos that made me decide to never wear the shirt again. It's a photo my mother-in-law took while visiting last year. Obviously I had no idea she had her camera pointed my way or I would have stood up a bit straighter. :) But this is what refashioning is all about. You have to see the before to appreciate the after. So here are both a before and after photo.


before -- quite unflattering


after -- much better
I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to do when I started, so I tried a few different options. I ended up removing the front seam under the bust, cutting that panel and sewing it back with an opening. I also removed the elastic from the back so the front seam was a little loser and shortened it by a few inches. Overall, I'm pretty happy with it. Of course, I haven't seen myself wearing it in any candid photos yet.

Stay tuned for some t-shirt reconstructions in the coming weeks (if they turn out wearable!).