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Saturday, June 23, 2012

City girl Summer Cardigan sewing tutorial

Refashion Tutorial: Summer Cardigan
This tutorial was originally posted as part of Summer of Skills series over at Brassy apply. Reposting it here now.


City Girl Cardigan tutorial




I sew clothes all the time...for my daughter.For me? Not so much. Even simple repairs like sewing on a button, or hemming a pair of pants languish for months in my unfinished pile, before they get to my machine. With that state of affairs, I signed up for Meg's SOS series, for "Something for Me" part - not sure what I was thinking. Maybe I was just too thrilled to guest post among such talented ladies that I couldn't think straight. Anyhow, after a lot of back and forth, I decided I wanted to make a summer cardigan...from T shirts. So far so good. Here's what I did...

Supplies:

1. A T shirt in size one larger than required
2. Grosgrain ribbon - 1 inch wide - 1 yard
3. Bleach Pen

Construction:

Tshirt for refashion
1. Take a Tshirt thats one size larger than me.

cut the thsirt front in half

2. Fold in half along the width, cut out only the front part.

Remove the neck binding
3. Remove the neck binding.

 Cut the front neck into a V shape
4. Cut the front neck into a V shape.



serge the raw seams
5. Serge along the neck and front opening. If you dont have a serger you could fold a small part inside, or you could even skip this step. Since knits do not fray...It will be ok to have a raw edge inside.

6. Fold the serged part inside ( about half inch). Sew a seam over it.

Grosgrain ribbon
7. Cut two 10 inch long strips of 1 inch wide grosgrain ribbon.

sew the ribbon to the cardigan
8. Sew one end of the ribbon on the inside where the V shape of the neck ends.

The cardigan is done...now for the embellishments...I drove myself crazy on this one. Just nothing fit well with this faded purple color...I loved the color by itself, it had a very worn in, comfy, summerish feel... the only problem is that it also has a grandma(ish) feel. While I love grandmas, especially mine...I just don't think I'm quite there yet. I wanted some embellishment to bring the chic personality to this cardigan. However my usual friends...ruffles, laces, flowers, tulle were just too feminine for the washed out look of the original fabric...As I stood there, looking at the mess of tulle, lace and other coordinating fabrics...which just didn't work with it...a light-bulb went off in my head. Maybe its time I tried a bleach pen. The thought did cross my mind earlier...but at that point I was thinking paisleys and florals...which were just too predictable. But this time something else inspired me and I got excited.
clorox bleach pen

Excited enough to run to the nearest target and get this...

drawing with bleach

And I doodled away...knowing fully well that there was no going back now.


Remember to draw your doodles in as thin a line possible, because they will become wider as they dry. Let it dry for two full days, don't try to speed this up, or you will have white spots in the areas that come in contact with the bleach. Don't ask me how I know.
If you find it difficult to draw thin lines after a while. Just screw the cap again shake well and try again, it should be better now. I don't know why it works, but that's how I did it.
Once the bleach dries completely, there will be some residue on the cardigan, to get rid of it, I scraped the design with a knife and then cleaned it with a lint roller.

Finally I got this...

City Girl Cardigan


I think I like it...I think I love it...as in..really really love it.
Meg, thanks for having me here...it was so much fun and I learned something new.


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36 comments:

  1. Cute idea. Thanks for posting your teaser at Sew-Whats-New.com

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  2. This is just fab! I love what you did with the cityscape at the bottom

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  3. very good tut!!! Going in to search for an oversize t-shirt!!!

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  4. This one is really cute also. I have a Blog Hop on Wednesdays, and I would love it if you would link this post tomorrow. You can find it at
    www.adornedfromabove.com
    It is called Wednesdays Adorned From Above Blog Hop.
    I hope to see you there. Have a great Day.
    Debi Bolocofsky
    Adorned From Above
    www.adornedfromabove.com

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  5. Your cardi turned out great! I can't find these bleach pens anywhere but I'm going to continue searching. They look like so much fun to use on projects like this. I'd really love to have you join the Make it Great party going on right now at Etcetorize!

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  6. This is awesome! You know what else would be cool- doing some bleach pen stars, or the words USA... and then add some red ribbon! Happy Fourth of July :)

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  7. Cool! The bleach pen art was a great idea!

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  8. Love it! I do not leave the house without a cardigan- that 'be prepared' attitude dad instilled in us. This is going on my to-do list. Thanks for the wonderful tutorial!

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  9. Love it! I would have never thought to use a bleach pen this way...oh the possibilites!

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  10. Great job! Love the bleach pen idea!

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  11. I love it! The bleach pen and the ribbon make it fantastic.:)

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  12. How creative.. I love the city girl idea.. :)

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  13. The cityscape looks awesome!!! Thanks for linking up @Threading My Way. As you put this in the baby clothes link party, I've moved it to the Women's tops.

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  14. Hi, I've featured your City Girl Cardigan today...
    http://threadingmyway.blogspot.com/2012/07/threading-your-way-features.html

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  15. this really turned out cute! great tutorial!

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  16. Fabulous........!I would love to try something like this for myself.Thanks for sharing your ideas.
    www.blissfulsewing.blogspot.com

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  17. I really like this! It looks easier than I suspect it is though - or maybe that's just me!

    Visiting via the Around Tuit Hop :)

    Sarah
    http://acatlikecuriosity.blogspot.co.uk/

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  18. Love your summer cardi with it's hand drawn design! Thank you for sharing it at A Crafty Soiree, I've featured your project in this week's new post. Up tonight at midnight, come check it out when you get a chance :)

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  19. What a great idea! So simple - and I've never seen a bleach pen before! I shall have to look out for one!
    Thanks for linking to a Round Tuit!
    Hope you have a fabulous week!
    Jill @ Creating my way to Success
    http://www.jembellish.blogspot.com/

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  20. You gave me a great idea! I'll make a lot of its with my shirts!

    Thank you!
    Carmen from Italy

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  21. That bleach pin is a great idea. Thanks for sharing. Newest GFC follower from Lines Across. Love for you to stop by and return the follow when you can!

    Hosting Mom's Monday Mingle now. Love for you to link up ;) Lots of great Mom blogs to meet!

    www.thenaptimereview.com

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  22. I love this tutorial. Thanks for sharing.
    Anne xx

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  23. great idea! love the bleach pen idea! thank you

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  24. Thanks Lisa. I love the bleach pen too!

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  25. I think I'm going to try this with a long sleeve shirt for the fall...thanks so much!

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  26. Odd how I make stuff for my son all the time, but never make anything for me. Until now, that is. I'm going to find a man's long sleeve T-shirt big enough to make a light cardigan! Thanks for the tute!

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  27. I'm curious what you used to neutralize the bleach after making that cute cardigan. Did you use the commercial neutralizer? Or just vinegar?

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  28. @godworks1
    Actually I didn't use anything, I just let it dry for a couple of days and started wearing. I washed it after I wore it twice and I was afraid that bleach might spread, but it was fine.
    To be honest, I didn't even know that there is a way to neutralize the bleach, now that you have mentioned, I'm going to google it and keep in mind for my next bleach project.

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  29. I'm definitely making this. I don't think I'd be too good free-handing with the bleach pen, but I might do stenciling with doilies or stretchy trims or something like that. One question: How do you finish the cut ends of the ribbon?

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    Replies
    1. @Patricia: Doilies sound like a great idea. Do share the pics when you are done. I applied some fray check to the cut ends of the ribbon. You could also heat seal the ends by quickly taking them through the flame of a lighter.

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