5 ways to embellish a shirt pattern

One of my favorite things to sew is a good T-shirt. My kids dress really casual, so T-shirts and Sweatshirts are always in heavy rotation around here. When it comes to creating a versatile wardrobe for my girls I like to use cute prints and different colors, but I also like to have fun adding different details to the same pattern. And that got me thinking that I could share with you guys my favorite ways to embellish any shirt pattern. As well as small tutorials showing the way I made each of the details. From shirring, to ruching, to yokes and gathers…these are my top 5.

Ready?

5 ways to embellish a shirt pattern.

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1. Shirred sleeve detail

I took this idea from a store-bought tee my daughter has. It’s so easy and perfect for that extra girlyness factor. And here’s how you can make it:

2. Back ruffle

 

This version happened because I didn’t have enough fabric to cut the back pattern piece of a Rowan Tee and had to get creative. 🙂 I think it can work great  to add some color blocking or a cute print.

3. “The Ruche”

I used this detail on a Ziggy Top as part of a fun event Madeit patterns put together in the beginning of the year called “Just add Detail”.

To make this you’ll need two strips of the same fabric you’re using for your Tee (you can use contrasting fabric if you prefer) and T-shirt yarn.

4. Yoke and gathers

This is another way to have some fun either keeping the same fabric or mixing prints or solid colors.

Here’s a quick how to:

5. Embroidered outline

Lately I’ve been obsessing on simple embroidered details. Particularly a Japanese technique called Sashiko. I haven’t quite managed to try Sashiko properly, but it gave me the idea to make a simple embroidered outline on a sweatshirt. I decided to use the rabbit from the Rabbit rug template, I shared here a few months ago and I love the result.

To make it I just printed the rabbit, scaled to the size I wanted, and cut the outline. Then placed it centered on the front of the sweater and traced the outline with some tailors chalk. With  embroidery floss I sewed long stitches along the outline, until the rabbit was complete. You can do this with the rabbit template (get it here) or you can use it with the design of your choice, the possibilities are infinite. 😀

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There are so many good things one can make with a good basic pattern, hope you feel inspired to try some of these.

I just reviewed a great free shirt pattern from NOSH, including instructions in english since the pattern is in Finnish, you can check it out here.

As you may know “Good is in Detail” (quoting the brilliant Architect Mies Van Der Rohe), so go on and do it to make your sewing even more special. 😉

Thanks for stopping by.

Happy sewing!