Here we have Exhibit A: a cosy but unattractive stripey skivvy. (A girl can never have too many stripey shirts, after all!) I picked this up at Vinnies about a month ago, from the $1 rack!
I drew myself a new neckline.
I chopped off a bit of the sleeves, used my serger to finish the raw edges, and then turned them under and used a plain straight stitch on my regular machine to stitch that down.
After cutting the new neckline, I salvaged the turtleneck to use for a binding for the neckline. I cut it in half lengthwise and joined it together to make a longer, narrower piece. I pinned that piece all around the neckline, right sides together, and serged them together. At that point I realised I didn’t need the binding piece to be quite so wide, so jumped back onto the serger to a) make it narrower and b) finish the other edge. Then I folded it over and stitched it down with a straight stitch. And ironed it of course! It’s weird, but I really like ironing. It’s very satisfying to apply heat and steam and get a perfect press.
Much improved, but I thought it still needed a little something.
I tossed up a few ideas at this point. I was really keen on sticking an owl on there somehow (who doesn’t love owls right now?), but I’m not kitted up for screenprinting, and I didn’t think I’d be able to applique onto the stretch fabric with any success.
After wandering through the stash for a little while, I came across my bag of salvaged zippers. Eureka! I zipped that baby up. I mucked around with the placement a bit, until I liked how it looked, then just sewed them straight on using matching thread and my zipper foot.
Not bad for a $1 bargain shirt!
Sewn to the tunes of David Bowie’s awesome new album, The Next Day.
makebakesisters 
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