Thursday, August 11, 2011

diy: a little edge

I love silk, especially in the summer.  It's true that it leads to wrinkleville, but I don't care.  I just love it.  Picking up thrifted silk blouses has been my latest thing, and I was drawn to the neutral color of this one, which I promptly restyled to my liking:



Though I liked the fabric and hue, the fit was off: as usual, the sleeves were way too long and the shoulders a bit too wide.  Solution: peace out, sleeves, and hello, bias tape!  Here's the original:



And details post-revamp:




I am suddenly overwhelmed by the possibilities presented by this refashioned blouse.  Knot in front and wear with denim shorts now!  Belt and wear over a mini!  Pair with a cropped sweater in the fall!  I clearly can't deal.  

This was so easy that I feel ridiculous laying out the steps, but here's what I did:

1) Remove the sleeves.  I just cut right above the seams, rather than carefully picking them out with a seam ripper.
2) Check for fit and make adjustments if needed.  In this case, the armholes were way too big.  So, under the arm, I slimmed the sides about half an inch.  I also sewed a gathering stitch right next to the shoulder seams - you just sew a line of long stitches where you want to gather the fabric, pull the bottom thread while smushing the fabric together along the thread until it looks good, and sew the loose thread into place (I also stitched over the gathering when I was done to secure it).  With this step, I was able to make the armholes smaller and add a bit of interest without having to get too precise with the armhole shaping. 
3) Sew on bias tape to cover the armhole and collar edges.  You can buy or make bias tape.  I made mine from some lovely raw silk I had lying around (I love how its nubbiness contrasts with the smooth silk of the blouse).  Just fold the tape in half, press, and stitch it right over the edges.  Make sure you fold the ends of the bias tape to the inside for a clean finish.  

Hooray for (relatively) quick fixes!

29 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. I always enjoy your DIYs! Take something so basic and turn it into somethin so chic! Who knew that a little bias tape can do so much?! =)

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  3. new visitor to your blog love it!
    what you did to that shirt is amazing!

    check out my blog if you get the change and follow...I will indeed follow back: http://kaitgirl.blogspot.com

    xo
    kaitlin

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  4. wow, i'm so impressed with your alterations!! i love the new sleeveless shirt you made out of the previous one. definitely edgier and i can imagine so many different outfits with it too!

    cute & little
    Etta Grace giveaway!

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  5. i love the outfit.

    check out mine

    http://paquetevistasbien.blogspot.com

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  6. Wow, that's a new garment! Perfect!

    Kisses from Hong Kong,
    Nicole

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  7. This is great!!Well done:))))Love all your DIY! xxx

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  8. Woow. The re-vamp of this top looks great!! You did SUCH a good job!!

    <3Amanda
    feast.fashion.faves
    My first GIVEAWAY

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  9. It's absolutely great change! I love it :)

    http://dressyourstyle.blogspot.com

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  10. oh. my. goodness. I am kind of in awe with this, it's like a whole new top and it's adorable! I love sleeveless button downs, and the bias tape you added is adorable. great post

    <3 Alison
    alisonscampusfashion.blogspot.com

    giveaway going on, check it out!

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  11. I liked the original shirt as well, but love that you added your own flair to it! Looking forward to seeing you style it in different ways! I also love the color of your pants!! :D

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  12. Lovely blouse ! Nice to discover your beautiful blog and your style !

    http://cuteredbow.blogspot.com

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  13. I love what you did to this blouse! It looks great.

    Erin
    www.simplyjustlovelyblog.com

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  14. Wow! Another amazing diy! I love this so much, I just pinned it to pinterest. And thanks for leaving a comment on my blog, I love to hear from people. You can shop all saints online, though of course it's not the same as being able to try the stuff on in person.

    http://nomadic-d.blogspot.com/

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  15. gosh! i love it! it's so miumiu! :) thanks for the inspiration!

    littleprojectsinstyle.blogspot.com

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  16. Great DIY! The blouse looks great!

    GTBB,
    http://badjoan.blogspot.com
    http://cookingjoan.blogspot.com

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  17. ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS! Love reading through all your posts. :)

    x
    Minty
    mintyandpeaches.wordpress.com

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  18. oh wow this turned out so good!! i love the contrast of the black piping.

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  19. Wow, great transformation! I love the black piping accent!

    invasionista

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  20. This is such a fab DIY and you have executed it so well! I thought the blouse was nice in the before photo but you have taken it to a whole new level. Great job hun :)

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  21. Whoah. Love that! Super impressed. Just stumbled upon your blog and am loving it. Would love it if you checked mine out if you get a sec!
    www.megansilianoff.blogspot.com

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  22. Wow so amazing DIY! It looks like totally diferent shirt!

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  23. You are such a fantastic seamstress!!


    http://www.mythriftychic.com

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