Guest post from Melissa of Melly Sews
This pretty embellished t-shirt cost me less than $5 to make and the poinsettias are subtle enough to wear it well beyond the holiday season.
You’ll need :
- 2 t-shirts. I got mine on sale for $2 each. One needs to be the final size for your recipient, and you should buy the other in the largest size they have to have extra fabric to cut up. Scoop or V necklines work best. You won’t use the entire second shirt, so if you want to make more than one, figure on using 1 1/2 shirts per finished shirt.
- A handful of beads (I used 28 beads that I cut off from a 25-cent thrift store necklace)
- Scissors
- Needle and thread
- Measuring tape or ruler
Cut the hem off your second shirt, then cut the shirt into 2-inch wide strips. For each shirt you’re making, you’ll need at least 2 of these strips.
Cut one end of the 2-inch wide strips open, then cut as many 3 1/2-inch long pieces of this strip as you can. You’ll need 21 of these 2-inch x 3 1/2-inch rectangles.
Fold one rectangle in half with long sides together. Then fold short sides together.
Cut diagonally across the tiny rectangle, making sure not to cut the two folded edges. You should have a diamond shape.
Now pinch the center of the diamond and put a couple of stitches through it to form a petal. Repeat 20 more times (may I suggest you have some nice Christmas music and a cup of hot tea while doing this?)
Pinch petals in half as pictured, and sew 3 together in the center to form the flowers.
Sew 4 beads into the center of each flower.
Arrange the flowers on the neckline of the shirt, then sew into place from the inside of the shirt. You want to sew the centers, and probably a few of the petal edges. And then wrap it up!
Melissa is mom to two young boys and works as a theatre teacher. She live in Texas, where she is married to a football coach and gets to spend lots of time under Friday night lights. Visit her blog, Melly Sews, for sewing tutorials and inspiration.
Do you have a great idea for a handmade Christmas gift? We’d love to have you submit your tutorial for possible publication for our Handmade Christmas series.
I just love this!! Did you see her post where she mades a blazer?!? Way over my head.
Just a fyi for a question I saw in the comments…you will want to use a knit shirt…otherwise the edges will fray and may even come unraveled…a jersey knit has nice drape and needs no finishing on the edges. 😉
I LOVE this….I am still figuring out our outfits for christmas photos, but I am a recycled clothing JUNKIE so this is right up my ally, and I am SO excited to check out Melissa’s blog too! Thanks for sharing! 😀
so cute, where did you find the $2.00 shirts?
This is a beautiful design!
How does it wash? I mean, without hemming/finishing the edges, will they just fray in the laundry?
I’d like to know this, too!
I’m interested in this too. I would love to make this, but I would hate to spend the time and effort and have it ruin in the wash!
Since it’s a knit fabric, it’s unable to fray. The worst thing that could happen is the petal edges might curl or if you yank on one of the petals sharply, a run could develop.
That’s so pretty!
Id like to just buy one of these shirts rather than making one… any idea where I might be able to do that? I LOVE it, but am definitely not crafty enough to do this myself. <3
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this idea!!! How cute! What a great (and affordable and crafty) way to be fashionable! 😀 Thanks for sharing!
This is such a cute idea. I love it.