Collared Shirt Remake

With the way the world is going it is more important than ever to reuse and recycle. Between the world's resources and the bad economy great ideas for remaking old products are cropping up everywhere. In honor of this idea we decided to devote this week to get inspired by products we already own. Here are some great ideas I have pinned to my reuse and recycle board. I love all of the clever reusings (I just made up a word).

Kate from See Kate Sew made this adorable shirt from a men's dress shirt

I've seen this scarf remake done over many times but Put up Your Dukes has a great tutorial.

I love all these fantastic pallet ideas from Sugar and Spice Design. I really should try to be more handy in my crafts.
And Ashley from Art with Ashley came up with a great idea for Sew you Think you Can Sew. Take some baggie pants and make them into skinny pants. LOVE IT!

Thanks for the inspiration ladies.


Now unto my remake. I took this old shirt of mine that has been hanging in my closet for who knows how long. I just love the pattern and the colors. The problem is it just didn't fit me right. Too short and too wide. (I hate that). Anyways, I decided that it needed to retire from my closet but I thought it would be fun to try and make something for little Lizzy. I wanted to make a tutorial for you but honestly as I got to working on it my methods were just too complicated and I just kind of sewed it together until it worked.

I used the original hem and cut the top into a basic aline shape. The I cut under the armpits about 2 inches and gathered the rest of the shirt sewing it onto the bodice. I use the original sleeves just shortening them and adding a thick band around each arm to make it puffy. Then I used some contrasting fabric I owned to make a collar and tie around the waist.


I really love how it turned out. The ribbon down the button line is such a cute characteristic and the tie makes it girly. It was actually fairly easy once I figured out my pattern because I didn't have to hem or put on the buttons. Great remake in my book!