Search

My extended family has been great about getting my son t-shirts when they/we travel.  I love it!  It gives him something practical to wear and remember the trip/people who gave it to him at the same time.  But, eventually, he outgrows them and they have to be retired, with lots of good wear left.  Enter the Classic T-shirt pattern with hacks by Mamma Can Do it!  I jumped at the opportunity to try this t-shirt pattern and upcycle one of my son’s shirts.  Be sure to check out The Classic T-shirt pattern here (Affiliate link).

The first version of the Classic T-shirt that I made was straight off the pattern (aside from needing to lengthen the t-shirt for my son).  I don’t remember what type of fabric it is, but it’s an incredible soft blue tie-dye fabric from So Sew English Fabrics.  He wore it to back to school night and I was hard pressed to catch a picture where he wasn’t moving!

I appreciate the opportunity to work with this Mamma Can Do it project (Thanks Elizabeth)!  Feel free to follow my random assortment of projects over at Facebook and Instragram under @SusanSewsLove!

To start out with this upcycle, I chose a t-shirt that I wanted to use.  In this case, it’s from a family visit to the Fort Worth Stockyards.  I laid the shirt out and cut along the seams so that I had 4 separate pieces (front, back, and 2 sleeves) and a piles of scraps (seams and neckband).  Watch a time-lapse of the Disassembly, planning, and cutting over at Youtube.

Next, I take the existing front panel and compare it to the pattern piece to decide how I want the image on the shirt to transfer to the new garment.  I decided to cut a fairly small rectangle around the image because I felt that would be the most balanced. I pulled out my t-shirt fabrics and let my son choose the coordinating color. I probably would have chosen a greyish neutral color, but I’m not the one wearing it.   😁  Once I have chosen the fabric, I focus on first cutting out and assembling the front pieces.

You could cut the pattern apart and make specific “pieces” for each one, but since the next one I make may be a different size shirt or design, I just fold the pattern piece as desired, add a bit extra for seam allowance, and assemble.  As you can see, I knew I would need to trim the top corners of the cut out, but I waited until I have the rest of the front pieces assembled, then trimmed the corners to make a smooth transition.  I also used a small zigzag stitch to tack the seams in front down.

Once I have the front assembled, I can go ahead and cut out the back, sleeves, and neckband using whichever fabric is desired for those pieces.  I made the sleeves to match the center panel and used new material for the back and neckband.

From this point, I simply followed the instructions provided with the pattern for the assembly.  When I was down to only the hem left, I noticed that the back was slightly longer than the front because of the piecing (maybe 1/4 -1/2 inch difference) so I laid it flat and cut the back to match the front before I hemmed it.

Overall, I was very pleased with how both the straight pattern t-shirt and the hack turned out!  Hopefully my son will get a lot of use out of these t-shirts this school year, and I plan to keep the pattern around for future use!

 

Share:

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
LinkedIn

Related Posts

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Reverse appliqué tutorial

I have had this Valentine’s fabric in my stash forever, just waiting for the perfect project to come along. With Valentine’s Day just around the

Scroll to Top