Refashioning: Adding Graphics to a Sweater

You may or may not remember this post, where I merged a gorgeous tiger graphic from an old ratty crop top to the front of a dress. Anyways, I had taken the pictures with my phone and wasn't able to comment in between the pictures, so I've been kinda feeling like I needed to re-blog this method. That, and the fact that I really like this method and have done it a few times since that last post, I decided to re-show this same process using different clothing items.

Here is a black sweatshirt that I really like, but I have lots of black shirts, so I was willing to let it get embellished. (Disregard the clothing hanging behind it. These are not the droids you are looking for...)

I found this super cute sequin heart smiley face off the dollar rack, but as you can see. . .it's on a shirt I would NEVER wear.

Harvest time! (3/4" seam around it).

I ironed it on the wrong side to make sure it was flat.

Then, I folded the sweatshirt in half and put pins down the fold to delineate the middle.

Then, I lined up the points of the heart with the pins, folded one side of the heart over and sprayed the back with adhesive spray.

I repeated the spraying on the other half of the heart.

The purpose of spraying the graphic with spray adhesive is so that the graphic will stay in place. You could also use fusible iron-on backing. . .in which case, you may not even have to sew anything once the graphic has been ironed on. . .but I HAVE a sewing machine and spray adhesive, so. . .Why buy something extra?

Even though the graphic was stuck on, I still pinned it in place, because sometimes the fabric stretches funny and pins help that problem.

If you are doing the sewing method, this is where things may get tricky in your head, because if a shirt is already sewn together, how are you going to get the machine inside the shirt so the graphic can get sewn on properly? Like. . .it would be super easy if the shirt weren't sewn together yet. You would just sew the graphic onto the front piece of the shirt and then sew the shirt together. However, you can't do that when the shirt is already sewn together, unless you take it apart. 

Don't worry. . .it's going to take a little finagling. . .but don't worry. You don't have to take anything apart. This is why spray adhesive is so helpful: The graphic will stick to the clothing all during this squishing and pushing process so you don't have to worry too much.

Remember, you have two holes to work with: the neck hole and the bottom seam. 

Set your machine to a zig-zag stitch and put your machine as far back through the neck hole as you can manage. Then sew forward around your graphic, removing pins as you go, as far forward as you can. Cut your threads and remove your shirt from the machine.

Then, put your machine through the bottom hem as far back as you can go. (You should meet up with the last stitches you had made through the neck hole). Continue sewing forward until you meet up with the first stitches you made through the neck hole. Cut your threads and you're done!

You can see that all the seams of the actual sweatshirt are raw and unfinished, so I didn't even bother trimming the excess off around the heart.

Here is another project I did the same way. I took an adorable sequin heart off a nasty T-shirt and sewed it onto a nice, black sweater!

If you are worried about the graphic pillowing out from your garment (because the spray adhesive is going to wash out eventually), you can take a needle and thread and tack it down somewhere in the middle. Only one or two stitches are needed.

The seams on this sweater are all finished, so I did trim around the outer part of the heart, just to clean it up a bit.

The End!

Shiny Silver Fuzzy Sweatshirt

I made a sweatshirt using the sweater below as my pattern. Blogger's sideways ways have struck again.

Here it is. I did my same "lay it down and cut around it" method that I've done a million times before, so I skipped right to the end.

A close up. This fabric is really interesting. It's shiny and almost metallic, yet fuzzy, and if you look hard enough, you can see sort of a paisley pattern going on.

A super close up.

The End!

Criss Cross Sweatshirt

This is another project I did about 3-4 weeks ago. (I promise I will divulge what I've been up to soon.)

I saw this shirt in a magazine, so I copied the idea.

I made the bottom hem a bit lower so that my tummy wouldn't show. I think it looks kinda Asian.

The End!

Christopher Kane Spring 2014 Inspired: Modification: Raglan Floral Shirt from a 70s Shirt and a Mini Dress

Sometimes you find something so gross and tacky at the thrift store that you can't not buy it. Case and point: The butterfly collared floral wonder below. I just couldn't pass it up. That's not just a painted or stamped floral pattern. Rather, it's a compiled photograph of flowers! How cool is that? Also, the shirt itself was handmade, which means not only was someone stylin' like it's 1979, but also she was doing it ON PURPOSE. 

I just felt I needed to buy it, if for no other reason than respect.

A year or so ago, I bought this dress for $6 on eBay. It's actually really well-made and lined. It has this neat little cape-let and epaulet details, and even though it looks repulsive on my body, I just couldn't part with it because of the color.

Do you smell a modification coming together?

Remember that one shoulder cut-out shirt I made here? Well, this new shirt is also an homage to that Christopher Kane Spring 2014 show with the florals and the nudes and the pinks. Skipping ahead a few hours:

I kept the "V" of the neckline as a keyhole detail as you can see above, but did away with the collar. It was a little too groovy for my scrawny neck.

I used some of the lining of the dress as the cuff of the sleeves because it was the same color only shinier. Just a little detail.

The End!

Christopher Kane Inspired - Bejeweled Shoulder Cut-Out Sweatshirt

Marie Claire's February 2014 magazine featured Drew Barrymore wearing this Christopher Kane sweatshirt that retails for $3045!!! (No doubt because of the jewels on it.)

The cut-out is cool, but kind of really big. I liked the idea though.

It's kind of a specific color, though. Sort of nude pink. I had a skirt in my closet that I never wear because it's made for someone without hips, but I never got rid of because I love the color:

It took a lot of planning, because the fabric was REALLY limited, so I couldn't make any mistakes. I had just enough material to make this:

As you can see, the hole is smaller. I just felt it was more tasteful.

I thought about putting a necklace around it, but I didn't really have anything that would go, so I used pretty buttons instead.

This is all that was left of the skirt!

The End!