Sunday, April 05, 2009

Upcycling and Reverse Applique

reverse t-shirt finished

This t-shirt had become too short for Toots yet it still fit everywhere else. I've been wanting to try a reverse applique and snagged this out of the donation pile.


reverse t-shirt step 1

First, I turned the shirt inside out and machine basted it around the edge of the doll outline. Make sure the fabric you are appliqueing is wrong side up (I could see through the fabric). Then turn in right side out. I top stitched using the basting stitch as a guide.



reverse t-shirt step 2

I cut away leaving @ an eighth of an inch to reveal the applique.


reverse t-shirt step 3

I pinked the arms and sewed it on top. I like the contrast between the two. It will unravel with wear and get thready.



As you can see from the first photo I added legs by sewing them where they meet the dress and left them to dangle. I added a 10 inch wide gathered strip of my fabric that was printed through Spoonflower and that was that. Now she has another shirt to play in.

6 comments:

Michele A. said...

Love it!! Sooo cute!

Mortimer's Mom said...

Guess What I'm doing this afternoon? Making THAT! 'cause I have the fabric and lord knows I have plenty of shirts..... you are a genius!

Susan said...

Mortimer's Mom ~ I actually thought of you while I was making this and knew you'd be all over it. I'm thinking I'm going to add a jumprope to the doll applique. Not sure how I'm going to tack it down yet...we'll see.

I can't wait to see what you come up with.

Dakota3 said...

The top you made is so cute! Cindy

Spacemom said...

Very cool! I never thought about that!

JustJoan said...

I LOVE this. So clever. And I've never commented before, but I love your fabric too! ~Joan