Last year I wasn’t surprised when I went to buy my tiny Kindergartner a School Spirit Shirt and they handed me a HUGE, Ugly, Boxy, Boy lookin’ excuse for School Pride!!!
Do they not know girls attend too!!! And heaven forbid a box of XXS OR XS Shirt are ordered!
Well have no fear little learner! Mama did what she does best and
whipped that baby right into shape!!! LITERALLY!!!
Spirit Shirt REVAMP:
Adding a little feminine style to an over sized dud!
First lay your shirt out and cut up the sides. I eye balled how much I would need to take it in when I had her try it on.
Trim the sleeve off at the seam. The Sleeve on the left have been trimmed. Put theses aside…
Use a straight pin to mark off how high you need to sew up the sides. I shortened the arm holes on this shirt to make it fit better.
Reverse the shirt so now the RIGHT sides are facing in.
Ok… Back to the sleeves. Cut the seam off that makes the sleeve a tube. Turn the shirt right side out. ( Ignore the fact that I still have mine inside out in the photo… I realized my mistake AFTER the fact!!! Oops!!) Starting in the arm pit, pin on the opened sleeve. Be sure to leave 1/4″ section so you can sew the sleeve back together once it’s on the shirt.
Pin in a few pleats. Now sew the sleeve on using a stitch with a stretch.
Sew the sleeve opening back together making it a tube again.
To add the ruffle in the sleeve, hand wind elastic thread onto your bobbin and straight stitch a ring near the edge of the sleeve. You will then pull the elastic tighter to make it ruffle. Tie it off and now you have a cute girly sleeve!!!
I also added a small strip of elastic to the sholders to pull it in and give it a little pucker.
And that’s about it!! A little School Spirit for a Girly Girl!!!!
We’ve got SPIRIT! YES we do!We’ve got SPIRIT! How about YOU!!!!
This is genius! Simply adorable!
I can use this tutorial for myself and for my daughters! Thank you!
that is awesome! my girls hate wearing their school shirts-i'll have to try this on one of the many they don't wear anyway!
this is a great idea! It will be perfect for my petite girl….it is so uncomfortable to swim in your t-shirt all day! The sleeves are a nice touch, thanks!
Well, of course this is what we should do with these shirts! Hahaha–you make it seem so simple to be so creative! Wish I had thought of this long ago when I started complaining about these kinds of shirts! You are so smart and the shirt looks fabulous! Can't wait to do this for my daughters!
So cute. That made a big difference!
Eleanor
I need to borrow maybe 1/100 of your brain… I would never think of doing such a thing. Pure genius. Of course I am the girl who gets hot glue in her hair.
Love it.
Love it!!!! Super cute!
Pure genius. That is fabulous!
Wow Becca, that is so very clever, it is adorable!
Nancy
Adorable,great job!
this is terrific! My girls have TONS of these kinds of big shirts that they gather in the back with a rubberband (which makes me nuts)! I'm going to tackle their piles of tees ASAP! thanks for sharing this idea!
I'm so glad to have stumbled across this post. I'll definitely being doing this when the shirts roll in.
Yes, We had to do this to a few shirts too. Here is a way to tie a ribbon bow on the sleeve. Also, I like to sew some elastic on the sides a the bottom. Pictures of those: http://mamabeefromthehive.blogspot.com/2009/10/field-trip-and-book.html
Another fun way to presonalize them is to change the neckline. I cut ours into a scoop, a v-neck or a split neck. Then I use all of the extra fabric to make ruffles along the new neckline. Because it's jersey… no need to hem the edge of the ruffles!!
That is so cute. My daughter hates t-shirts, because they are so big on her, but this would solve that problem.
My DD is now a 6th grader, and yesterday she brought home her new P.E. t-shirt….Well, the school apparently forgot that little girls go to 6th grade too!. I cut the hem of the t-shirt, but now I'm going to follow your intructions. Thanks a bunch!!!!
One size fits all shirts are definitely not one size/style flatters all. ha ha. You did a great job! Your daughter is sure to be the envy of her classmates.
My daughters go to Riverside! I love your idea of feminizing the school shirt. So cute! Too bad I don't have a sewing machine.
Wow! Way adorable! Now, I need to learn to sew…
My cousin recommended this blog and she was totally right keep up the fantastic work!