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  • Writer's pictureLonda

Designing a NEW Shirt from 3 Old Shirts

I'm totally 'hooked' on up-cycle sewing - a VERY healthy, INEXPENSIVE and frugal pastime!

These 3 shirts below had problems as you can see....


In days gone by, I can remember my Mom and Grandma 'turning' collars' to solve the worn edge issue as shown in the center photo above. My hubby and I (since I did all the ironing weekly) LOVED the blue/brown plaid shirt - but somehow he managed to get this glorious rip in the front! Honestly, I don't know where the solid periwinkle blue shirt came from, and sadly, took out the sizing labels before I got seriously started. Nonetheless, from measurements of my finished garment, I'm calling this a size XL and have it for SALE in my A Londa Original category.

Below is my finished shirt after hours and hours of designing and stitching.


To begin, I wasn't actually sure if I was going to layer fabrics on top of the solid periwinkle shirt, or to just piece things together on top of the yoke on down. As it turns out, I opted for the first plan - as it just seemed easier. Below is a photo that shows the inside and the ample 'quilt stitching' to unify the two layers of shirting into 'one'. This was especially important since I was placing many of the pieces on the 'bias' or at an angle that would have stretched out like crazy if it weren't firmly stitched to the base shirt - see the 2nd photo below.