nothing to wear: t-shirt refashion

Lately, I have felt like I have nothing to wear.  It's not true!  I have a closet full of clothes . . . and it's not a small closet.  I can't possibly justify buying more clothes . . . or afford it if I could justify it.  So I'm doing something I've wanted to do for a LOOOOOONG time.  I'm making the most of what I already have and putting together a little t-shirt refashion with the many plain t-shirts in my closet.  But the first thing I have to ask myself is . . . How on earth did I acquire so many t-shirts?  I've thought hard about this, and here are my theories:

1. A t-shirt fairy comes in the middle of the night and leaves them.
2. They mate behind closed doors.
3. In summer, my long sleeve shirts molt and become short-sleeve shirts.
4. When my husband's shirts experience too much shrinkage, he puts them in my closet. 

If I have a few more minutes, I could think of more, but all I know is that I couldn't possibly have actually purchased that many plain, short-sleeved t-shirts.  Right?

Whatever the reason, I'm putting these t-shirts to use in the next few weeks to cure my I-have-nothing-to-wear dilemma.  

Here's my first refashion. 

Grab:
2 t-shirts, scissors, straight pins and your sewing machine

1)  Cut sleeves off the shirt you are using for your base shirt.  If you don't like the neckline, cut one in the shape you would prefer.

2)  Cut the bottom hem off the shirt you will be using for the ruffles.  Then cut four or five 3 inch strips off the shirt torso.

3)  Add a strip to one cut-off sleeve edge by folding ruffles one at a time and pinning them to the sleeve edge.  Half of the ruffled strip should be one the base shirt and half will be off the shirt.  Turn shirt inside out and sew with machine about 1/4 of an edge from the sleeve edge.

4)  Repeat with other sleeve.

5) Take another strip and attach it in the same manner to the neckline starting in the center of the back.  Ruffle the strip around one side of the neckline and down the front just off center.  Repeat with another strip on the opposite side.  Pin under each end.  Sew down the center of each strip.

**If you need to lengthen the strips, sew the ends of two strips together and simply fold the seam under in a ruffle so it doesn't show.

7)  Tada!  Your refashioned t-shirt! 

Now, I just hope that when I open my closet tomorrow morning, there aren't even more plain t-shirts inside.  Then I know something strange is going on in there when I'm not around.

Grab some of your old t-shirts and . . .

craft on!

p.s. The fonts on blogger are driving me nuts.  I can't find one I like.  They seem either too small or too big or too . . . I don't know.  I just know I don't like them.