The Refashioners 2015
Following the success of the last series of ‘The Refashioners‘, Portia asked me to participate in her refashioning challenge again this year. You can see what I made in the last round of the challenge here.
This year, the raw materials for my refashion were chosen and sent to me by Elisalex from By Hand London. As you can see, naughty Elisalex (never one to play by the rules) selected not one but two shirts in similar sizes and colour schemes.
One shirt was stripy taupe and white.
The other was also taupe and white, but a subtle dotted pattern. The fabric was thinner and had an element of stretch to it.
I don’t know how she found two shirts in the exact same colours, but she’s right, they were destined to be together.
My ideas for combining contrasting fabrics in shirts were limited to bowling shirts and cowboy/country and western shirts. Since I already have a bowling shirt in my wardrobe, I went for a cowboy shirt.
To combine pieces of one shirt with pieces of another, some fairly drastic shirt surgery was required. I started by amputating the sleeves from both shirts.
I cut the yoke from the donor (stripy shirt), leaving a pointy edge. I just cut this by eye, but I did fold the shirt over to try and make it the same on the left and right.
Then I pinned the donated yoke to the recipient shirt and cut roughly around it.
I prepared the yoke for transplant by folding up 5mm and pressing. Then I grafted it onto the recipient with white topstitching.
I also took the opportunity to do some minor cosmetic work – just a minor nip and tuck, taking in the sides under the arms and using bias tape to finish the armholes.
I made flat felled seams at the sides, in keeping with the original shirt.
For decoration, I added some basic hand embroidery (chain stitch only) in a contrasting shade of pink. I also cut off the buttons and added pink ones, which I think really helps distance it from its origins.
Overall I liked the look of it but it was crying out for some pink piping to emphasise the yoke shape.
Luckily that was relatively easy to fix. I unpicked the front yoke and inserted a folded bias strip. I haven’t bothered with the back but may do in future.
All in all, a successful transplant! Thanks Portia for inviting me to be a part of the series again, I had a blast!
Of course, I also have plans to graft the remaining shirt parts together to form a sort of patchwork Frankenstein’s monster. Stay tuned for that in the coming weeks!
Charity Shop Chic 
Ooh what a clever re-make! Love the way you’ve combined those two shirts so effortlessly and I love the pink detailing (especially that embroidery).
http://www.mancunianvintage.com
Thank you – I could easily have picked another colour as pretty much everything goes with taupe.
Great Refashion – and great shades! I’ve really enjoyed this year’s Refashioners – Chichester’s charity shops have supplied some excellent raw material!
Ha – thanks! Glad to hear you’ve been rescuing some unloved garments. Have fun sewing!
Tolle Idee , Bin ganz begeistert :)) Klasse ist es Dir gelungen
LG Heidi
Danke, Heidi!
Lovely!!!!
Thanks!
Really neat idea and expertly executed as usual. The pink accent serves to completely change the look from gauche guy to funky cowgirl! Superb!
Thanks! I’m loving everything pink at the moment. Thanks for commenting.
You do very nice finishing work on your refashions, very professional. The pink touches do make a huge difference.
Thank you, I put a lot of effort into trying to make everything as professional as possible, so I’m glad it shows.
So pretty! Now to get yourself some cowgirl boots and you will own the look! Great job.
I’m keeping my eyes peeled for some, Sondra! Thanks for reading.
This looks so nice and the pink piping really finishes it off.
Glad you agree – I really like it!
Adorable as ALWAYS! Thanks for sharing.
You’re welcome, Allison – thanks for reading.
That’s lovely. Well done on this, great, sharp-looking shirt
Thank you! It’s a bit different, but I like it ;-)
The pink piping really finishes off this shirt nicely.
Glad you agree, Helen – thanks for commenting.
Oh that is lovely. The two shirts really were meant to be together and all the pink really sets it off. Wonderful refashion! Xx
Thank you :) So happy you liked it.
A great refashion! Love it!
Thanks! :)
Clever!x
Thank you Kezzie!
Love it!
Thank you so much!
The pink piping was the perfect finishing touch!
JJ
http://www.dressupnotdown.blogspot.com
Glad you liked it, JJ!
Very pretty refashion! I love the shirts and the combination is lovely!
Thank you very much! I thought they went well together :)
I really love this one
Me too – thanks for the kind comment.
Very cute! Much better than the old version!
Agreed! Thanks for your support, Linda.
this is so gorgeous. The embroidery and piping is inspired!
Thanks Sue! If I’d had more time I’d have probably added rhinestones for the full effect. (Maybe it’s a good thing I didn’t).