Tutorial/ Pleated Pretty Shirt with Buttons

This t-shirt makeover is inspired by the Nickleby bib top by J Crew and I fell in love with the shirt several months ago.

I have been wanting something different rather than ruffle shirt to wear underneath a cardigan, this was a perfect design for that! I finished making this a while ago. I enjoyed wearing it and took some pictures. I am sharing a quick tutorial with you today, enjoy!

* You will need


T-shirt

Handkerchief with lace trims (20"x 20"). (Well, that's what I had at hand. You can use whatever fabric and lace for this project, but the thinner the fabric is the better)

Matching thread, various buttons

* How to

1. Mark the middle of the shirt.


2. Cut the handkerchief. I saved the lace trim from the edges to use later. If you are using regular fabric, cut the fabric to 8 1/2"x 18 1/2" to make pleats. If you are working with a bigger t-shirt, you might want more fabric to make more pleats.

3. I wasn't really thinking when I was working on this project, so I don't have a detailed step by step on how to make pleats. Basically, just fold the fabric and sew along the line, repeat then you will have pleats. I didn't even measure where to fold the fabric, I totally eyeballed it... sorry, I will have better instructions when I work on another pleated project in the future... (in the meantime, you can find a bunch of tutorials if you google it).

After you finish making the pleats, lay the pleated piece by the neckline (make sure the center matches), and cut off the excess to make a curve line.

4. Sew the edge of the lace with largest stitch setting on your sewing machine. Pull a thread to gather the lace to make ruffles. Pin it with the pleated fabric in the center of the t-shirt. Sew.


5. Add trim to the seam of the pleated fabric and lace, and neckline.



6. I decided to use different buttons to give something interesting to the shirt instead of matching buttons.


I wore this shirt several times already since I finished making it. In my opinion, it is slightly less feminine compared to the ruffle shirt, but I love this one too.