Let's go Thrifting...again.

In an attempt to be as frugal as possible, to recycle what I can, to scrimp and save, I now have Wednesdays marked on my calendar. Because even the local thrift store has sale days...and Wednesday happens to be half-price day.

I would rather spend an hour in the thrift store than an hour at the mall. Seriously. I scour the racks with projects in mind, seeing all sorts of fabric to use, and garments to reconstruct. Just a few weeks ago, I found this shirt....a boxy, nothing special shirt. What I liked about it was the color and the weight of the fabric. These summer days, I am all about anything that I can make that is as weightless as naked on my over-heated body. If it weren't this pretty coral color, I might think it was a men's shirt...that's how square and boxy it is. With a breast pocket, even.

I started by deconstructing the shirt...taking out the sleeves and the side seams, and removing the back from the back yoke. I wanted to eliminate that pleat in the back. So, if you can picture this, because I forgot to take a picture of it, I simply flattened out that pleat and restitched the back to the yoke.

Then I had to redraft the arm hole, using a shirt pattern which has a fit that I like. I redrafted the top of the sleeve to match the same shirt pattern sleeve. There. A nice flat back. No pleat. Sleeves that sit nicely on my shoulders.

To give it more shape, I added darts in the back and front, and sewed the new sleeves and side seams in place.

The breast pocket was removed and placed lower on the shirt.

The sleeves were shortened to a more flattering length.

And after, I have the cutest little summer shirt...custom made for me! My cost? A mere $1.50!

Wait till you see the incredible striped knit maxi that I re-fashioned for $2.50!

Stay tuned!