How To Make An Easy and Cheap Shirt From Silk Scarves

Wanna learn how to make a super cute and breezy summer top? 

What if I told you it only cost me about 3.50?

And what if I told you it took me about 5 minutes?!

I thought so. 

Guys, this shirt is a dream.
I've been wanting to wear it everyday...
 but since that isn't socially acceptable, I have not. 

It's super light weight and breezy.
Perfect for summer days.
And it's also versatile!
It can be worn many different ways.

Here is how it works...

You need:
2 silk scarves matching in size and color.
Sewing machine, or needle and thread. 

 My studio was way too messy for any good pictures of the process, so I used photoshop.

So, here is a representation of my two scarves.
I got the plain one for about 1.50, and the flower one for about 2.00

I got home and washed them on delicate, then hung them to dry.

You then layer the scarves on top of each other, right sides facing in.

Basically, sew where you see the dotted lines. 

(But probably a bit more even..)

Leave a big enough space for your head, the shirt is meant to be a bit "boat necked."

Also, make sure you leave enough room for your arms, so it's loose and breezy.

The shirt will naturally fall over your shoulders like sleeves.

The scarf should already be hemmed when you buy it, so...

that's all there is! 

4 quick lines on the sewing machine, and you've got a new top! 

Here is a bit of warning, 

in most cases, these silk scarves are delicate and old...

It's not impossible to take stitches out, but it can leave holes, or even tear the fabric.

So, sew carefully!

I hope you try this out, and love it like I do! 

I would love to see pictures of yours! 

How To Make An Easy AND Versatile Shirt (For Cheap!)

Wow, it's been over a year since my last clothing tutorial.. How did that happen?!

Anyways.. I've seen a few shirts like this floating around the internet.

I saw them, loved them and thought, 

wow.. I could make that!

So, I did.

It was super easy, super versatile!

It cost about 5.00 to make and took under an hour.

I took pictures along the way, but sadly there is not much light in my little apartment.

So, I have some lovely digital illustrations as well.. 

I hope they can help make things clearer! 

You will need:

A sewing machine

A yard or two of fabric

Fabric or lace for the sash

Matching thread

Scissors 

Like I said in my first tutorial, I don't measure, but this part is pretty simple.

I hold the fabric over my torso, until it reaches my sides, 

I add an inch or so, then cut! 

You will need to make two of these. (Front and Back)

It's okay if you make them a little too big, the shirt is supposed to be a bit baggy.

Plus you can always take the shirt in later.

The long skinny, wavy piece above is for the sash.. we'll worry about that later.

Next, you are going to sew up the sides.

Don't go all the way up, 

You need to leave room for the sleeves and arms!

Next, is hemming up the arm holes. 

You are going to want to take the parts where you didn't sew together,

Fold it a little and sew.

Make sure the shirt is inside out while you do this. 

This is what it should look like.

Pretty easy so far right? 

Well, you are almost done! 

Next we are making the part that holds the sleeves.

Fold where the red line is, and sew the folded part onto the shirt. 

Do that with both the front and the back.

 

The illustrations no longer show the arms being hemmed.. So use your imagination. ;)

It's just a guide to show you where stitches will be.

 (Inside of the shirt)

(Outside of the shirt, plus a Wicket paw)

Next step..

Play with your puppy if you have one. 

He really didn't like not being the center of my attention.

Next step, hem up the bottom of the shirt!

You are almost done! 

Now you add the sash or ribbon.

 You basically just feed the sash  though one hole, 

then through the back, leaving the ribbon out a bit to make a sleeve.

Gather the fabric along the sash, so it has a nice ruffle to it.

And that's it! 

Tie a pretty bow on the side,

or braid the excess fabric, 

you could even attach a cute pin over the bow!

If you don't know how to make a sash, don't fret.. It's easy! 

Cut a long strip of fabric,  again, this is to your liking and size.

sew the sides longways so you have a long tube.

Turn it inside out, so the sewn part is hidden. 

(This part takes the longest.) 

Then hem up the short sides.

(This is the sash being turned inside out)

The best part about this shirt, is that it is versatile! It has interchangeable sleeves.

It looks great on it's own, with a cardigan, a vest, belted.. etc. 

You could even made it a few inches longer and wear it with leggings.

I'm totally going to make more of these!

 The shirt is a tad wrinkly for the pictures.. but only cause I've been wearing it a lot!

Imagine the possibilities!

How To Make An Easy Dress (For Cheap!)

Two facts about me:

I'm cheap.

I love dresses. 

I wear dresses probably 6 days out of the week. It's not that I one day just decided to wear dresses to feel cute and girly. Far from it. I spend a lot of time sitting at home, knitting, crocheting, painting. I also spend a lot of time in the car traveling across the country. I absolutely hate the feel of jeans around my knees.. Ugh. The thought of it makes me grumpy. 

Back in November when I really started Talk2thetrees I kinda just wore pajama pants and sweat pants.  I hated it! So I decided.. I should wear dresses!

Dresses are so comfortable, I can sit around the house and feel comfortable and cute. That's the best.

The only problem.. they are expensive! Now.. to me, 19.99 is expensive. I told you. I'm cheap. So I started making my own dresses, and skirts, for under 6 dollars each!

Here is a tutorial on a High Waisted Dress:

For under 6 bucks!

First you will need a ribbed tank top. 

I got mine from Walmart for 2.50

You could also use a t-shirt

3 yards of matching fabric.

Clearance section is my favorite. I got three yards for 3.00 total!

 Cut the tank top almost in half. This is really your preference. Depending on your bust size, and how short you want your dress. The shorter the tank top, the shorter your dress will be.  

(I cut mine a little too short.. oops!)

For the bottom part of your dress take the fabric and wrap it around your waist about 1 and a half times, and cut in a straight line. The fabric will come to you already folded, don't unfold it. This way you have kind of a bubble hem. You don't need to hem up the bottom at all, and the inside will look like the outside.

I never measure, I never use patterns... Sorry if this seems silly!

Next you fold your fabric in half. Remember it's already folded, so you are folding it again, creating a skirt.  Sew up the short side. (There will be four layers of fabric that you are sewing.)

You have kind of a big blocky rectangle skirt. Next open it up and change your sewing machine's tension so it will create the biggest stitches possible. Instead of sewing a waist band in like a normal skirt, you are just sewing a straight line around the two layers of fabric joining them together.

(You are sewing the raw edges, not the bubble hem)

This is where I didn't get pictures.. awesome.

We are going to create a ruffle. Don't do a back stitch when you start sewing around the skirt or after.

To make the skirt ruffle you hold the thread and scoot the fabric down. 

Make sure the skirt ruffles are evenly distributed and pretty loose. 

Turn the skirt part inside out so that the raw edges (from when you turned it into that big blocky skirt) are facing out, and put the tank top inside as pictured. 

Next you will pin the tank top and the dress together.

Once it's pinned make sure that the tanktop part of the dress folds out to be inside out like the skirt part. 

Make sure that the tank top park lays flat and the skirt part is ruffled still.

Make sure your tension is set back to normal and sew the skirt and the tank top together just under the previous stitches.

Remove the pins and the dress part is done! Now for the sash.

Cut a strip out of the left over fabric, about double of how thick you want your sash to bed. Fold it in half long ways so that the printed side is facing in. And sew up the sides.

Turn it right side out and finish up the edges, and you are done!
The sash is not actually sewn  onto the dress, it's removable and is just tied in the back. You could always use a regular belt or another coordinating fabric for the belt! 

This dress came out a little shorter than I normally like.
This would have been avoided by leaving the tank top a little longer.
This dress took about 30 minutes to make.
It cost about 6.00 total.

I now have three of these dresses.
They look good with a cardigan, and a pair of tights or leggings.

Yeah, Yeah I know I'm looking to the side an awful lot..
Probably making sure my pup isn't on the table ;)


Much better than buying one here.
Not that I don't like Delia's.. I just don't like paying a lot of money for something so simple to make!

I hope this tutorial made sense.. I've never done one before and honestly have not been feeling myself since the incident at the restaurant. I hope you understand. ;)

I hope you can save money and make something cute and comfortable!

** Update! Wohoo! I just added another tutorial! Check it out here!