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Hello! I'm Suzannah, a serious DIYer and mom of two little ones. Follow along with my DIY fixer upper house renovations, sewing and crafty projects, real food recipes, and de-stressing goals.
I believe you can love your home just the way it is, AND have the power to design and make big changes to make it better.
I'm also the author of DIY Wardrobe Makeovers!

Lace-embellished tee Tutorial!

A few days ago a reader asked me to check out this cute tee from ModCloth.
The crocheted cotton trim is cute and easy to do at home!  I went through my t-shirt drawer to see if I had any shirts that would be good candidates for this kind of makeover.  I didn't, really, but I pulled out the closest thing I had and was willing to embellish.
I'm sure you have a tee you can do this to, too!  Pull it out and get ready for the tutorial!

  • Bring out your trims... depending on the shape you want, you'll only need a little bit so scraps are perfect!

  •  Arrange the trims in the shape you want.  Try different things out!

That last one is the one I'm going with!
  • So, to do a horizontal line of trim on your t-shirt, follow these tips.  Find the spot where you want the trim to be on one side, and mark it with a fabric pen or a straight pin.  Fold the tee in half over the center front at the neckline, matching your sleeve seams, and mark the same place on the other side.

  •  Draw a straight line from point to point.


  • Now, using sharp and pointy thread snips, pick out the serging and/or stitching at the armhole below the line.


  • Pin the trim on following your straight line.


  • Sew it down using your machine.  Careful; the tee shirt tends to stretch more than the trim as you sew, so make sure you pin every few inches!


  •  I sewed across my wide lace at the top, bottom, and middle.  Five rows of stitching!


  • Once you've applied the trim, carefully sew your armhole seam back up!  Try to match the original seam so it doesn't pull wrong.  It'll feel like a very small seam allowance.


  •  Trim off excess trim inside the seam.

  • Wear and enjoy!

I will have to try this again with another tee and more trims!  I'm happy to see lace-embellished tees in the stores and magazines this season, since they are a little easier to do than self-fabric ruffled ones, or ones that take manipulating fabrics and cutting off sleeves!  They're fun, too, but these are faster!

14 comments

  1. Dah! So cute!!! And so very do-able!

    Thanks!

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  2. Cute, I like how you showed your thought process with all of the different options!

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  3. I have a folder for my bookmarks titled "Embellished Tops." This entry just got put in there. Nice job!

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  4. This is a must-do - so quick and easy, and very cute!

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  5. I like it. I agree. This does seem much easier.

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  6. Anonymous11/11/2010

    I love the final layout you chose. I need a trim stash!

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  7. I have inherit a lot of lace from my mother. Now I know what to do! Thanks.

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  8. Good tutorial! I have an idea for a tutorial from a lace-embellished Athro tank, I just have to get to the store sometime!

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  9. such a great idea! I can't wait to try this

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  10. Anonymous11/12/2010

    So, so cute! I like all the options you tried. I would make all of them! Thanks for sharing :)

    Maria from:

    My current hobby!

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  11. The T-shirt looks so cute! Well done!

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  12. I just thought I'd let ya know I tried it!

    http://craftopiaonline.blogspot.com/2010/11/lace-embellished-tee.html

    It was SUPER fast, and it looks great! I linked back to your tutorial. Thanks for the inspiration!! :)

    ReplyDelete

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