“Wardrobe orphans” is what I call garments that have been sitting in my closet unworn forever, because they don’t fit my style or none of my other clothes. My recent closet cleanout forced me to review them all one by one.
This H&M shirt was thrifted back in my blonde-hair-days, but ever since I went redhead, the pale yellow stripes look strange on me. The lace details were super lovely though, so it was time to give this shirt a little makeover.
I basically just unpicked the lace and cut the shirt parts from new fabric. Sadly, the original parts either stretched during unpicking or were poorly cut in the first place. So my beloved Plantain pattern served as a base, minus the parts where the lace would go.
| Pattern: | loosely based on the Plantain T-Shirt by Deer and Doe |
| Material: | – lace yoke from an old H&M shirt – organic cotton interlock (“Feathers” by Birch Fabrics in mineral), bought online at Frau Tulpe |
| Alterations: | Took in the sides to save fabric |
There was no more jersey left in my stash, so I granted myself an exception from The Year of Destashing and bought this beautiful interlock from Birch Fabrics (they’re also the ones with the deer prints).How cool is it that those beautiful prints aren’t exclusively made in quilting cottons anymore? I just don’t understand why they have to keep the 44 inch width as well. That’s just annoying.
Because of the 44 inch width, cutting the pieces took some mad accuracy skills – there was not a single milimeter left between the edges of the front and the back piece.
It also required my version of the Plantain pattern with the sides taken in. I managed to squeeze everything on 1 meter of fabric which left me with a piece that was around 35*75 cm big.
It’s always amazing how a few changes to a garment can turn it from “wardrobe orphan” to wardrobe staple.
Do you have any “wardrobe orphans”?
