This weekend, my sister tossed a shirt because it was ripped in under the sleeve. The shirt used to be mine until I outgrew it, and it was really tough for me to give up because I love the colors and pattern so much. When she deemed that it was unwearable , I snatched to, knowing I could make something with it.
I decided it would make a nice spring scarf/headwrap. So here’s what I did. Not very complicated.
SUPPLIES:
old blouse (this one’s a very thin cotton, no stretch)
scissors
sewing machine & thread
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Cut off all the bulky stuff – cuffs, collar, buttons. I ended up with about 5 rectangles: 1 from each sleeve and three from the body. Don’t worry about seams – you can see in my pictures that there are seams on my pieces of fabric. They won’t really be noticeable on the final product, particularly if you’re using a shirt with a fun pattern.
2. Cut all the rectangles so they are the same width (length doesn’t matter). Sew them together along their widths so you have a long strip of fabric like below.
3. One you have the rectangles sewn together into a long strip, fold it in half lengthwise, right sides facing together, and sew together the edges to make a long tube. Also sew shut one end of the tube. I cut the ends at a slant to create more of a tapered shape. Turn your creation right side out. Fold the edges of the unfinished end inward and sew shut. I topstitched each short end of the headwrap just for added durability.
4. Wrap around your head and tie! Also makes a cute scarf. 
2 Comments
I totally get not wanting to let go of certain things – glad you found a way to keep a piece of the shirt alive and in your wardrobe.
What a great DIY! The print is perfect for this time of year.