Ivy & Co.: Upcycled Trapeze Shirt

Back in 2008 I got an awesome shirt from Zara in Slovenia. It was on burnout material before burnout was big. It was a trapeze shirt before anyone rocked the trapeze. And it had a very "grown up Tim Burton" image of a girl on it. Well, 4 years later, the image is still just as cool, but the rest of the shirt was not. Too much wear and tear. Trapeze was perfect for my 2009 pregnancy. Those of you who have ever been pregnant, you know how you feel about clothes you wore during your pregnancy. You want to burn them afterward!

Well, like I did with my Bob Marley/Jack Johnson upcycle, I got out my scissors and sewing machine. (I just realized I didn't even take a "before" photo of my beloved shirt I just cut up.) :(

First I cut out the design on the original shirt. I bought a long sleeve orange shirt at Forever 21 for $6.80. I actually took the original shirt with me to make sure the color and size were ok. The original shirt was a little tricky to cut out because it was on a trapeze shirt. So I had to be a little creative with the shape of the cut.

Then I pinned the design in place and I used orange thread to sew it on the shirt. I didn't turn the fabric under or anything, since knits don't fray.

Oila! Interesting... the thread gathered slightly. I'm not sure why. It didn't do that on my Jack Johnson shirt. I've been playing with the tension a little on my sewing machine, so I may have had it on the wrong setting, but I also kind of like it gathered.