Three unworn and unloved pinstripe shirts get the refashion treatment from Portia Lawrie in this playful tie front blouse
YOU WILL NEED
■ 3 long-sleeved cotton shirts
■ Strips of lightweight interfacing for plackets
■ Basic relaxed fit block/bodice pattern
■ Basic sewing kit
NOTES
■ Use the seam allowance as directed on your block/pattern.
■ The shirts should fit you loosely and should be of a similar fabric weight. Use plain or patterned shirts in contrasting or complementary colours or patterns. For the purposes of this tutorial Shirt 1 = blue/white stripe, Shirt 2 = pink/white pinstripe and Shirt 3 = Pale lilac stripe shirt. The pieces of this project are cut from the shirt backs, shirt fronts and sleeves.
■ Use a basic block or existing pattern that has a relaxed boxy fit and a simple round neckline. You'll need a front, back and sleeve. The block here is used as a template for the armscye/sleeve and neckline/shoulder shaping; with side and centre front seams squared down and straight with no shaping.
PREPARATION
Step one Deconstruct all shirts into their component parts as follows:
1) Cut away collars and cuffs close to the seamline and remove all buttons
2) Cut or unpick the side and sleeve seams so the whole shirt opens out flat
3) Remove the sleeves by cutting close to the sleeve head seam
4) Separate the front and back shirt pieces from the yoke by cutting close to the yoke seam front and back
5) On the shirt fronts, unpick and open out the button placket (traditionally right front if working with mens’ shirts), and cut away the buttonhole plackets (usually left front)
6) Press all shirt backs, shirt fronts and sleeves
CREATE THE BACK
Step one For the Back, start by sewing the right fronts (the ones where you opened out the button plackets) of Shirt 1 and Shirt 2 right sides (RS) together at the centre front. Press seams open and flat, then square off the bottom top and sides so it’s one big rectangle with a centred centre back seam. This is the basis of your blouse back.
Step two For the Outer Yoke, from the sleeves of Shirt 3, cut 2 smaller rectangles on the bias, so that when joined together with a 1cm centre front seam allowance, they are the same width as the rectangle you made in step one and around 15cm in height. (The available fabric will dictate the height to a degree).
Step three For the Inner Yoke: Repeat step two with the sleeves of Shirt 2. (Ours here is cut from the remaining front of shirt 2 a
