My oldest son will be leaving home soon so he’s been going through his closet and donating a lot of stuff. I really wanted to remake something of his into something for me. Just to keep him closer to me while he’s gone. I’ve had an idea in my head for a ruffled top for a while.  I wanted to refashion a shirt to do it. Since I have a lot of boys in my house, there is no shortage of button up shirts. So when my oldest son was getting rid of a linen button up shirt, I snagged it out of the donation bag real quick.

Because I was using a woven shirt, I wanted to use one of my favorite woven patterns for women, The Harmony Blouse by Love Notions. It’s such a cute pattern and I have made it NUMEROUS times. 

Here’s some info on the pattern:

The Harmony Blouse is a ladies top meant for drapey, silk-like woven fabrics. It features a fitted bust and flared waist and hip. The hem is meant to hit at the high hip in the front and full hip at the back. The bust has darts while the back has a center back seam for shaping. A simple keyhole closure makes this a breeze to sew up and wear. Choose from four sleeve options: cap, short, flutter and sleeveless. This is a great top for the spring and summer months or even the colder months layered with a cardigan.

Harmony Blouse Features:

• Meant for woven fabrics
• Scoop neckline with key-hole back
• Four sleeve options: sleeveless, short, cap and flutter
• High-low hem
• Fitted in the bust, flare at the waist and hips
• Bust darts & center back seam for shaping
• Full Bust option

Sizes: XS-5XL (See Size Charts here)

Skill Level: Confident Beginners

You can use code KOE10 at check out to recieve and extra 10% off this pattern.

So here’s my son’s size large linen button up shirt before I gave it a complete makeover.

I normally make the cap sleeve or the petal sleeve, which is a free add-on you can find on the Love Notions blog. However, for this refashion I wanted to use the short sleeve, but make it a split sleeve with a tie. Here’s what I did to do that. I had to fold the short sleeve in half, trace it into two separate pieces (front and back) and add the seam allowance. Below you can see my two sleeve pieces. I also made a mark for where I wanted the split to start. 

I wanted this top to be cropped with a ruffle attached to the outside. I measured the pattern next to me and decided the length I wanted to crop it to. I made the front pattern slightly curved but kept the back straight. I used the back of my son’s shirt to cut the front of the shirt out.

 Then I used the sleeves to cut out the back of the shirt. The front of the shirt I used for the 4 sleeve pieces. Whatever fabric pieces I had left, I sewed together to make the ruffle to attach to the bottom of the shirt and to make the ties for the sleeves. Sewing all the little pieces of fabric together was the part that took the longest. I didn’t want any fabric to go to waste though. And not much did. 

I have a serger so I was able to finish the edges of all the fabric. Here is what the sleeve construction looked like.

Once I sew the shoulders toghter I attach the sleeves. I attached the sleeve before I sewed the sides of the shirt shut. I just like doing the sleeves this way. It just seems way easier to me.

Once I had the sides sewn together I attached the sleeve ties  and the bottom ruffle. I finished the edges of the ruffle with my serger so that I could attach the ruffle to the outside of the shirt. I just really like the look of the ruffle when it’s attached like this. 

For the bottom of the ruffle I just did a tiny rolled hem. 

I have to say this was such a fun shirt for me to make. It took a little longer than I planned but it turned out just as I imagined. And now I have a cute little shirt to wear that will hopefully make me not miss my son so much.

 

Happy Sewing!

KOE