Woven Back Shirt

I saw this pin on Pinterest (from this site here) for a shirt with a woven back, and was immediately inspired to try to make my own.  I had this navy knit fabric staring me in the face for about a year, and was on a navy kick since I got these cute new gold shoes (yes, this is how I choose my outfits/sewing projects often).  Since I made this before the creation of our blog, I have no pictures of the procedure.  I will do my best to explain, but please let me know if you have any questions or if something doesn't make sense.


Since I didn't want to worry about matching fabrics, I made this shirt from scratch.  I am sure it would have been a lot easier if I had found a t-shirt and matching knit fabric.  I used a shirt that I knew I liked the fit of as my pattern.  I cut all the pieces (front, back, sleeves) from this fabric.  I wanted short sleeves instead of long sleeves, but it would be easy to make it with long sleeves too.


Before sewing any pieces together, I worked on the back of the shirt.  I cut slits horizontally about an inch and a half apart.  You could do wider if you want.  Make sure you don't go too close to the top or bottom.  The back gets heavy once you add the weave into it.  Next, cut strips from the extra fabric that are about an inch and a half to two inches wide.  These will get woven vertically.  I then put a stitch at the top of each "over" piece to keep it in place.  Originally I did not do this, but I didn't like how bunchy it got.  I like a lot of random, but it was a bit too much even for me.  Now it feels a little more structured.


Next, sew all your pieces together - front to back, then add sleeves.  I added a band at the bottom to the shirt just to add a little more.  Easy as that, right?!  I love projects I can do in one day with materials I have at home!

It was a little windy when we took these pictures, but you get the idea of the shirt!

Betsy

Linking up to the following parties: pincushion creations, Shwin and Shwin, Tatertots and Jello, Kojo Designs