Refashion: Upcycled T-shirt with Poufy Sleeves and Sash

Once in a while, I visit the mall to stay on top of fashion trends.  I noticed lots of blouses that mixed wovens and knits.  I never sewed this combination of fabrics before and wanted to give it a try.  Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

I found this red blouse and navy t-shirt (looks black on this photo but trust me, it is navy) at the thrift store.  I spent a little over $5 for both.

I chose the red blouse because I loved the tulip print.  The navy t-shirt matched the navy the blouse perfectly.

I chopped the sleeves off both tops.  I kept the sleeves from the red blouse and the bodice from the t-shirt.

Notice how the armhole on the red sleeve is much bigger than the armhole on the navy bodice?  In order to make the poufy sleeve I had in mind, I needed large sleeves to create the gathers that would create volume.

I hand sewed running stitches that I pulled to create gathers in the sleeve.

I mushed all the gathers to the top of the shoulder.  Now the sleeve hole and arm hole are the same size.

I turned the bodice inside out.  Then I stuck in the sleeve right side out and pinned it.  I serged in the sleeve in place.  Repeat on the other side.

For the bottom of the sleeves, I created gathers and finish it off with a band.  I chopped off the sleeves about 3 inches above the elbow.  Next, I ran a line of gathering stitches that I pulled and mushed all the gathers to the center of the sleeve.

I made the bands by cutting 2 strips of red fabric 11.5″ x 2″.

I sewed the ends together and folded them lengthwise.

I pinned the band to the bottom of the sleeve and serged.

Repeat on the other side.

To create the sash, I cut and pieced 6″ strips from the front and back of the red blouse.

I folded it lengthwise and serged the ends closed.

Then I serged the sash lengthwise, leaving a 6″ gap.  I needed the gap to turn the sash inside out. I closed the gap with a slip stitch.

Yay, finished blouse!  This is the first time I used my brand new serger to create a garment, and I am in love with it.  It pieces and finishes at the same time.  That darn red blouse frayed like crazy, and the knife on the serger sliced off the stray threads perfectly.

The gathers in the sleeve plus the polyester of the red fabric gave the sleeves some nice volume.

I was concerned the sash was a little too girly, but the shirt was kinda meh without it.

Please share your thoughts below with me.  I’m curious to see what you think of this.  What would you have done differently?