Finished custom shirt for under $3.00!!

Here is the where what and why.

Where (did I get my supplies)? Thrift stores of course!  The fabric was vintage and donated to the thrift store I volunteer at along with ALOT of other fabric so I scored it at the huge fabric sale that they arranged.  The piece was 1 and a quarter yard for $1.99.  The buttons were from an assorted bag of buttons I picked up at another thrift store for $3.99.  I used much less then half so I'm going to say I used about $0.75 of the buttons.  The pattern I worked from was from a book I rented from the library so that was free.  The time/learning was priceless :-P

What (is it)?  The pattern was originally for a shift dress.  I took all my measurements and based on the books suggestions of my body type, the shift dress would be most flattering to my (very oddly shaped :-P) figure.  I got to work knowing I was going to alter it into a shirt.  There was also some extra alterations suggested to make the American Pastoral dress.  I just added and subtracted from there.

Why (did I make this)? Like my previous post and above paragraph states, my oddly shaped figure.  Okay okay, maybe it isn't so oddly shaped as ready to wear clothing is cut to 1standard to get it out as fast and cheap as possible.  MANY of us have issues with ready to wear,  and most clothing can be remedied with a few alterations.  I have already started altering some of my clothes but decided I wanted to do something from scratch.  This adds another "why?"  When I was volunteering at the thrift store, getting the fabric ready for the big sale, I got to speak with some of the other volunteers.  Most, okay all, were from another time.  A time when making your own clothes was cheaper then buying off the rack.   In high school, they made all their own clothes.  I envied them, they grew up in a time when sewing skills were not only taught, but necessary.  It really inspired me so I got to work on my sons hoodie right away and knew I wanted to start on clothing from scratch.

Here is my first attempt at a shirt from scratch tailored for my body.  It took several hours of adjusting, trying and retrying on, sewing and resewing.  The muslin I used to check my pattern was free from freecycle.

My estimated costs? Under $3.00 with tax!

In some other news, the weather is amazing and this is just the ultimate feel good tune.  Until next time... :-)

P.S Interested in new show about a sewing competition?
Check out The Great British Sewing Bee, the full season is currently up on youtube.