Not just a t-shirt

Previously, I had reviewed the free draft-it-yourself t-shirt from BurdaStyle.  It is a simple t-shirt and really not fancy.  But let's face it, as much fun as it is to sew fancy clothes, t-shirts are really what our tweens want to live in.

But how many times are you going to sew the same pattern?  Well, with a great t-shirt ... a lot.  Just think, how many t-shirts do you own?  And there are several ways you can do simple adjustments, you can make each shirt unique.

Here is the first version I made.  The t-shirt is made exactly to the pattern except I rounded the hem line.  Then, to keep it from being a solid color, I used my embroidery machine to add this image.  If you do not have one of these machines, there are several other options to add a cool graphic.  You could stencil, iron-on, applique, or hand embroider an image.  For some great ideas, check out these that we featured on a past linky party.

 In this version, I used a stretch velour for the sleeves and a wide neckline to create a turtle neck.  I also placed a lace overlay on the front. To see a tutorial on how to add a lace overlay, click HERE.  Both this shirt and the one in the tutorial are great examples of mixing fabrics to create texture and interest.

 Also, this shirt shows that you can widen the ribbing at the neckline to create different heights of the collar.  It is such an easy adjustment that can create a total different look for the different seasons.

Finally, your fabric choice can create complete different looks.  Here, the basic shirt is changed up with a fabric that comes embellished with sparkles.

How do you change up your basic patterns?  Please share your ideas on this month's linky party. 

For February, click HERE to share!