The Mash-Up Blouse

So this is yet another Anthro inspired project, taking its cue from the Conductor Stripe Top. I spotted their version at Christmas and loved it, but thought it was overpriced and easily recreated (haha). This was my second attempt - the first one turned out too tight, and comfort was a main feature that attracted me to the original.

Find yourself some oversized shirts, one knit and one button up. I got mine at the thrift store (almost too beautiful to cut up). 

The button up should preferably have a longer, shirt tail hemline. Don't worry about logos or graphics on the front of the tee. I actually used the back of my shirt to avoid the red Polo man.

Start chopping! Neatly cut out one panel (either front or back) from your tee. As previously mentioned, I used the back of Mr. Polo.

Next you need to dissect the button up. 

Neatly lop off both arms. Save them!

Next cut off the collar.

And last, cut out the back panel. 

Depending on the relative size of your shirts, now is the time to do a little trimming. To avoid having to re-hem the t-shirt's bottom, I lined up the side edges (see second picture) and trimmed the arm and neck holes to match.

When reshaping the neckline, make sure it's large enough to get your head through! I tried mine on a couple times until the fit was perfect.

Line up edges and pin.

Using a stretch stitch, sew the side seams.

Time to put the arms back in! With right sides together, nestle the sleeve in the armhole and pin. If you've never sewn a sleeve before, turn your garment right side out to double check that it's pinned correctly - it's easy to put in a sleeve inside out!

This is when you may hit a bump.  What do you do if the sleeve no longer fits perfectly in the armhole? 'Cause chances are, it won't.

If the sleeve is bigger than the armhole, make a small gather at cap of the sleeve (where it sits on the shoulder).

If the armhole is bigger than the sleeve (more likely), remove the excess armhole by sewing at an angle from the side seam. In the following picture, you can see where I've eliminated about an inch of extra armhole.  

Now it's time to add the cute neck detail (optional, but who would want to leave it off??). 

Remember the collar, cut off with loving care? Retrieve it. 

Cut off one corner into a visually pleasing triangle.

Center your nice triangle on the neckline.

Edge stitch in place. Look, I didn't even bother to make it neat. 

That's how cool this shirt is.

You're almost done! All that's left is to bind the neck. 

Here's where you have options. 

Option 1: Go buy pre-made double fold bias tape. 

Option 2: Live on the wild side and make your own.

If you choose the latter option, here's what you need to do.

Remember those front panels that you put away with care?

Cut the longest 2" strip that you can. 

(Disclaimer: I realize that this is technically not bias tape because it's not cut on the bias...but such is life.)

The strip of fabric should be long enough to go around the neckline of your shirt. If it's not, sew two strips together. It will leave a seam somewhere on the neck, but there are worse things in life. 

Like spending money on real bias tape (jk). 

Fold this strip in half and press. A little starch helps.

Unfold. Fold one half towards the center, almost touching the center crease. Press.

Fold the other half towards the center, but only about halfway to the crease.

Once again fold the strip in half and press (starch helps, promise).

Now that you're super proud of your handy work, we're going to use it.

Unfold the bias tape. Center one end on the back neckline and align with right sides together.  

The smaller-fold side should be touching the neckline. (Go ahead and fold the end over.)

Keeping the edges aligned, stitch in the crease all the way around the neck. 

I didn't pin for this step. You'll need to keep adjusting the tape to line up on the edge, and pins are just an unnecessary bother.

Now you're going to fold the rest of the tape over to the wrong side (inside) of the shirt.

(View from the inside, tape still flipped up)

(View from the inside, tape flipped down)

Pin in place.

And sew! I sewed between an 1/8" and a 1/16" from the tape's edge (front).

And that's it! 

Wrap up thoughts...

My neckline doesn't lay as smoothly as I wanted. I think this is either because 1) it's not true bias tape, so it's not as stretchy, or 2) the fabric is a bit too thick. If your woven shirt is thickish, you might want to consider using real bias tape. That being said, this still worked great. It's one of those things you only notice because you made it. 

Just imagine all the possible color/pattern combinations!! 

Let me know if you decide to make your own.