Kids Makes
Tangerine Dream T-shirt
Designed by Katie Cole, this delightful little prima ballerina’s tutu designed by in hot shades of tangerine orange and poppy red, is a riot of colour and can be made in a matter of minutes – ideal when you need to create a little girl’s party outfit at short notice.
The design would work just as well in pastel shades. Add a magic wand and perhaps a sparkly silver crown – and hey presto! You’ve got a costume fit for a fairy princess!
REQUIREMENTS
* Round-necked sleeveless T-shirt
* Tulle or netting in two toning colours
* Tape measure and ruler
* Fabric scissors
* Needle and tacking thread
* Sewing machine
* Matching sewing threads
* 12 mm (1/2”) wide red satin ribbon
* Tracing paper and
* Pencil
* White paper or thin card
* Scrap of felt
* Decorative button
To make up
1. Work out how long you want the skirt to be, then cut a piece of netting to twice this length and four times the width of the T-shirt. Cut a second piece of netting in a toning shade 10 cm (4”) shorter than the first and the same width. Fold each piece of netting in half lengthways and place the shorter piece on top of the longer one, aligning the folded edges.
2. Baste the two pieces of netting together along the folded edges, then gently pull the tacking thread to gather the fabrics to about 3 cm (1”) more than the circumference of the T-shirt, and spacing the gathers as evenly as possible so that the skirt hangs neatly.
3 Pin the gathered edges of the netting along the bottom hem of the outside of the T-shirt, and machine zigzag stitch the pieces together. Remove the basting thread. Attach thin strips of gathered netting in a similar way around the armholes and a contrasting strip across the chest.
HANDY HINT: Keep adjusting the gathers, spacing them evenly along the length of the fabric, as you pull the thread. If necessary, adjust them again once you’ve pinned the netting to the T-shirt. This is probably the most time-consuming part of the whole project, but it’s worth the effort in order to get the skirt to hang neatly and evenly.
4 Cut a length of 12 mm (1/2”) wide red satin ribbon long enough to go all around the T-shirt, plus 40 cm (16”). Fold it in half to find the centre point. Unfold, then align the centre of the ribbon with one side seam. Pin the ribbon over the netting to hide the seam, then slipstitch it in place by hand along the top and bottom edges.
5 Copy the flower template, trace it onto white paper or thin card, and cut out. Draw around the template once on felt and twice on each colour of netting.
6 Place the netting flowers on the felt flower, alternating the colours, with the button on top. Place the whole flower on the red ribbon, near the side seam, and sew the button through all layers to attach the flower to the skirt. Using a glass or plastic button as the flower centre provides a sparkly finishing touch that little girls will simply adore, while the layers of netting and felt make convincingly three dimensional ‘petals’.
A TOUCH OF SPARKLE: Using a glass or plastic button as the flower centre provides a sparkly finishing touch that little girls will simply adore, while the layers of netting and felt make convincingly three dimensional petals.
This T-shirt project has been reproduced from Embellish Your T-Shirt by Katie Cole. With 50 techniques and 35 step-by-step projects, there are plenty of suggestions to liven up even the most dreary ‘T’ with simple stitching and make it worthy to wear for all sorts of occasions, banishing boring T-shirts from the wardrobe forever! Published by Cico Books and priced at £12.99. (See book review pages for more information or call the Cico Books hotline on tel: 01256 302692).
