This is a super fast, easy technique to add to your favorite basic tee!
Today, I'm using the free Liberty Jane Trendy Tee. It's super easy to sew up, and we have it available for many different doll sizes... :)
Giveaway update: Thanks everybody for entering, we have a winner! It's Leonore, who said, "My mother taught me to tie my shoes. It wasn’t easy for either of us, because she was right-handed and I am left-handed." I am glad you figured it out -- the righty/lefty distinction can be tricky sometimes! We'll be in touch via email soon, Leonore :)
Cut out all your pieces -- and cut a couple pieces of matching ribbon. Mine are about 10" long, but you don't have to be very precise (you'll be trimming these down later).
Follow the directions in the guidebook to sew the shoulder seams, and hem the neck edge.
Then, find the middle of your pieces of ribbon. Pin one to the outside edge of each shoulder.
Hem the sleeves by zig-zagging over the hem edge, and turning it up once. Topstitch this single folded edge down.
Pin and sew the sleeves into the tee -- being sure you're sandwiching the ribbon between the sleeve and the body of the tee.
Trim and finish this seam, but be sure not to clip off any of the ribbon on the inside!
Finish your tee shirt, following the guidebook instructions (sew the side seams, hem the bottom, and add a closure at Center Back).
Then, tie the ribbons up into bows, and trim the ends off neatly. If your ribbon doesn't like staying tied, you can stitch through the bows once or twice to keep them in place.
And that's it! Congratulations!
Thanks everybody, and have fun with this :)
For Pixie Faire,
Melinda
179 Comments
Wow, I really like the way these bows are done. I used to add bows like this to doll clothes and bigger ones to kids clothing. The problem I ran into after a few washings is the bows would start to look so sad, it was pitiful. I would try and try to get them to look nice again but it was a lost cause. Eventually I just stopped adding them to anything. My granddaughters could change for each holiday or to match the shoes their doll is wearing that day. Great Idea !
My mom taught me.
I was taught to tie a bow by a nurse while in Hospital,when I was 4 years old.This was during one of many stays in Hospital.The nurses saved the string from around the bundles of baby nappies that the children’s ward used every day.The nurses also taught me to weave the strings,and use these cloths for different things
55 years ago, when I was 5 years. old my Dad spent most of a whole day teaching me to tie my shoes(this was before velcro was invented let alone putting in on gym shoes, called tennis shoes then) and I remember having to tie my shoe strings into a bow over and over again until I could do it, by myself in front of him, I still remember the tears of frustation and it came back to me when I got a letter from my youngest son’s kindergarten teacher asking all the parents to teach their kids to tie their shoes as she didn’t have enough time to tie 30 pair of shoes every day.:)
My mom tried to teach me. Dad tried too. Both are lefties. I’m a righty. My grandmother finally showed me days before kindergarten started. Shoe tying was a school requirement, and my inability to tie a bow was a source of great anxiety for me. My righty husband and I both failed at demonstrating chopstick use to our lefty son. We went to dinner with a lefty friend who said to our son, “Come sit by me.” Lefty chopstick skills were imparted in about a minute.