Purple Flower Shirt Refashion

It was the purple flowers that caught my eye on this fabric. Originally sewn into pajamas, this fabric was looking for a bit of an update to take it from lonely item on the sale rack to new item in my wardrobe. It was priced at 70 cents and there was a lot of fabric to play around with, so the pajamas came home.

Front view

From the back

The tag said made in India and there was no size label, but it was too big on me so I'm guessing XL or XXL. I started by taking in the sides and sleeves to get a better fit and plan A was to make a tunic or dress. A t-shirt that fit me well helped me see how much to take in on each side. I basted the sides and then tried the pajamas on my dress form.

There was quite a bit to take in on the sides

After the sides were basted in, I tried playing with the length. If it went below my knees, it still looked like pajamas. If I shortened it a bit to wear with tights or jeans, it still felt like too much fabric. I settled on plan B and made it about the same length as a t-shirt.

Inside out before sides are finished

The side seams on this shirt are finished with my new-to-me serger. This is the third serger I have bought and it's the first one that has worked. It's a Brother 1034D and it seems to have finished the seams pretty well. I look forward to learning more about how to use the serger, but this was a good first project.

Serged seams, is the thread sticking out too far from the edge of the fabric?

Oops, I sewed a pucker into the side.  That will have to come out

Pucker eliminated

With the side seams done, I pinned the hem and sleeve lengths and used my Bernina 830 to sew those in. The fit well now, but I thought it still needed some embellishment on the front. The shirt definitely has a vintage look, so I searched my odds and ends box for buttons, snaps, etc. that would liven things up. I found some embroidered flowers that came from an estate sale a couple summers ago. I stitched three of these on to the front panel by hand. Lastly, I added some purple centers to the flowers to coordinate with the purple flowers in the fabric.

Flowers stitched on

Adding purple centers

The weather around here isn't going to call for a short sleeve shirt any time soon, but I'll have this shirt ready in my closet when the time comes. Here it is finished on the dress form.

I think the white flowers were a great addition

Loose fitting, but not several sizes too big

Kept the pleats in the back