Sleep Shirt to Racing Stripes Refashion + A Surprise for a Kitty

We just got a new camera so excuse the goofy pictures. We are having a little too much fun with it. 

 I've had this shirt for years. It's super soft, but the years of love have stretched it out quite a bit. It's also lacking some pizzazz. I have quite a hard time parting with loyal pieces of clothing. This shirt has served me well. I cant just give up on it.

I have quite a few scraps from this dress:

"What happened to the rest of this crazy dress?" you ask.

Well, honestly, I'm not sure yet. I've been fighting with this piece for a while. I think I have a handle on it now, but you will still have to wait on the final results.

Today I used the lining from the blouse part of the dress. So, let's begin!

I took three inches in from the sides on the shirt. I took in two inches on one side and one inch on the other.

 "Why did you take in uneven amounts?" you ask.

I'll tell you.

I added pizzazz.

About an inch of pizzazz to be exact. A racing stripe if you will {or at least that's what Philip said it reminded him of}. It made up for the extra inch that I cut off on one side. 

So one side simply was taken in one inch and the excess trimmed away. The second side had two inches cut away; Straight up the side seam all the way through the armpit and sleeve. Then I added this to the open side:

  

I folded the material in half because it was see through and I don't play like that. I then pinned it to itself so it wouldn't slip or bunch. 

Next, I turned the shirt inside out and pinned the strip of fabric to one of the open sides.

I made the mistake of turning around for thirty seconds, and when I returned, I found an inconsiderate cat sleeping on my handy work. On top of NEEDLES! "Why would she do that?", you ask. Well, you're asking a lot of questions today, and this is one I simply can't answer. She's not the brightest crayon in the box {my mom seriously thinks she has mental problems}.

What a wauzzie...

Here's a better look:

SO MANY PINNNSSS!!!!!

Next things next, I stitched that side down and proceeded to do the same on the other.

I then had a fully functioning shirt again, but I wanted to do something more.

I thought about putting another strip down the other side, but then I really would look like a race car.

I decided to put a strip down the shoulder onto the sleeve.


I'm still not sold on the method I used. It was easier that the way I did the side {which is totally doable if you feel more motivated than I did} because it didn't involve taking anything in or even cutting the shirt. I definitely doesn't look as clean though as the side method though. I might actually go back at a later date and revamp it, but for now, here was my process.

I took more scrap fabric and made a tube.

I put a pin on one end and then flipped it inside out.

I took my fabric tube and ironed it { I may have used my hair straightener} and then sewed it to the outside of my shirt.

After folding the excess under and sewing it into the hem, I was done! It was hard to get a pic of both sides of the shirt, so, again, humor me with the multiple goofy pictures.

I had some extra scraps from this project and from the dress.

I decided to make them into a cute little cat nip mouse for Crunchy.

   

She's happy about it.