Mrs. C Does Stuff

Making a shell out of an existing shirt is quite easy to do.  For this particular tutorial, I used a jersey knit fabric.  To accomodate for the type of fabric used, you may have to adjust the tension of the thread on your sewing machine.  Take your fabric and fold it in half with right sides together.  If you happen to be using a fabric with a pattern, try to match up the pattern on the edges so that it will appear continuous when your garment is complete.  Simply use a shirt that you like the fit of as your pattern to cut out the fabric you'll need for the shell. With a sewing machine sew the sides, leaving spaces for the arms, and tops of the shoulders, leaving the neckline open. Then using an iron create a crease for the hem, neckline and sleeves. Sew the ironed parts down to create clean lines and trim the excess fabric from the hem.  Now you have a shell, perfect for wearing with jeans....

When I was a kid, I had several belts like this.  I liked them because they were completely adjustable and always fit perfectly.  This belt is not difficult to make.  I purchased some webbed ribbon and D rings.  The spool I bought was four feet in length.  I used the entire length to make this belt.  If you are smaller than me, you may want to cut it down a bit and use a lighter to gently burn the edges.  This picture shows the length of the piece of webbed ribbon. Please note, when burning the edges, you want the heat from the flame to burn the edges of the ribbon so it does not unravel.  The edges will get crisp.  You do not want the flame to touch the webbed ribbon.  Be careful doing this, you can start a fire.   An alternative to burning the end of the ribbon is to fold about a quarter inch over and stitch across to tack it down.  Either way will work well for this project. Once you have the desired lengt...