Ruffled Shrug

I snagged a really pretty sundress/coverup from TJ Maxx the other day for $15, but it hasn't been warm enough to wear anything sleeveless yet.  This would have normally meant that I would have put it in my closet until it warmed up some more, but I've found a new fearlessness with making what I need on my sewing machine.  Kaysi over at Keeping it Simple is constantly showing off the really neat ways she modifies off the rack t-shirts & turtlenecks to create fantastic looking skirts & tops, and I was inspired to make my own something.  I created this Ruffled Edge Shrug to go over my new dress.

Here's how it started.  I grabbed an old t-shirt from my only-good-for-the-gym pile.  This t-shirt had seen better days.  It looked like it accidentally had met some bleach in the laundry room.

I cut off the bottom half of the t-shirt,

cut the shirt in half up the middle,

and rounded the corners.

I then created a v-neck and cut the neck off.

I cut 3 - inch wide strips of fabric from the bottom half of the shirt, and sewed the strips together to make one large strip of fabric.

I pinned this strip all the way around the cut edge of the shrug.

I sewed the strip on using a 1/4 inch seam.

I pressed the strip flat, and stitched just inside of the seam to hold the seamed fabric in place.

To create the ruffled edge, I stitched as close to the cut edge as I could with a zigzag stitch, with a stitch length of 2, while pulling on the fabric to stretch it out as it went into the machine.  This is the easiest way I know how to make a ruffled edge on a knit fabric.

I ruffled another strip of leftover fabric and stitched it into a rosette to cover a big bleach stain.

I decided not to add ruffles to the sleeves, because I thought it was already girly enough.  But for a little girl, the more ruffles, the better.

Thanks for popping in and sewing with me.  I'm linking this up to Between Naps On the Porch's Metamorphosis Monday, and the Graphic's Fairy's Brag Monday.