White Polkadot Wrap Shirt Refashion

Some time ago I bought a size 12 Marco Polo white wraparound polkadot shirt at a flea market for $5. I didn’t try it on, but I love love love polkadots and thought that size 12 should be okay on me. However, whenever I thought to wear it somewhere, it just never looked right on me. It wasn’t THAT big, but it didn’t fit very well on me. I offered it to a friend, thinking it would be a bit of a shame to cut it up-but she didn’t think it was her style. So, I thought, what the heck-I’ll just refashion it. I’ve had it for more than 6 months and never wore it nor done anything to it because, well, it was really pretty by itself. I was afraid of mucking up something.Now if I did something at last,  at least I’d wear it.

This is what it looks like before.

The Polkadot Wraparound Shirt

It makes me think of a nurse’s uniform somehow. The bow would never sit right and it felt that the sleeves were an awkward length on me.

I decided to recut the whole shirt to fit me better- at the sleeves and armholes, and at the side seams. And as in my other two refashions, to cut off the midsection and substitute with black stretch knit.

I cut off the midsection first-just folded the shirt in half and eyeballed it. I didn’t really measure anything this time. I pinned the wrap fronts together before I started cutting.

Cutting off the midsection

Next, I unpicked the side seams and the armhole seams and removed the sleeves.

The unpicked shirt

To recut the armholes and the sleeves, I use my existing personal patterns as a guide to cut around.

My newspaper patterns

I wanted short sleeves with a black binding with tiny pleats built into it.

My new cut sleeves

Plain ol' bias binding

I was so absorbed in making the sleeves I forgot to document the process. What you see next is the finished sleeve.

I love bias binding

I love the new sleeve. It looks so much younger, instead of 3/4 length sleeves.

Here’s another view of the sleeve. I really like my sleeve. Can you tell?

Another view of the sleeve

Coming back to the missing midsection. I cut out 2 separate pieces of black stretch knit in a vaguely waist-like shape, the front piece one inch wider than the back, the total measurement, about 3/4 my waist measurement.

The missing midsection

I overlocked the side seams together, forming a tube. Then I joined it to the main garment, right sides together.

Pinning the two pieces together at quarterly intervals

Then I hemmed the bottom with a twin needle.

The finished product

Doesn’t it look soooo much better? I love the new shirt!