Make a Baby Doll Shirt - T-Shirt Surgery

Change up a t-shirt to make a baby doll shirt that is flattering to the bust line and can even cover a little extra tummy you're still trying to work off.

• A t-shirt that fits
• Scissors
• Chalk
• A length of ribbon or yarn
• (Optional)A button
• Needle & Thread
• 5-10 straight pins
• Small safety pin

Once you have all your materials, lets get started!

1. First Grab your chalk and start marking at the shoulder seam of the shirt, right on the edge of the collar. Trace a chalk line down the seam of the collar. When the collar curves, keep going straight. Repeat on the other side to make a large 'V'. Draw a small 'T' in the bottom of the 'V'.

2. Cut through the front of the shirt. Cut the diagonal lines along the collar and the top of the 'T'.

3. Flip up the cut collar so that you can see the inside of the back of the shirt. Draw a crescent under the back collar. You can hug the collar close or dip down an inch like I did. Cut along this line.

4. Wear the bra that you plan on wearing with the completed baby doll top. Draw a chalk line just under the bust line, starting at the left side seam and ending at the right side seam.

5. Take off the shirt and lay it flat on the floor. Use straight pins to mark all along the chalk line, through both layers of the shirt. Now flip over the shirt and mark a chalk line along the pins on the back. Remove the pins.

6. Cut off the sleeves, leaving the sleeve seams on the sleeves. Put these aside for now.

7. On the front of the shirt, measure 1/2" to the left of the center of the bust line. Mark this point with chalk. Mark 1/2" to the right of the center and mark. You should have a 1" space between the new chalk lines.

8. You need to start stitching a 1/2" from the center because the exact center is where you are going to tie your ribbon or yarn into a bow.

9. Pinch up about an 1/8" of fabric with your fingers. You need just enough fabric for your ribbon or yarn to thread through. Start sewing along the bottom of this pinched portion so that you are creating a tube. After a few stitches, test to see if your safety pin will fit in the tube. The safety pin needs to fit because you'll use it to thread your drawstring through the tube.

10. Sew all around the shirt, being careful not to bunch up the shirt with your stitches. Stop when you reach the front again, 1/2" to the right of center.

11. At the center front of the shirt, you should have two ends of thread that are 1" apart.

12. Carefully snip open the the ends of your drawstring casing, as close to your stitching as you can get without cutting through it. Cut just enough to create two openings on the tube you just made.

13. Fold your drawstring yarn or ribbon in half and lay across your shirt as shown, with plenty of extra drawstring. You want extra ribbon or yarn so that you can tie it in the front. If you have too much, you can always clip it later. Cut a generous amount of drawstring.

14. Attach the drawstring to a small safety pin to easily get it through the drawstring casing. Insert the safety pin into one end of your sewn tube and scrunch the shirt around until you get all the way around to the other tube opening. Pull your drawstring so that the loose ends are even.

15. Once the drawstring is in, you can start to fine-tune the shirt to your liking.

16. I clipped the bottom of the 'T' made on the collar and added a button to one of the flaps. I stitched down the other flap with a small 'X' of thread. You can add buttons to both of these, stitch them both down, or let them hang. It's up to you.

17. Use a small piece of ribbon or yarn to tie a bow around each strap.

18. I created a tube of color by wrapping the yarn around the strap eight times, then tying off. Tuck the loose end of yarn into the wrapped part.

19. You can also use the extra sleeve material to add a pocket

20. We have extra material left over from the sleeves that were cut off in Step 3. We can use these to make a cut pocket on the shirt.

21. Trace a pocket shape onto one of the shirt sleeves. You can get creative here and make your own shape such as a heart, flower or circle. Cut out the shape. If you want two pockets, cut through both layers of the sleeve.

22. Stitch the pocket anywhere you like on the shirt. Good spots are at the hips or the left breast. Add a cute button to get it character.

This is a very versatile shirt, so you should really get creative with it. Here are a few ways to make the most of this project:

• Use a different colored t-shirt to make the pockets. Don't use any other material other than t-shirt jersey, or the fabrics will not lay together well.

• Use the same color of ribbon on the sleeves as you did for the drawstring.

• Find buttons that go with the theme of your shirt.
  

Perfect! Now you've got a hot new shirt to wear out this weekend and more than enough room in the closet from all that clipped off fabric to buy some new Duds by Dudes threads!