Men's Shirt Re-Do # 1: Vest Applique

I have seen so many great tutorials recently about cleaning out stashes and re-purposing old clothes, and I thought it was about time that I tried it for myself. My husband had this old shirt that is really soft but doesn't fit quite right, so I wanted to find a few ways to make it work for a little guy instead. It turns out that a long sleeved mens shirt is a lot of material, so I got 2 projects out of 1 shirt. Come back next week for project #2!

I thought this pattern and material was pretty cool and a bit dressy for a little boy, so it must be turned into a little vest applique!

Project #1-Vest Applique

My first step was making a pattern. I lined a piece of paper up on a plain white onesie and roughly traced where I would need to cut the paper away for the neckline and sleeves.

I cut along those lines and laid the paper onto the onesie.

I lightly sketched one side of a little vest, making sure to extend the middle piece slightly past the middle of the onesie.

I traced the vest pattern onto some fusible webbing, flipped it over and traced the pattern again to make the left and right sides of the vest.

**Do not forget to flip the pattern over before you trace the other side of the vest! Otherwise, when you go to iron your applique onto your onesie, you will realize that you have 2 left sides and this will not work. Ask me how I know.**

Iron the fusible webbing onto your fabric, and trim around the edges.

I made the little black tie using the same method as in my Little Man Tie Applique tutorial, ironed it onto the onesie, and then sewed the edges down with a zig zag stitch.

Next, I laid my vest appliques down exactly as I wanted them, ironed them on, and then sewed those edges down with a zig zag stitch as well. I made sure to pin a fabric stabilizer to the back as I was sewing to keep the fabric from stretching as I sewed and it worked like a charm.

(New to sewing appliques? Read some of my beginner tips here.)

I made sure to use thread in coordinating colors so that it wouldn't draw too much attention to the stitching.

I selected a few dark gray buttons to complement the vest and hand stitched those on, centering them above the point in the tie.

There you have it! A onesie any little cool dude would be happy to wear.

Men's shirts are PERFECT for little boy ties, tie appliques or vest appliques. I challenge you to rummage around your husband's closet and see what old duds can be transformed into something perfect for your little dude! :)

Also, have you seen the fun new series Decorating with Portraits over at Kristen Duke Photography? Kristen has an all star cast of bloggers lined up for the whole month of September to share the ways that they decorate their homes with portraits, and we are thrilled to be participating! Look for us on September 18!

I'll be linking to some of these great parties! Happy Labor Day!