Better Than Bought - Hi/Low Lace Shirt

Quick quiz, what is the best part about making your own clothes? For me it is the ability to customize your clothing to fit your body type and in some cases make something better that what you can find in the store. For this week's Better Than Bought post I did both! I found this cute hi/low hem lace trim shirt on Pinterest from DressLily, I love the style but the shirt is clearly see through which I am not a fan of. Also I have a hard time wearing store bought hi/low hems because I am 5'-8" and the "hi" hemline is usually way too high! I always add length when I make my own.

We sourced high quality triblend fabric (50%poly/37%cotton/13%rayon) that is still light weight but opaque. There are several color options available as well including seafoam, tangerine, light gray and marsala. These colors are perfect as we transition into fall. Bundles include 2 yards of fabric and 1 yard of lace trim and are priced at $17 which is 10% off retail! The bundles are available here. Best part is that the pattern we will be using, LDT by Love Notions, is FREE! 

Well lets get started shall we?!

What you will need:

I used the FREE Laundry Day Tee from Love Notions for this project. To get it for free join their Facebook group and look in the pinned post.

Better Than Bought Bundle

• 2 yards fabric
• 1 yard lace trim

Preparing the pattern:

Print and assemble the LDT pattern. I used the tunic length option with hi/low hem. The main alteration to the pattern is shortening the front piece in order to allow room for the trim. Additionally you can decide if you want to alter the neckline to achieve a similar look to the Pinterest image. I chose to keep the neckline from the LDT for my version, but Kayla made a version with a slightly altered neckline.

If you are using the lace provided in the bundle you can skip to the step below this picture. But if you are using your own then you will need to determine how much of the pattern piece to cut off. Measure the lace piece from it's tallest point. In this case it was about 6" tall. Then subtract 1.5" from that length to determine how much of the pattern piece to cut off. So for the BTB lace that amount is 4.5".

Next measure 4.5" up from the hi/low hem line in several spots all along the bottom of the pattern piece. Then connect the dots to make your new cut line. Note: this pattern uses the same bottom piece for front and back so make sure you cut out the back piece prior to the hi/low front piece.

Altering the neckline:

If you choose to alter the neckline begin by measuring 1" up from the bottom of the neck opening on the fold line. Then draw a shallow curved line from where the neck opening hits the shoulder to your newly measured bottom.

Assembly: 

With right sides facing sew/serge the shoulder seam. Then attach the neckband, if you are altering the neckline follow these instructions, otherwise skip to the next step. First you need to determine how long to make the binding piece. Measure the opening and multiply that number by .8 to determine how long it needs to be. For the example below: 27" x .8 = 21.6". Then cut a piece that is (21.6") x 1.75" wide.

Press the neck binding in half. Then sew/serge the short ends together. Quarter the neck opening and the binding and attach with the right side of the neck binding facing the wrong side of the shirt.

Press the serged edge up toward the opening then press the binding piece down to cover the serged/sewn seam and topstitch in place.

Hem the front and back pieces, then attach the sleeves. DO NOT sew up the side seam prior to attaching the lace.

Next we will be attaching the lace trim. Begin by folding your front piece in half to determine how long to make the trim. Cut the lace about 2 inches longer than the bottom of your front piece. Note: I cut mine a little too short, make it a little bit longer with the widest part of your lace about 3/4 of an inch past the edge of your fabric.

Now to attach the lace. Overlap the lace about 1 inch past the bottom of the front hem. I had a moment of absolute genius while making this and decided to try using Spray n Bond Fusible Adhesive. This stuff was amazing! I sprayed it on the top part of the back of the lace and then once it dried I laid it where I wanted it to be on the bottom of my front piece. I ironed it on and didn't have to use a single pin to hold the lace in place while I sewed. Everything stays exactly where I wanted it. 

According to the instructions the spray requires no sewing and can be machine washed. But I didn't want to test that particular claim on my gorgeous shirt and so once it was fused to the shirt I sewed it on using my machine's longest straight stitch. I went very carefully around the top part of the lace, making sure to catch all the little triangular pieces.

 The final step is to sew up the side seam. Trim a little of the lace off at an angle from the point of the lace till it meets up with the front shirt piece. Try to match the angle of the side seam as much as possible. I forgot to take a picture of this step prior to sewing up the seam so the picture below is from after, but pin or clip the side seams and serge/sew. Make sure the point of the lace ends lines up at the bottom of the back piece.

Please make sure to post your creations and use the hashtag #surgebtb to be entered in our monthly drawing for the next better than bought bundle free!