The Fashionable Type :: Liberty Love

Wahoo!  Today I’m taking part in a really cool series – The Fashionable Type.  This is the brainchild of Stacey of Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy Crafts, and it will bring together typography in fashion brought to you by a bunch of sewing and creative bloggers.

I’m all over a cute graphic tee with a witty saying, but I got all fumbled up when I tried to come up with my own witty saying.  I can’t even tell you how many different ideas I came up with and then promptly discarded.  Eventually I came at it from the process I wanted to use first – reverse applique, and then the type came to me through that.

Once I had my path set to use reverse applique, I knew my first choice would be to highlight some of my very most favorite fabric – Liberty of London Tana Lawn.  A play on “Liberty Love” seemed very appropriate.

You only need a large scrap to do this, so I snagged a piece which would have otherwise remained in my “too precious to toss” stash.  I then rifled through my refashion candidates drawer and found a nice J Crew tee shirt of mine which coordinated nicely.

In a profound case of blogger fail, I did not take process photos for the reverse applique.  I wasn’t 100% sure my idea was going to turn out as I hoped, and I was working on this when the lighting was poor.  With the magic of Illustrator, with which I have arrived at an agreeable relationship, I can show you the steps graphically!

1. Begin by printing the type you want to applique.  I used Arial Bold.  Using a makeshift light table (aka my patio doors), trace the outline of the letters.
2. With both fabrics facing up, layer the tee shirt piece on top of the woven fabric you want to show through the applique.  I used regular clear tape to adhere the woven to the t-shirt and it held very nicely.  Carefully sew along the traced letters.
3. Trim the t-shirt material from inside the stitching.  Take care not to cut the woven fabric.
4. Continue constructing the shirt.

I love how the large-scale floral of this fabric appears as if each letter has a different fabric behind it!

I used Figgy’s Banyan Tee to refashion my shirt, and I decided to have a little fun with the sleeves by creating what I call “bow sleeves” instead of the standard sleeve.

1. I made the sleeve a little wider by placing the pattern piece slightly away from the fold, and by extending the other side slightly.
2. Pin the sleeve into the arm opening starting with the underarm.  The extra width will allow a fold to be made on each side of the center.  Create a small tube of fabric and wrap it around the sleeve, lining up the raw edges and rolling the sleeve out of the way.

Finish the side seams and you’re all done!  Arden loves her Liberty shirt, and especially the bow sleeves.  Do you think they look like bows?

Be sure to check out Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy Crafts to find links to the other projects for today, and to enter the giveaway sponsored by Dead Ringer Designs.