DIY Embellished T Shirt

Staying abreast with all the latest fashion trends is costly. You want to look fresh and trendy while staying within your budget. That's where DIY comes in handy.
With an embellished t-shirt, you can be fashionable without going over budget.

For this project I used:
1 plain t shirt (an inexpensive craft store t shirt)
Sewing machine
Silver star metal studs
Hot fix tool or iron

How to make an embellished t shirt.
 
Begin by cutting the sleeves off at the seam. Cut the seam off the bottom of the shirt and then cut 2 pieces off the bottom 1 inch wide. You can adjust how short you want the shirt to be by cutting more or less of the bottom off.  Cut 2 inches off the short end one of the strips and then sew the ends together (you are making the loop smaller). Cut the other strip in half.
 
Take the 2 smaller strips and fold them in half and mark the middle. Stitch the 2 shorter ends together forming a loop. Using a medium length zig zag stitch or serger, stitch one of these strips, right sides together, to the armhole stretching to so that the halfway mark matches the shoulder seam and back to the starting point. You are tightening up the armhole as you sew the facing on.

Do the same for the other armhole. Take the longer strip and again mark the middle. Beginning at the side, use the same zig zag stitch sew to the bottom of the shirt, stretching to match the middle with the other side of the shirt and back to the starting point. Here you are tightening up the waist.
 
Press all seams towards the outside edges.

Fold the raw edge of the facing to the inside of the shirt. Using a double needle (which allows for stretch in the material), topstitch the facing. Do the same for the bottom of the shirt.
 

For this shirt, we chose to go with an initial for the design. I laid out silver metal studs in the form of the letter “S”. Using a hot fix tool or hot iron without steam, press down on the metal studs for 12-15 seconds. If your shirt is thin, you may want to place a piece of wax paper in the inside of the shirt to prevent the glue from adhering the sides together. Allow to cool.

Inexpensive but easy to make. An embellished t-shirt is an easy way to stay trendy while keeping your wallet happy.
 

Hot fix metal studs are available from:

www.RhnestonesEtc.com