A couple months ago, I saw this post on Design Mom. I thought, “Hey, I could do that!” After a few emails back and forth, Gabby sent me these photos of the shirts I would be taking apart and replicating in new, similar fabric:

This was a great, lightweight, stretchy tee with that fun twist front detail. I made myself one as a trial run with the pattern, and I can vouch for it being a quick favorite!

It was my first time working with garment elastic in the seams for ruching, and I’m so glad I’ve learned! I’ve since used it on this bathing suit and this dress, too!!

This navy boatneck shirt was soft and slinky. There is a little pocket detail on the sleeve that adds charm.

Gabby sent me her two original shirts, and I went fabric shopping. I took some high-quality phone photos at the fabric store, and Gabby chose the materials she liked via email. Then, I went to work:

This shirt is so cool, and taken apart into pieces, you would have no idea what it was. No straight forward pattern here. It was a fun challenge that stretched my skills and definitely increased my understanding of pattern-making.

The details were great. Lots of ruching, even on the little sleeves. It’s a real cute shirt. And, I’ve got plans to use a similar style to make a fun summer dress.

So, that is the first remake. Pretty cool, huh?

This second one was a simple enough pattern that I didn’t even take it apart. It went well enough to lay the pattern paper over the actual shirt and trace outlines.

Again, I was surprised with the actual shape of the pattern pieces. The front and back are really just big boxes! No scoop for the neck…just a fold for the boatneck.

I’m not totally a little pocket person, but the original had a pocket, so the remake got a pocket!

This fabric was a little heavier than the original, which added some depth to the drape and really upped the quality quotient. I was happy with how it turned out.

I wrapped them up, along with the original navy and a little romper for Baby June made from the pieces of the polka dot, and shipped them off. I had weeks to spare until BlogHer, which was a motivating factor for Gabby. No sweat…

Until the package didn’t arrive.

I sent it ground, which I usually do. Cheap, reliable, and (previous to this experience) about the same time-frame as priority. About a week post-ship I checked the tracking number, thinking it would be there…only, there was no information available. A couple more days, same story. 10 business days after shipping, I called the post office and they told me they had no idea where it was. Shoot. 

I emailed Gabby an apology for the delay, then sweat bullets as I figured out if I should just remake them both all over again? Ahh? Then overnight them? Hmmm. I checked and thought and then set myself a deadline. If they had not arrived the Saturday before BlogHer, I would make her another shirt that we had discussed, but not yet settled on completely and overnight it so she at least for sure had something to show for the two months of communication with her long-distance seamstress!It would be a sequined, going-out version of the twist front tee for parties and such. I would just make it and ship it as a sheepish “I’m sorry, and I’m going to get a night shift with USPS to make sure next time I have an in at the delivery end!!”