Enough with the tee shirts for a while. I’ve moved on to real, tailored apparel changes here! Like repurposing this size 14 halter into something wearable. I fell in love with the pleated collar at J.Crew maybe 8 months ago. It was on sale and only 10 sizes too big. So, why not buy it?! I thought that I would just take it in. Laziness prevented me from ever changing my serger thread from white to black…until now! I’m glad I waited, because I had the motivation to really make it something I love.

I wanted to keep the collar (of course, that’s the whole shirt!!) and maintain the side zipper just to keep it simple. In order to do that, I had to take it in in the back, creating a center seam where there wasn’t one before. After detaching the straps and taking in the back, I realized I might have just enough fabric to add cap sleeves…and fill in the holes between the X on the back. Pins and pieces later I emerged with this:

A perfectly fitted, perfectly modest top! I love it even more than the halter in my size! By shortening the shirt just a few inches, I was able to use the hem as the sleeve hem. Then I just pieced together the other 5 inch strip of removed fabric to build the back.