From Lumberjack to Princess

[StrawberryJeli]

With a lot of fabric paint, cutting, and sewing, I was able to transform an old flannel shirt into a Marie Antoinette inspired top.





ETA Here's the long version of how I made this top: I cut the collar and the sleeves off. I made the armholes and sleeves smaller for a better fit and added a little puff at the top of the sleeves. I also cut the bottom of the shirt in the front shorter and created a tail in the back.

I was originally going to bleach and dye the shirt, but after two attempts at bleaching I discovered it had NO effect. So I had to scrap that plan and turn to fabric paints instead. I used Tulip brand, colors Ice Blue Pearl, Carnation Pink Pearl, and Azure Blue Metallic. I applied the paints in a random pattern with makeup sponges. This took me about two days (one for the front, one for the back). I also used a stencil on the front, so the original pattern could peek through.

After waiting for it to finish  drying, I hemmed the edges, added lace to the top and sheer fabric, ruffled, to the sleeves.

[gooseeatfox]

Wow, that looks really cool!  How did you get it to look like that, with the fabric paint?

[nataluna]

wait, how did you DO that?!  was bleach involved?  or did you put it inside out?  i hope it's not a proprietary secret, cos it's gonna bother me for ages.

[StrawberryJeli]

I added a description to the original entry about how the shirt was made. To get the paint effect, all I did was dab different colored fabric paints, in a random pattern, with one of those makeup wedge-shaped sponges.

[nataluna]

was it polyester fleece?  interesting to know that bleach doesn't work on whatever fabric it was.  cos if it were cotton flannel then it would (you'd think).

is it really stiff now, and/or is it still comfortable?

[StrawberryJeli]

was it polyester fleece?  interesting to know that bleach doesn't work on whatever fabric it was.  cos if it were cotton flannel then it would (you'd think).

is it really stiff now, and/or is it still comfortable?

It's 100% cotton, but the original dye must have been colorfast.

It's a little bit stiff, but still wearable. It'll probably soften up after a few washings. I haven't tried yet, I'm still waiting for the fabric paint to set fully.

[frenchvelvet]

Good Job! Very Nice!

[AdrianM]

What a transformation!  Thank you for picturing the before and after and listing your steps.  I'm still learning how to "think outside the box" with recreations and this was brilliant. 

[the_naked_doll]

I think this is an amazing transformation!