(music plays)
Hello and welcome to a brand new episode of Make Thrift Buy!
This is the show where you send in suggestions of clothes and accessories, from the impossibly
expensive highstreet, to the probably-made-in-a-sweatshop cheap fast fashion world -
and then I do my
best to recreate them.
Today's suggestion comes from Natalie Ward who wants me to make this witchy pentagram
top - oh wait, sorry, did I say pentagram top?
I meant, of course: Punk Rock Gothic Goth Star Straps Bust Design Sexy Top Long Sleeves
Crop Top Black White Gray, instead.
Yeah.
(Laughs)
Anyway I thought this would be a really good DIY for somebody who is new to the sewing
and the DIY world, because making this is pretty simple, it's also fast and it's VERY
effective.
So, let's begin!
First off I thrifted myself a plain black t-shirt.
This one was $3 from Vinnies.
I didn’t get a top with long sleeves because it’s currently summer where I live.
The other things I’ll need are: some chalk to make temporary, washable marks on my shirt,
some black elastic, scissors, a lighter, and a needle and thread.
The thread should match the colour of the shirt and elastic – here, they’re all
black.
And an important note about the elastic – this top will look the best if the width of the
elastic matches the width of the ribbing on the neckline on the t-shirt.
So first, I measured out some elastic, from the shoulder-seam of the t-shirt down to the
middle of the neckline, like this.
I added about half an inch to this length of elastic, and then, using some scissors,
I cut the first piece of elastic to this length.
Then I used this first piece of elastic to measure it up against the rest of the elastic,
in order to cut out TWO pieces that are the exact same length!
Next, I measured some more elastic, again from the shoulder seam of the t-shirt, but
this time across to this point HERE – on the opposite side of the neckline, about half-way
up.
I cut the elastic to this length, adding half an inch before cutting, and then I used this
piece to cut out another bit of elastic that’s the exact same length as this one.
So I ended up with two short pieces and two slightly longer pieces of elastic, which I’m
going to from now on refer to as elastic A and elastic B.
Then I got a LIGHTER and I quickly ran it over the ends of the elastic to stop the ends
from fraying.
Annnnnd be careful not to set your elastic alight, like I did here.
If you do accidentally do that, blow it out quickly, because that’s far more melted
than it needs to be!
When I say run it over really quickly, I mean – don’t hold it there long enough for
it to catch alight!!!
Anyway, I repeated that to all of the elastic ends.
And now the elastic is almost ready to be attached, but first, we should make some measurements
on our t-shirt, so that we know where to attach it.
So I grabbed one of the elastic A pieces and I measured it out again from the shoulder
seam, down to the middle of the neckline at the front of the t-shirt, and then I made
a mark on the inside of the neckline, using some chalk, where the end of the elastic rests.
And I repeated this for both the elastic A pieces – they meet at the middle of the
neckline here.
Then I did the same for one of the elastic B pieces, measuring it out from the shoulder
seam, across my chest, down to the opposite side, and then I made a mark with some chalk,
on the inside of the neckline here.
And I repeated this for the other side.
Then I turned my shirt inside out and I laid it flat on my table, so that I can see all
the chalk marks on the inside of the neckline there.
So what I’m going to do next is to use a needle and a thread to attach the two elastic
A pieces from here to here, and the two elastic B pieces from here to here.
To do this, I placed one elastic piece A down onto my t-shirt making sure the ends of the
elastic are on the inside of the neckline.
Then I threaded a needle, doubled over the thread and I tied a knot in the end, and then
I started sewing the elastic pieces on!
And just a side note here, if you’re new to sewing and having trouble with things like
threading a needle, there’s lots of good tips on my beginners sewing resource page
on my website!
So, making sure that I started on the inside of the neckline, I brought my needle up and
down through both the piece of the elastic and the shirt’s neckline about 4 to 5 times.
And then I brought it through to the inside again, tied a couple of knots in the thread -
And cut the excess thread off.
And now the elastic is to the neckline, and I repeated this for all the 4 elastic pieces!
And it doesn’t really matter what order you sew them on in – I sewed on elastic
A first then B, but just make a note that because both elastic piece A and B are sewn
on at the shoulder seams, you’ll be sewing through 2 pieces of elastic at one point,
which can be a little bit tricky and if you're finding it a bit too difficult to push your
needle through you'll need to use a slightly thicker or sharper needle.
Anyway, with all 4 elastic pieces sewn on to the inside of the neckline – I was done!
So, how does it look – and how does it compare to the original?
(Music plays)
Here's a fun fact: there's no lenses in these glasses, they're completely fake.
(Laughs)
(MUSIC)
(Scissor snipping and zipper sound effect)
So: That's it!
Just make sure, if you're pale like me, to wear sunscreen if you do wear it out in the
daylight, or you'll end up with a demonic tan.
I mean unless you want that.
Then that's cool.
Anyway, I'll see you all next time.
Bye!!
Thank you to all of my supporters on Patreon for making these videos possible.
To become my Patreon supporter, go to patreon.com/annikavictoria !
I meant, of course, punk rock....
I meant of course...
BLAH! ...long sleeves crop top black grey white...
black white grey!!
ARGH!