Quick refashion - 90 minute shirt

Quinn has been experiencing a growth spurt, averaging an inch a month for the past three. He started this fall/winter season with 18-24 month clothes, then 24/2T for a few months, and now threatens to move on to 3T before spring comes.

I went looking for warm 3T clothes in Kai's bin yesterday, but without much success. I remembered Kai spent his 3T time in San Diego and didn't need much of that. He just wore a hoodie when it got a little chilly. And that is how I ended up at the sewing machine making t-shirts during Quinn's nap.

I used a "90 minute shirt" tutorial that Dana of MADE put together. The idea of finishing two shirts during one nap appealed to me. No binding, snaps, or buttons sounded great.

Dana shows you in great detail how to make your own pattern with an old onesie you cut up and use as a templet. Since I didn't have one on hand I could part with, I printed out the picture of hers and photocopied it at 400%. Of course the whole pattern piece didn't fit on the letter size paper. I focused on the arm and neck details, and then traced it to my pattern paper. I added sleeve and body length to Quinn's measurements.

The actual sewing went very quickly. Ironing the ribbing in place before sewing helps. I used a large white t-shirt I picked up at a yard sale just for a project like this.

It looked very cute on, but I made a few adjustments to the pattern to make it perfect. I made the arm hole bigger, shoulders wider, and the back top seam lower for our chunky boy. Below is the improved version. The gray and green cotton-lycra knits are from fabric fairy.

This is a great tutorial if you have the patience to work on the pattern until you get the fit just right. It may take a few tries, but it is worth the effort.