With blogs like makemylemonade.com, and programmes like The Great British Sewing Bee, it’s never been more chic to make your own accessories. Who wants to walk into their lecture and find someone wearing the same t-shirt? No. You want to be the person at the club with the cutest original bag, everyone will turn their heads when they see the patch pockets on your skirt. But in this day and age who has the know how to make something from scratch? Here we tell you how to make a super stylish, fringe-y fabulous t-shirt without any special skills needed.
What you’ll need:
1 x White T-Shirt: £6 – asos.com, £4.99 – New Look
2m x 170mm Fringe: £7.20 – abakhan.com, £7.18 – ribbonmoon.co.uk
Pins: c. £3 Duttons for Buttons
Cotton Thread: c. £2.50 Duttons for Buttons
Sewing Needle: c. £2 for 5 Duttons for Buttons
1. Gather your materials. A white t-shirt works best, but if you’re feeling funky why not try some complimentary colours? Lisa off MakeMyLemonade used a silk wool upholstery fringe that you can buy at any furniture store or haberdashery, but you could equally use some leather beaded fringe from RibbonMoon for a summer festival vibe.
2. Iron out your t-shirt (we know, no one likes ironing but the fabric will pucker otherwise), then mark out where your fringing will go. Run the fringe like a scarf from the joint of the fabric around the area of your hips, up around the neck line and back down to your other hip, creating an uber-feminine and flattering shape.
3. Pin your fringing in place and try it on. Really check you like the way it lies on your body, once it’s sewn on there’s no going back. Make sure you’ve kept the fringe edge flat against the fabric, that the fringing falls nicely, and that you don’t have any bumps or pieces of fringing stuck underneath the edging. Precision here is vital.
4. Sew it on! Two rows of simple running stitch of approximately 5mm per stitch should secure your fringing on strongly, don’t be afraid to repeat the row of stitching if you feel the fringing isn’t secure. If you match the colour of your thread to the fringing, the neatness of your stitch is much less important as it will be less visible.
5. Wear your gorgeous creation! And when your friends inevitably ask you where you got it from, feel free to flick your hair and proclaim with nonchalance, “Oh this? It’s a little something I knocked together the other day.” Now you know what to do, go get creative and create this beautiful tasselled look at a fraction of the cost of designer.