Refashion - Oversized Peasant Blouse to Button-Up Blouse

Here is another shirt I salvaged from a bag of clothes my neighbor was giving away.  This top was irresistible. The fabric is so fun, colorful, and vibrant.  I love the red, blue, yellow color combination.  I would have worn the top as is, but it was a bit too over sized for me.  The fabric is very thin and sheer.  I wasn't sure how I was going to refashion it, but I knew I had to do something.

I started by seam ripping off the sleeves, making it look like a tank top.  I considered turning it into a dress for Aubrey at that point, but I new that would just be a waste of beautiful fabric, since she rarely wears dresses.  I continued to seam rip.  Very carefully.  Such delicate fabric.  I took out all of the yarn that was connecting several pieces of fabric together, as well as, all along the sleeve edges.  

(Mississippi with the photo bomb!)

Ultimately, I ended up completely disassembling the entire shirt in all its pieces.

I was feeling button up shirt when I stared at it like this.  

I dug through my pattern stash and I had the perfect pattern.  I hadn't had a chance to use it yet, so this was my first attempt.

I ended up going with pattern D, but with no pockets and I added the sleeves.  I would have preferred to use pattern B with no pockets, but I just couldn't squeeze enough fabric out to make the regular collar.

Here it is in the process.

The pattern was pretty easy to follow and work with.  I definitely want to use it again.

Here is how the shirt came out:

I used the sleeves from the original shirt to make the top part of the shirt on the front and back, the collar, and the sleeves.  I used the maroon bands that were framing the collar of the original shirt (cut in half lengthwise) to make the strip for the buttons and button holes in the front.  I cut the main pieces of the original shirt up into four pieces and re-assembled them back together with their new cut.  I hemmed the bottom and the sleeves.  Added some vintage maroon buttons and finished!

 Sorry for the poor picture quality.  It was night time and the lighting is bad.  I was hoping to get some better detail shots.

I wore it today and it is very comfortable.  It is going to be great for the summer, since it is sheer, it breathes very well.  I had to wear a long sleeve denim button-up shirt over it today to stay warm, but it still looked good underneath.  The print of this fabric is just so lovely.  I'm glad I found a way to breath new life into it.