Easy Undershirts

  

Well, the winter certainly isn't over as we in the Northeast are recovering from the biggest blizzard I can remember since moving here five years ago. It's been wonderful, seeing all that fluffy white stuff! But also so cold! I'd been thinking for a while that I needed to make my daughter some undershirts. She has a few, but not enough. And whenever I try to add a sweatshirt on top of her shirt, she peels it off within the hour. With undershirts? No chance of shedding layers.

So because we've been housebound pretty much all weekend, I got to work sewing.

I adapted Rae's Flashback Skinny Tee for the pattern on all but the gray/pink shirt. (Basically, I just omitted the sleeves.)

For the gray top, the first one I actually made, I winged a pattern based on one of my daughter's store-bought undershirts. I had to gather the front a little bit, but...

...it still worked out. I like the skinny straps.

Do you like the little ribbons? I thought these undershirts could use a little femininity. And I think the bows do the job. It didn't take much to add them. Seriously. Here's your 10-second tutorial:

1. Make a little bow and adjust to the size you want. Pull the ends tightly.

2. Add Fray Check to the ends (if you want) so they don't fray and start to look ugly after a few wears.

3. Adjust your machine. I put mine on a straight stitch (A) and 0 stitch length. Tension remained the same. (It's basically what you do at the end of sewing a buttonhole.)

 
4. Next, line up your needle in the center of the bow. Do 3-4 stitches in place. Then move your needle over a smidge and do it again. I actually do three separate in-place stitches. Just to be sure.

5. Then, clip your threads and you're done! (More on the project above in a later post!)

My daughter found her undershirts while I was taking pictures and snatched them up, hugging them close to her chest. She has claimed them as her own. Good! And her favorite, the cupcakes of course. Oh, and I wanted to also mention that the cupcake shirt and the green shirt were new-fabric, but the other two were upcycled t-shirts.

It feels so good to make something so useful. Sometimes, I labor away at beautiful dresses and such and they get worn once or twice. These may not be uber-pretty, but they're functional. (And they saved me a few bucks too.) Can't beat that. Let me know if you make some of your own. I'd love to see them! 
Have a great week sewing!
PS: I'll be linking to these parties.