Zipper Sleeve Shirt: Part 2

If you've been following along for the last couple of months, you might have seen my previous post about this shirt. But if you haven't, you can find it here. Obviously I didn't expect to fix it, and for awhile I just wanted to throw the darn thing in the pile of 'No Hope'. Part of me wanted this to become a rag so I could scrub my frustrations out on this dumb garment. Scrub-a-dub-dub you suck zipper shirt! Okay, I've got that out of my system. Maybe.

I honestly had no hope. I kept expecting some sewing master, kinda like Yoda, to come and give me advice on how to proceed. The force I want exert on this shirt is not used for good purposes, I assure you. Welcome to the dark side, you repulsive zipper vomit. However...I had a small moment of light, which, oddly enough, came from staring out at the cemetery across the street from me. All those horror/thriller movies instantly rushed into my head. Why this became inspiration, I have no idea. 

So I went through my fabric stash, ribbon stash, lace stash, and nothing inspired me. That is, until I was going through an old box of scraps when this length of stretchy cream lace called up to me. Why it waited patiently like a mean little prankster is beyond me, but I snatched him up before he could scurry away. On the back of my shirt, there was a large gap along the neckline, due to a stupid judgement call on my part. Forgive me, garment, for I have sinned. The sleeves had a nice little hole where the zipper began, and the bottom of the shirt had no hem whatsoever.

Auntie Em, Auntie Em, what do I do? Well, I'll show ya!

I started by using the lace on the back portion. This covered the hole quite nicely, and gave the back something feminine and fun to look at. I also did this on the holes above the zippers.

After that I decided, what the heck, I'll hand stitch a hem on this dumb thing. The next time I willingly volunteer to do that, someone smack me upside the head. I'm not sure the hand cramping is totally worth it. I'll adapt, don't you worry. But, she now looks a little something like this.

If I were to ever decide to do this again, which I'm actually tempted, I'm going to really plan out what I'm going to do. Obviously you can't do everything right the first time, and that's why I'm sharing this with you. I hope you realize that not all projects are going to appear in person like they do in your mind. That's just how the creative process works. Try not to get as angry as I did, and also try to take a breather for a few days if you get stuck. And this is all coming from the woman who wanted to wrap a raw steak in this shirt and throw it to a pack of wild dogs. Have a happy weekend, world!