i found this tee in one of my local thrift shops:

i loved the kitties on the sides, but it was too big for me. my standard fix for a shirt that's too roomy is to just hack off the sleeves, take it in at the side seams, and re-attach the sleeves (or leave it sleeveless). but that was impossible with the placement of the kitties. so i had to figure out a different plan of attack on this shirt.

i began as usual by cutting the sleeves off at the seams, but then also cut through the shoulder seams, which made it into a big tube.

i then opened it up and reoriented it so that the kitties were in the front and back, instead of on the sides:

then i went about taking it in, first by marking it at the bust line with my measurement....

...then by doing some very (not) precise pinning of the shoulders and sides while wearing it inside out:

i sewed in the new shoulder and side seams, and that was that! a slightly tricky project brought to completion. i left the neckline raw because i like that look, but i could have finished it with a quick hem or some bias tape.

just goes to show: there's more than one way to skin a cat. (sorry, couldn't resist...).

- cakehouse