For this project I purchased two sweatshirts from Walmart for $6.97 a piece.
Nursing shirt with vertical openings made from two Ready-To-Wear shirts.
This page was made possible by the wonderful instructions provided by Valency Fox.
(Instructions for this particular project will be shown in red)
Getting Ready
Buy two identical Ready-to-Wear (RTW) shirts. T-shirts or sweatshirts are best.
For this project I purchased two sweatshirts from Walmart for $6.97 a piece.
Prewash, so you can return if needed.
Decide which shirt will be the overlay, based on print, which neckline is higher,which shirt is longer, etc.
Preparing the Overlay
Cut overlay out of one shirt front. Make sure you have the entire neckline and some of the shoulder seam (about 4 inches).
I traced where I wanted to cut using dressmaker's chalk. I used the overlay pattern piece from ELD 205 as a guide, but as you can see, you don't really need it. I suggest trying on the shirt after you draw the lines to see if the overlay will lay where you want it on the finished project and adjust accordingly.
Unpick hem, so you can redo with underlayer. Finish the sides (serger, or turn 2X). See ELD 205, etc. for overlay piece and instructions, if you have those. Topstitch along the finished edge.
I removed the ribbing from the neck and bottom of my overlay piece, as I will use the ribbing from the underlayer to finish my shirt. I ironed about 1/2" of the side edges under like this:
I only turned the edge 1X because I finished the edges using a double needle.
Preparing the Underlayer
In underlayer, cut nursing opening. See ELD 205 for oval shape and length suggestions. Finish raw edges (serge, or zig zag, or whatever works for you). Add elastic if you like that (I find it helpful for really stretchy materials, in particular).
I did this step last so that I could see how long I really needed the opening (this is hard to know at this point of the process), but you can do it whatever way is easiest for you. I did not add elastic, but I did finish my edges using a broken or three way zig-zag stitch. If using elastic, swimwear elastic is very durable and will hold up through about anything.
Undo underlayer shoulder seam enough that you can insert overlay (4-5 inches, 1/2" or so more than the width of the overlay).
I just turned my edge under and topstitched using the double needle since most sweatshirts are finished this way at the shoulder. If you are making a sweatshirt with ribbing like I did, you need to do your shoulder seams now, before the neckline. If not, continue to follow Valency's instructions.
I also picked out the ribbing from the front neckline and the bottom of the sweatshirt (front only) to prepare it for the overlay. I did this BEFORE I attached the overlay at the shoulder seams. This is how it looked:
Attaching the Overlay to the Underlayer
Attach overlay to to underlayer. Make sure it all lies flat. Topstitch from shoulder seam to about 2-3" above bustline, then from hem to about waistline. I like mine about 9 or 10 inches long in the opening, a bit longer than the ELD suggestion of 8 inches. (They recommend centering it over the fullest part of your bust.)
Make sure you sew from the shoulder down towards the hem, not the other way around. This way if your overlay doesn't match up at the bottom (mine didn't) you can just trim away the extra. This is much easier to do at the bottom than at the neckline!
For the neckline: If the top & bottom necklines are at about the same spot, position the bottom one about 1/4" or so below the edge of the upper one. Topstitch along the overlay neckline stitching to catch the underlay neckline snugly with the upper layer. This spreads out the thickness a bit without redoing the neck. (I did this on a waffle-weave top with a self-fabric binding, and it turned out great.)
Since my neckline had ribbing, I pinned the overlay to the underlayer at the neck like this:
I basted the two necklines together, then reattached the ribbing over both layers by topstitching with a double needle, making sure to catch the back side of the ribbing.
Sometimes the necklines on your shirts won't match up so well. In this case I cut off the neck binding on the underlayer and serged (or you can zig zag)it to finish before attaching the shoulder seams. Then you can attach the neckline of the overlay to the underlayer by topstitching the overlay neck line or handstitching the underlayer neckline to the folded over part of the neckline of the overlay. This way your stitching won't show. Since you are using a knit, you won't have to worry about it unraveling.
With the necklines I did, you end up with neckline seams at both shoulder seams but it's not noticeable unless you point it out!
If you do the ribbing like I did, the neckline will look the same as it did before you took it apart.
Resew shoulder seams with all three layers. (My shirt was a knit with woven tape in the seam to keep the shape; I pinned carefully so everything stayed the original length. I used my regular machine to sew down the tape & keep the pins in place, then serged to get the same look/seam allowance as the rest of the seam.) The side where you cut through the neck binding will lose a bit of length, but you can even it out if you want, or just go with the flow; RTW isn't perfectly matched, anyway.
If you are doing the shoulders like I did above, omit this step.
Turn the overlay hem under the rest of the shirt. Topstitch to match the rest of the stitching (or hand stitch, depending on the hem).
Here I basted the overlay to the underlay at the hem and then reattached the ribbing over the two pieces using a double needle making sure to catch the back of the ribbing.
Now you should have a shirt that looks somewhat like this:
Sorry it's hard to see the overlay with the dark blue. At this point, I put on my top inside out and cut my nursing opening. I then finished my edges with a broken/three-way zig zag.
Ta Da!You're all done!
I made the above shirt for $14.00 compared to a similar top found in a catalog for $59.00. I will use the left over back and sleeves from the other shirt to make a sweatshirt for my son Benjamin. What a deal! From start to finish this top took 1 hour. Granted my son was asleep which helped a lot!
Here is a dress that I made by attaching two rectangle panels to my converted RTW top. I really like how it turned out! I used the "sewing on the inside" method of applying the overlay.
If you have any questions, e-mail me.
