I’ve been eyeing this J.Crew C’est La Vie tee but unfortunately it sold out online and I can’t find my size in stores. Then I thought why not DIY my own version with Liberty fabric scraps! You can also check out my other Liberty fabric scrap projects here.
Here is my Jcrew C’est La Vie tee inspiration.
And here is my DIY version with an extra dose of Liberty sleeves. This was also a great stash busting project since I used some cream knit fabric and the Liberty scraps I had in my stash.
I used Simplicity pattern 1377 view E as the base and shortened the sleeves. I really like the pattern for this top because I can use the shortcut method to sew in the sleeves like you do with knits instead of setting it in using the traditional gathering method.
For the letters, I used Microsoft Paint using the Franklin Gothic Medium font. The font size only goes up to size 72 so I tested changing the scaling factor in the Print Setup to 200 to 300% to make the letters bigger. I ended up having the words spread across 3 pages of paper. Luckily my knit fabric was cream so I was able to make out the letters and trace it with my water soluble pen so I could make sure the words were aligned on the tee and have a placeholder to put my applique letters.
To make it easier to mark the shape of each letter without having to cut it from the paper, I traced around the letters using a Sulky iron on transfer pen and then ironed it on the back side of my fabric. The great thing is I didn’t have to reverse the letter images because I was ironing it on the back side of the fabric so letters already faced the right way from the front side. The ink does bleed through so I sandwiched my Liberty fabric between 2 pieces of muslin when ironing. Here is the right side of the fabric for the letter E. Notice how you can see the outline of the ink. I used the cotton setting on my iron. If you use a lower heat setting the ink does not show very well.
The common way to applique letters onto fabric is to use an adhesive backing like Wonder Under to make the fabric stiffer so it’s easier to sew and to prevent fraying. I opted to use glue stick to adhere the applique letters onto my fabric and cut my letters on the bias of my fabric to reduce the fraying. I used a walking foot to stitch around the applique letters. A walking foot is great for knits to prevent stretching and it worked quite well as I was stitching the outline of the letters. My walking foot was also very useful for my DIY Quilted Jacket I posted about here.
Have you ever tried DIY instead of purchasing? I’d love to hear comments about your experiences.
I love how this turned out. I’ve never tried applique before, but this looks like a great project to start with:)
Super cute idea! Thanks for sharing!
Hope you have a wonderful week!
Hugs from Portugal,
Ana Love Craft
http://www.lovecraft2012.blogspot.com
Hello! I discovered your post over at the linky party on Be Different Act Normal. I really like how your shirt came out. Can you tell me more about the Iron-On Transfer Pen, how exactly does it work? Thanks for sharing this tutorial! Anyway, I hope that you’ll check out my latest project here (http://youtu.be/uhRB1PmO61A) and let me know what you think. All the best. http://www.LOVEMEYEART.com
This was the first time I used the Sulky Iron-On Transfer Pen so I can only comment on my use for this project. I wanted to be able to transfer the image right side up without cutting it from my paper print out so this was a good use case. I did find it hard to control the flow of ink from the pen so sometimes I ended up with too much ink when I traced around the letters. Sulky has more information at http://www.sulky.com/transferpens/. BTW, Love how your skirt came out!
A great way to use your Liberty scraps and every bit as good as the original. Love the Liberty capped sleeves, too. Thanks for sharing how you did your applique. I have never tried using glue, but it obviously works well.
I’ve featured your great appliqued tee today…
http://www.threadingmyway.com/2014/08/threading-your-way-features.html
Your version is much better than the J Crew version, I really like it, esp the fabric. I’ve not tried to make my own version of something I’ve seen in a shop before but I’ve ‘pinned’ this page so might try this!