https://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/bubble-shirt • Posted by Pramodini Arela
CUT OFF THE SLEEVES. If the shirt isn't way too big for you ,like mine was, you may want to leave the sleeves on so that you have for fabric to work with.
CUT THE COLLAR. This can be whatever you want. I decided just to follow the seam.
CUT SHIRT TO DESIRED LENGTH. This kind of determines how puffy you want it. if it is shorter, then you can't puff it as much, but if it is longer, you can puff it more. Bear in mind that you will be adding another 2 inches to it.
SQUARE THE SIDES. (If you kept your sleeves, skip this step.) Cut the sides of you shirt so that you have a 90 degree angle with the bottom. it doesn't have to be perfect. You should know have a really big rectangle with a head hole in the middle.
DETERMINE ARM HOLE WIDTH. Determine how wide you want your sleeve holes to be. If you used your arm measurement, take that and divide that in half. Measure from you shoulder seam and mark with a pin. Do this on both sides
DRAW NEW SHAPE. Starting from the markings you just made, draw a 2 inch horizontal line. Then, make a curve. From there, draw a diagonal line from the curve to the bottom corner of the shirt. Repeat on the other side. For the sleeved shirt, start from the outside of the sleeve and draw a curve, continuing it down to the bottom corner.
PIN AND SEW. Cut off the excess and finish the edges
CUT THE BOTTOM BAND. Measure where you want it to rest, mine was at my hips, and divide that in half. Then, determine how wide you want it to be. Mine was 4.5 inches by 15.5 inches, including seam allowances. Unless you have super stretchy material, don't make it too much smaller than the bottom of your shirt or it won't go around the entire circumference. You might want to test it before you sew.
PREP FOR SEWING. Fold your band in half width wise, short end to short end, and sew; You should have a long tube.. then fold it in half length wise with the seam you just sewed on the inside.
MARK THE MIDDLES. Fold your shirt in half so that the side seams are facing each other. Mark the center of the front and back with a pin. With the band, Mark the direct opposite of you short seam. Them fold it so that the short seam and the pin you just places line up and place pins in the other two folds.
SEW TO THE SHIRT. Line up the four pins with the seams and the pins of the shirt with the band and pin. choose one of the four and place it under the presser foot. Sew a little and secure that stitch by back stitching. Then continues to sew, pulling the band as you go along. I suggest a lower speed setting for this.
FINISH EDGES. You might want to zigzag stitch you seams to give it extra strength and hem your arm holes and neck holes