Sew Darn Cute

Sew Darn Cute by Jenny Ryan

I discovered this book the way I find most good books these days--it was in the check-in bin at the library.  I find it very hard to resist flipping through the books while checking them in, and Jenny Ryan's necklace tank caught my eye. 

This project was super easy and required very little sewing.  I bought a cheap tank top from Old Navy and some long sleeved shirts from Target for my own versions.

My favorite kind of fabric is anything vintage or vintage-looking, especially the Aunt Grace line, so I pulled those out of my fabric stash to make the little fabric medallions.  For one long-sleeved shirt, I used fabric from Heather Bailey and Kaffe Fasset that was leftover from a quilt my mom made.

 

I cut out different sizes of half-circles from an old manila folder to use as a template to cut out the medallions and then used my trusty double-sided fusible interfacing to stick them to the neckline of each shirt.  The great thing about the double-sided interfacing is that it has a sticky back so you can rearrange each little medallion to get them in just the right spot before ironing them on permanently. 

On my sewing machine, I stitched around each half-circle, and did a zig-zag stitch along the neckline.  I've already worn and washed each shirt several time and, while the fabric is becoming a little broken in, I'm pleased to say that nothing has fallen off.  Yet.

Finished products:

Not to pick favorites, but I think I love this one the best.

Or maybe this one...

No, maybe this one...

Suggested Reading...

A vintagey book to go with vintagey fabric.

The Great Husband Hunt by Laurie Graham