PJ-Hime: Tutorial! Afternoon Projects: Ank Rouge Inspired Top

Hello everyone! It's been a while since I posted anything. That first winter haul turned out to be the only winter haul after all. Such is life, I suppose!

Spring is on the way now, and as I'm thinking about my wardrobe I've started adding pieces to my collection already! One of my favorite styles that I've seen carry over from winter is the mock neck top. I think it's so cute and classy but also comfy and casual at the same time.

Looking to these styles for inspiration, I got to thinking that it would be really easy to create this look myself if only I could find a cheap offbrand mock neck shirt to start with. Unfortunately, this search proved to be quite difficult. After lots and lots of searching I accidentally stumbled upon a plain ribbed mock neck shirt at Uniqlo of all places! I even snagged a couple on sale for just a little over $5. Score!

Tutorial: Start!!

For this tutorial you will need:

a plain mock neck shirt
craft pearls
ribbon
needle, thread, and scissors
a fork (not pictured)
clear nail polish (not pictured)

We'll start by adding pearls to the neckline. Thread your needle using the white thread and sew right below the hem where the mock neck is attached to the shirt. Try to sew as close to the hem as possible so the knots aren't noticeable on your skin. For added security, I sewed a loop first before adding the pearl. Poke your needle through the wrong side of the shirt, then back in through the right side, and back out through the wrong side again.

Now your needle should be on the right side of the shirt. Thread a single pearl onto the thread, then sew back to the wrong side of the shirt again to attach the pearl. I sewed the pearl down two or three times to make it really secure, then tied a knot on the wrong side of the shirt to tie it off. Since thread isn't elastic, we're going to knot off each individual pearl as we go along, so that the neckline will stay nice and stretchy.

Once the thread is knotted, poke the thread through an inch or so of the hem casing to hide the tail of thread inside, then snip the end. Your first pearl is sewed on!

This is what it will look like with all the pearls on. I got lazy and only did the front side, but you can do the back too if you're feeling energetic!

Next I created two bows using a fork using this tutorial. It's super fun and easy to get perfect little bows this way! You can use a dot of glue at the center to make it even more secure, but mine were tight enough that I didn't see a need, plus I was worried about glue getting on my forks!