Une touche de rose ENG: The 'back to the 50' shirt

I often tied my shirt at the wrist and this one, with its gingham pattern, always made me feel like I was some girl during the fifties.

I though it would be fun to accentuate this look through few adding stuff such as a big red heart painted at the front and cut-out shoulders and honestly I wasn't excepted such a great result !

You need:

1 gingham shirt, take it oversized if you want to tied it at the wrist (this one is from Sen No Sen, find it here)

red fabric painting

brush
flatiron
3 sheet of paper
pen
fabric pen (or chalk)
meter tape
pins (or needles)
scissors
sewing thread

Step 1 :: Painted heart

* Lay the shirt on a flat area.
* Use buttonholes as axis of symmetry to draw the heart.
* On one of the side of its axis of symmetry (here the right side on picture) mark the 3 points with the fabric pen that will definite the heart ends (red cross on picture): top cross is for the link-up of the two curve lines of the heart, bottom cross is for the end of the heart and side cross for the end of the heart side curve.
* Measure distance between these points.
* Draw those points on the sheet of paper and draw the half heart shape using these marks.

N.B: You can also dowload a heart found on internet and print it at the needed size. It's easier but I didn't think about while making this tutorial !

* Cut the half-heart shape and place it on the marks you've made on the shirt.
* Pin it and draw the edge using the fabric pen.
* Repeat on the other side and you have your full heart shape done.

* Put 2 sheets of paper inside the shirt, make sure the heart area is well centered above as it will avoid any painting transfer on the back of the shirt.

* Start painting one of the heart half, painting edges first and then the center. Allow to dry 12 to 24 hours as the paint has to be well dry. Paint an other coating, let it dry. Repeat until you don't see the gingham anymore (here it needed 3 coating of paint).
* Repeat on the other half.

* Once the heart is well dry iron the whole surface for at least 10 minutes. The heat will set the paint on the fabric.

N.B: You can also iron (for 5 minutes) between each coating of paint.

You heart is done ! You can keep the shirt as it is or make some kind of sexy cut-out on the shoulders, as explained bellow.

Step 2 :: Cut-out shoulders

* Put the shirt on you and draw the cut-out outline with the chalk. It's all depend on how you want it to be ! Mine starts from the top of the clavicle and finish bellow the biceps.
* Lay down the shirt and cut along the chalk line.

* Use the remaining yoke and place it on the other arm of the shirt. Use the shoulder seams as point of reference.
* Draw the outline with the chalk and cut it.