I embodied my inner Nara Smith for this project and made a cami top from scratch…kind of.

The fundamentals of this project included a trip to the thrift store, a boxy cream t-shirt with a cute button collar, and some delusion. I've done some simple tailoring, detailing, and accessory-making in the past (I may make a collective article for these past projects at a later date), but this is my first take at a completed upcycling project.

I started this project prior to making this page in my portfolio, so I wasn't thinking about before and after pictures. Thankfully, I've been hoarding scraps and have attempted to Photoshop the shirt back together. Don't judge—this was a tough reconstructive surgery (and a photo you will scroll past in three seconds max, and I only have so much time to stop being a gremlin and enjoy this sunny March day).

This was mostly a "Hail Mary" sewing project for me and started out a lot slower at the beginning; near the end I feel my skills definitely improved, though. I added ruffles to the collar for a bit more detail, since I felt it looked a little plain at the very top. I also added buttons at the base of the straps; definitely because I thought it would look nice, and definitely not to cover up my shat attachment job.

If I were to do this project again, here's some things I would do differently:

1. Pick a stretchier material. This fabric is 100% cotton, but a pretty stiff one. It works, however, more stretch would have made for slightly better form.

2. Pick a top without pre-beaded and stitched buttons. The placement of the buttons made it impossible to use my sewing machine to stitch the collar, so I had to do it by hand; that's why it looks so funky up there—I'm still learning hand-stitching patience. I thought about taking the buttons off and reattaching them later, but I really did not want to undo all of the beading inside the flowers.

3. I know better now, but a lot of my beginning seams were not very thorough. They are just basic fold overs. Next time, probably a rolled seam.

4. I would also cut down the amount of fabric on the back side of the top—I'm not a big fan of the gathering at the back, despite being minor.

5. I'm probably due for some ruffle making and attaching practice, as well

Anyway, here's the final product pictures, and my attempt at modeling it:

Thanks for reading!

I'm a fan of my new cami, hope it doesn't unravel in the washing machine.