Argyle....geek chic?

I actually really like the look of argyle...the pretty geometric patterns. But for some reason, when I think of the word, all that comes to mind are those sweater-vests, which may be cute on some people, but when you take me, add my glasses and an argyle sweater-vest, you get geek. Major geekage.

So I wanted to come up with something that emulated that style, but was more simple and not overwhelming. And I think I did it.

Here's my inspiration:



And I do realize it's on a guy...I just like the colors, hehe.

And here's what I came up with:



(I do apologize for the quality of this photo...I'm still in my bathrobe and in no mood to model, haha) But it's cute, right? And very easy to do.

Here are the steps:

To make this, you'll need:

A plain t-shirt
Felt in a contrasting color (I'm sure other fabrics would work, too, I just happened to choose felt. And why not do a pattern in different colors?)
Thread to match the felt
Embroidery floss (white or black)
Lots of pins

Ok, so first, decide where you want your argyle to be. There are so many different ways to do this - a vertical row down the side, across the bottom, on the sleeves, or even splayed randomly across the shirt. It's up to you. I wanted to do the vertical row...but decided that it wouldn't look too attractive on a skin-tight tee. Make sure you try on the shirt first and get an idea of where you want it to go, or else it might end up somewhere you don't want it to be.

Now, cut your diamonds. For mine, I just traced a pattern in the desired size on a scrap piece of paper, then cut around it on the felt.



Pin them down where you want them on the shirt. Make sure to do this on all four sides, or they may move while you sew (I learned from experience).

Now, take your thread and sew around the edges.



At this point, I decided they looked like blue raviolis. But it's definitely getting there! And you could probably even leave it like this if you wanted.

Now, sew an 'X' across the center of the diamonds. This is the most difficult step, so take it slowly. I can't count the number of times I tore out my stitches. I actually got to the point where I took a pencil and drew my X directly on the felt (which realy helped). And if they're a little crooked, don't worry - it'll still look great when you're done.



That was my best one. Definitely not a ravioli now! ;D



And you're done~! Now, try on and admire your new shirt in front of the mirror.

Well, I hope you enjoyed the tutorial. I'd been wanting to make this shirt for a long time, and finally did last night. I really love how it turned out.