tutorial // romanticism

What you'll need:

• Various feather trim (1-2 yards is sufficient) - I used white Ostrich feather and Chinchilla feather trim. I especially like this online store for their fumigated washed and impeccably packaged feather trims. I've experimented with cheaper feather trim with less than pretty results. The feathers tend to be held together with sticky adhesives and it rubs off when you're sewing the trim onto fabric. It gets really messy and frustrating. Consequently, I recommend feathers that are attached to thin cording.
  
• Long sleeve shirt - Mine was from H&M.
• Sheer white fabric - I actually used my American Apparel sheer circle scarf because I wasn't putting it to good use anyway. I recommend any sheer fabric from your local crafts store.
  
• Scissors
• Needle and matching thread

Steps:

1) There are countless ways to design and make a shirt like this, but here are some tips on how I went about this DIY just for a general idea. I decided that I wanted several layers of feather trim on the right shoulder for volume and asymmetry. Sew the chinchilla trim along the right shoulder seam of the shirt and bring it down diagonally across the left chest. Sewing along the seam is a good idea because it serves as an easy guideline and the fabric is stronger here, reducing the risk of ripping and tearing your shirt.

2) Take your AA circle scarf and cut it in half, so instead of a loop you have one long piece of fabric to work with.

3) With the first layer of feather trim sewn in place, take the AA scarf and drape it over the right shoulder so that one half of it drapes around to the back and the other to the front. Trace the edge of the feather trim with the scarf covering where you had sewn. You can get creative here and drape the fabric any way you wish. I draped it so it was covering the left chest.

4) You can add some gathers here and there by pinching off some fabric with your fingers and sewing a knot around it (this is what I did on the upper left of the shirt). Add a few stitches in regions where the fabric feels loose to keep it affixed to the shirt.

5) You'll now have some scarf fabric left hanging in the front. Take this excess material and drape it back to the right side and stitch into place at the right waist.

6) Now you can add some volume to your shoulder plumage. Take your ostrich trim and cut a few pieces of approximately 1 foot each. Pile the trim on top of the chinchilla trim and sew it down. Add as many layers of trim as you desire.

I hope this was helpful in visualizing and thinking out the steps. Perhaps video posts may be a possible option in the future, too. Anyway, for anyone who's considered DIYs in the past and haven't gone for it yet, I really encourage it. If there's anything I've learned from my silly projects it's that don't ever let feelings of lack of experience, confidence and knowledge get you down. You can always learn. Mistakes are your best friends.

Giveaway for this shirt in the entry above!