Ruffle Shirt - First Attempt

So, it's been awhile since I made this and will definitely be awhile until I can wear it. I have been loving all the t-shirt remakes I have seen online over the last few months. All kinds of ruffles and stuff added to regular t-shirts to make them pretty instead of plain. I bought several shirts on clearance to make some myself, but have only gotten to one.

I started with a plain black men's t-shirt that had come in a 4-pack along with the shirt I used for this skirt. For the ruffles I used an old favorite shirt that just was too short to wear anymore. (Same one I used for the guitar shirt.)

I cut off the collar to make a less "crew neck" neckline. Plus, that's what it seems most people have suggested on the sites I bookmarked.

I also shortened the sleeves to match some on a maternity shirt that I have and love.

I cut the other shirt horizontally into lots of strips.

Then I played around with where I wanted them to end up. This part was fun. (It reminded me a little bit of this sweet toy I had as a kid. It had this plate with a lady on it and you lifted the lid and draped different fabric over her body to make outfits. It was awesome - too bad I can't remember what it was called or have a picture. And as a side not to my side not. My sister - or maybe they were mine? - had Fashion Plates that were also very cool to play with.)

I decided on which ruffle layout I wanted and sewed it all together. And then I tried on the shirt. I thought because it was a man's shirt I could get by with a smaller size. Uh, I was wrong. This went right to the "after the baby is born" pile of clothes.

See? A little too snug with that big belly - even after I added side slits. And I think I should have put the ruffles on the sleeves after all...

 EDIT - I found out what the toy is - "Flip and Fold Fashions!" Did any of you have this? It was so awesome! 

(photos from here)