#56: Thinking Pink!

It's October, and I'm thinkin' pink! My company is encouraging employees to wear pink every Wednesday in honor of breast cancer awareness month, so when I found this shirt at the 99 Cents Only store, I thought it would work well.

Before: Victorian...Robot?

Before: From behind

I liked the design. I even liked the high collar. But the large boxy arms and shoulders just threw everything off.

This was going to be a pretty simple re-do:

First, I pinned together both sleeves to make the next step even.

Pinning the sleeves together

Next, I cut through both sleeves about 3/4 the way up.

Short-sleeved

After that I hemmed the new sleeve length.

Hemming the sleeve

My next step was to take it in on the sides a little by sewing, cutting the excess, and fake-serging the edges to prevent fraying.

Taking it in

I also hand-stitched a straight stitch across the shoulder seams and gave it a little tug to create some subtle ruching, mostly to reduce the length and boxiness of the shoulders.

Straight stitch and some ruching

Finally, I took an eye-hook fastener and hand-sewed it in between the small gaping area at the center of the bust. What a simple, discreet way to close the gap without adding another button!

Closing the gap

Here again is the before look:

Before: Big Victorian Frilly Blouse

Before: From behind

And here's the more practical, simple re-make:

After: Think Pink Blouse!

After: From behind

I've got another Thinking Pink project coming up soon!

Let us remember those afflicted and defeated by this cruel disease, and let us stand and rejoice with those still fighting and surviving! Even still, let us all (women and men) remember to be aware of the state of our own bodies through regular checks to prevent and catch early signs of breast cancer.

- - - - -

Given the theme, I wanted to share these beautiful mastectomy tattoos I saw in an article online.

Phoenix

Truly art

Here's a website if you want to see more of these inspiring tattoos (warning, there's some nudity).

And here's a helpful resource on self-exams that we should all be doing regularly.

Take care of yourselves.

Until next time, blessings.