Ice Dyed Riley’s Nightgown Shirt Hack

After my ice dying success a couple weeks ago, my oldest wanted to try it for herself. She immediately latched on to this white-on-white printed seashells, sand dollars, and seahorses when it arrived in my June KnitFix from Girl Charlee. She picked green and turquoise dye to mimic the sea. It worked out wonderfully because the cotton knit soaked up the dye while the printed design resisted the color.

Once the fabric was dyed, she decided she wanted a raglan top. We used Riley’s Nightgown & Nightshirt and cut the length shorter to make a fun top. She wanted super-short sleeves, so I helped her angle the sleeve’s hem up just slightly from the bottom of the raglan edge.

I supervised her while she cut into her fabric using my rotary cutter and mat. She was nervous since it was her first time, so I helped her line up the ruler with the side of the pattern to better protect her fingers.

The only other change we made was to use the serger to roll-hem a lettuce edge around the bottom and sleeve hems. Because it was also her first time using the serger, I had her hem the edges before constructing the shirt. This way, she didn’t have to worry about crossing seams with the rolled hem since it was still flat fabric pieces.

She loves her new shirt and is super-proud that she cut and sewed it! From beginning to end, my daughter made 95% of this shirt all by herself (with my supervision). The only thing she was too scared to try was putting on the neckband because it involved stretching the band to fit the neckline while serging. That little step was the only part of this Riley’s Nightgown hack raglan shirt that I did for her. Next time, though, it’s going to be all her!

I love that my daughter is learning my love of sewing … but I fear my stash of fabric may now be in danger! LOL

Happy Sewing!!  ~  Joelle