DIY Fashion: Tressage Trissu (Weave Fabric)

I was Stumbling one day and I came across this awesome blog with a super cool technique for making fabric look woven without actually weaving!  I've been itching to try it, and I finally got around to it today!

I bought this jersey knit top at a thrift store for $2.00.  It was cute at the time, but when I brought it home ... not so much.  I finally decided that doing something like this on the back might make it a bit cuter.

First, turn your fabric inside out.  Then you'll need to measure out a square grid. (Yes I did use a highlighter, it was the only washable thing I had that would show up on this fabric.) I did squares 2 inches x 2 inches, 12 inches across and about 40 inches down.  I wouldn't do squares any larger than 2 inches.  Try 1 or 1.5 inches for a more defined woven look!  I did 6 columns and about 20 rows.  You can do as many columns or rows as you like, but make sure you have at least 3 columns and 3 rows.  Keep in mind that this technique does cause the length and width of your fabric to shrink a bit.  Depending on your material you may want to make your squares smaller than I did.

The next thing you need to do is draw slashes in your grid.  These marks will tell you which direction to sew in.  Go down the first column and draw diagonal lines going in one direction in every other square.  Then, go down the next column and draw diagonal lines going in the other direction in every other square.  Do this until you have completed all columns.  Hopefully the picture above helps to understand better than my explanation does.

Now it's time to sew!!!   Using a needle and thread, and your diagonal lines as a guide, pick up a bit of fabric from opposing corners of the square. (Sorry for the horrible explanation, hopefully the picture explains it a lot better.  If you can see, the thread follows the line that I made in the square).

Then just pull the thread tight to gather the fabric, make two more stitches to secure the gather and then tie off your thread and clip off the excess.  Above is how the back should now look, and below is how the front should now look.

Continue the same process, following the direction of your diagonal lines.  Below is how the back should look after doing two rows.

Just a note: Yes I did use a highlighter to mark out the squares.  It was not hard to wash out at all.  I just ran the shirt under water. 

And, this is how the back of my shirt looks once it's complete!!!

Finally, the front!

Looks pretty good if I do say so myself!!  The shirt is still oddly shaped when I put it on, so I'm still working on figuring out how to make it look a bit better.  I'll post pictures of me wearing it when I get that sorted out.

Let me know if you try this technique, and show me pictures of your tresage trissu!!!

- xoxo, Jayy