Basic tee upgrade ~simple embroidery

I've developed a crush on Target's line of Mossimo tees. *sigh* They're cute, soft, nice and long, have a flattering feminine fit without being too snug, come in lovely colors and are CHEAP! Not "cheap" like, they're gonna fall apart after three washes cheap, but super inexpensive. Like, $6-$10 cheap. LOVE IT.

But, they're plain. This isn't necessarily bad, but I find myself wanting to fancify them a little. The other day I was browsing my Google Reader blog list and came upon this post by Eve over at evieivyoverstreet.

First of all, Eve and I are kindred spirits.  She's the crafty kind who loves thrifty goodness as much as I do, AND we both have 3 sons, one of which is named Finn!  We've even traded our crafts before.  Cool, girl, that Eve. 

Okay, back to the post.  Eve wrote about how she awesomeized a plain thrifted tee with a few notions that she had on hand.  While I didn't have any plain thrifted tees that needed some love, I did have a beloved Target tee or two that I felt could use some umph. 

Exhibit A.

Off to the craft store I went and picked up a skein of yellow pearlized cotton.  (You could also use embroidery floss for this, by the way.)

I plopped down in front of the TV that evening and during a few episodes of House Hunters on HGTV I added some pizazz to my previously plain pullover.  (Alliteration!  Love it when that happens.)

I stitched a couple of rows of running stitches along the neckline, some X's on the pocket...

...and some zigzags on the sleeve and hem.

Nothing too dramatic, but definitely more interesting than before!

Thank you, Eve, for the inspiration.

I have another tee shirt project coming up that was also inspired by her adorable tee, so check back soon! And be sure to pop into Eve's Etsy shop and see all the vintage cuteness she has for sale in there.