Doe a Deery: Anchors Aweigh! J.Crew Anchor Tee {diy tutorial}

I love spring! I love everything about it. I love the sense of rebirth and sloughing off the old self and emerging from my winter wardrode into in a sea of pastel brights. A sure sign of spring is the return of nautical prints. Blue and white stripes are timeless and evoke warm feelings of summers by the shore and frolicking in the sea. This year I feel the anchor is getting a "boatload" of attention (see what I did there :) Anchors are on everything from shoes to hats and I wanted to jump aboard this trend before it left me on the dock. Okay, I promise to stop with the nautical puns, for now anyway:) Here are a few pics:

Girls J.Crew Suit

Joie Valera Anchor Sweater

J.Crew Anchor Tee

When I saw the J.Crew Shirt in the store I knew I had to make my own version. I snapped a quick pic of the anchor with my phone and headed to Forever 21 to find a blue and white striped tee. I found several that would fit the bill, and bought one with a flattering boat neck for $10.80—that's $38 less than the J.Crew version, cue fist pump! I went home grabbed some craft felt (the wool stuff will shrink up in the wash, so make sure to use the cheap craft kind) and went to work.

TUTORIAL >>>

Step 1. Procure yourself a striped shirt (doesn't have to be blue and white...think of how cute it could be in other colors, like pink stripes with a yellow anchor. The possibilities are limited only to your imagination).

Forever 21 shirt, $10.80

Step 2. Cut Wonder Under (or similar fusible) and iron onto a felt square.

Step 3. Trace an anchor (I just eyeballed the one from J.Crew). Feel free to download my anchor (at the bottom of the post) or draw up your own version. Mine measures 2 5/8" by 2 3/8".

Step 4. Cut it out and punch a hole in it.

Step 5. Try to figure out how to put your hole punch back together :) Seriously, did that just happen?

Step 6. Figure out placement and iron on the anchor (I used a medium high setting). You are going to sew it on later, but it will adhere it to the fabric so the corners don't turn up and look schleppy!

Step 7. Sew it on! I attempted to hand embroider it on, but it went downhill fast with my husband calling me to abort! abort! So I opted to just use my trusty sewing machine.

Step 8. You're Done! Pair it with a pair of skinny jeans and flats and you are ready for a day at the beach or for just shuttling your kids around all day :) Either way it will look fabulous! Let me know what you would wear it with!