Tutorial: Lace Keyhole Top from Polo

This tutorial's pretty short, but I know I always appreciate even the quickest of how-tos! I'm not sure where the inspiration for this top came from...I was actually about to cut it up to make some navy blue ruffles for a different top refashion, but I just couldn't bear to cut up something that already had finished buttonholes. I stood in front of the mirror buttoning and unbuttoning it, trying to figure out what I could do.  I only ended up saving one of the buttons, but I think it's an improvement- polo shirts just aren't my style.


Here's the "before" pic and another "after." Keep scrolling down for the tutorial!

How to Make a Lace Keyhole Top from a Polo Shirt

1. Start with a polo shirt like the one above.

2. Decide where you want the neckline to fall, probably at the button at the top or second from the top. I did this by folding the collar under so I could visualize the finished neckline, and buttoning the second button from the top. You'll leave that button on.

 3. Remove the buttons below the one you're going to keep.

4. Pin your lace trim (or ribbon or whatever you decide to use so that it covers up the buttonholes and where the old buttons used to be. You can also pin all the way past the buttonhole you're going to use and just cut a slit through the trim. That might be a better plan than what I did. Pin down the collar area (unless you want to leave the collar on. If you want to pin the lace all the way around the collar, you can do that, too.

4. Stitch the lace on. With mine, I stitched down both sides of the lace, but you might be able to get away with stitching just down the center.

5. Figure out how you want to finish the collar. Shh, don't tell, but mine is still just folded under. Because honestly, I kind of like the way it looks with the original polo collar out, too. Jury's still out. But, you can stitch it down, or you can just cut it off. Depending on the knit material, the fabric won't fray so you've got a lot of options.

6. Cover the button (optional). My button looked kind of ugly, but I don't have much of a button stash to replace it, and I wanted to use the existing buttonhole. I made a rolled fabric flower and glued it to a safety pin. Hooray! A cute pin that covers up the button and lace imperfections- and a cute new top, too!