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Documentary: T-shirt Travels

What happens to a T-shirt after it’s donated to the Salvation Army or Goodwill? Hint: Not all of them end up for sale on the racks of those stores. Here’s a fascinating PBS documentary by Shantha Bloeman exploring how some secondhand clothing, donated by the West, ends up being sold for profit in third world countries, like Zambia. In it, Bloeman analyzes concepts of charity (or the perception of it) and how that process can dismantle an entire textile industry and a country’s source of economic independence.

At the very least, it makes you think where your T-shirts (or other discarded clothes) really end up.

What are your thoughts? Is it an unintended consequence of true charity or an example of opportunism masked by goodwill?

(via ThreadBared)

[ No Comments | Posted on January 26th, 2012 ]

From Our Readers: Willow!

This past July, I visited a local coffee shop in my hometown in New Hampshire and bumped into a young fan named Willow, who was there with her mom, and who happened to be sporting a “Sidewinder” skirt that she made herself from Generation T: 108 Ways to Transform a T-shirt (project #52).

She did amazing work on that skirt, and she’s pretty darn cute, to  boot!

[ 1 Comment | Posted on December 29th, 2011 ]

From Our Readers: Lindsey

Last month, I was alerted to a DIYer named Lindsey over at Hello Hydrangea blog, who seeks out inspiration in books and across the web to make her own designs! Here, inspired by Generation T, she discovered a new T-shirt recon that she has dubbed “Dinosaur” because it reminds her of the spikes on a triceratops.

I love it because it reminds me of a dissection or x-ray vision, with a strong, colorful spine running down the back! Either way you slash it, it’s amazingly quick and easy to make — check out Lindsey’s tutorial on Hello Hydrangea here if you’d like to try your hand at it, too.

[ No Comments | Posted on December 19th, 2011 ]

Tee Party at The Duplex NYC!

Here are some belated highlights from the Tee Party we hosted at The Duplex in NYC in October!  I thought it might be just the thing to inspire a last-minute craft night to finish up those DIY holiday gifts (and don’t forget to download the free Generation T gift tags in the right column of the website to attach to all of your fabulous reconstructed T-shirt projects).

We made stylish no-sew scarves (and for those cracking open your books, it’s the Mane-iac scarf, page 235 in Generation T: Beyond Fashion).

Sassy no-sew tops, too! This couple made the Back in Action tee (page 260 in Generation T: Beyond Fashion).

Then there was the Pinup Girl halter top, page 28 in Generation T: Beyond Fashion – and a mash-up of the Makes Me Wanna Collar and the Back in Action T-shirt (shown above), pages 38 and 260 in Generation T: Beyond Fashion.

A variation of the Outer Lace sleeveless top, page 56 in Generation T: 108 Ways to Transform a T-shirt (check out all the scraps re-purposed as bracelets, too). And, my good friend, host and bartender for the evening, Matthew!

So keep stockpiling your old T-shirts! Because you never know when the next Tee Party invite will arrive in your inbox…

[ No Comments | Posted on December 16th, 2011 ]

From Our Readers: Carol Schneider Designs!

Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down with Carol Schneider, lecture series publicist by day and fashion designer by nights and weekends (y’all know how much I love a crafty superhero alter ego!). She started making scarves from vintage kimono fabrics, but eventually (as we all do, right?) found her way to discarded T-shirts. Here are some scrap-fabulous highlights from her website.

For those of you in the NYC area, I found out that Carol and some of her designer colleagues (Annie Walwyn-Jones, Teresa Montalvo, and Danielle Mailerare) are hosting an open house this Tuesday and Wednesday, December 6 and 7, 3:00 to 9:00 pm to share and sell their designs!

I got a preview of some of Carol’s more recent T-shirt scarves that will be on sale this holiday season for kids and adults, and gosh they’re pretty cute and clever. I love the New York-themed one (that Coney Island tee is a great thrifty find!) and there’s a pink one that incorporates a pocketed T-shirt into the quilted mix.

I just love all the colors she uses–isn’t it inspiring? (I’m always looking to keep the color quotient high when winter grays settle in!). If you’re feeling crafty, I encourage you to turn to project #77 “Scarf It Up” in Generation T: 108 Ways to Transform a T-shirt (page 194) to make your own scarves from your T-shirt stash. Or check out this video from the Generation T/Threadbanger archives for some more basic scarf designs.

And if you’d rather buy than DIY, support a small business and check out that open house I mentioned above (Tuesday and Wednesday, December 6 and 7, 2011, from 3:00 to 9:00 pm) at the home of Carol Schneider Designs in NYC!

27 East 22 Street, 7th floor, NYC
(between Broadway & Park)
212-505-6615

[ No Comments | Posted on December 3rd, 2011 ]

3 Winners = 3 Books to Be Signed & Delivered!

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Generation T giveaway over the weekend!

Without further ado, the three winners are: Ginger, who especially loves the scarves. She volunteers for a thrift store that benefits victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and other crimes; they get so many T-shirts that aren’t claimed, so Ginger refashions them into scarves! Jessica, who loves the Mohawk Mo’ Rock hat (in Generation T: Beyond Fashion) and is raring to make some more! And last but not least, Dio, who’s been so obsessed with the Pinup Girl halter top that she’s made about four of them, and adores her Tie, Tie, Again convertible dress (both from Generation T: Beyond Fashion) that she constructed using three Paranormal Activity T-shirts and two plain black ones in honor of the approaching Halloween.

Ginger, Jessica, and Dio: Please email Megan (megan at generation-t.com) with your mailing address, which book you’d like to receive (Generation T or Generation T: Beyond Fashion), and, if you’d like to it to be signed, to whom it should be autographed (i.e. is it a gift or are you keeping it for yourself?).

A hearty congratulations to the winners of our Facebook giveaway, and thanks for continuing to spread the good T-shirt word! Stay tuned for another fun pre-Halloween giveaway later in the week!

[ No Comments | Posted on October 17th, 2011 ]

In a Class of 3000! Celebration and Giveaway

It’s been less than a year since we celebrated the Generation T Facebook community growing to a whopping 2000 members (and slightly more than a year since we hit 1000 strong), and as of a Monday morning a couple of weeks ago in September, now we have some more nice round numbers to cheer for.

In honor of the milestone, and in thanks for your support of this growing community, I’m giving away one book per thousand Facebook fans (for the math-challenged that’s a total of three books from the Generation T library!). To enter, just share your favorite T-shirt refashion project in the comments either here on the blog or on the Generation T Facebook page before 12:00 noon (that’s EST) on Saturday October 15. Just one entry per person, please! I’ll randomly select the three winners and announce them over the weekend. (Winners will get to choose which book they receive as a prize!)

And please, keep spreading the T-shirt love by sending your DIY-minded friends to the Facebook page — there are many more milestone celebrations to be had!

xo,
Megan/Generation T

[ 13 Comments | Posted on October 14th, 2011 ]

From Our Readers: Aimée!

This photo was enthusiastically submitted by Pearl and the Beard band member Jocelyn while on tour — she spotted Aimée’s sassy red tank top (and Aimée herself!) at a Washington D.C. show and simply had to snap a photo to send to us. (Editor’s Note: Good thinking, Jocelyn! We like your style.) The shirt looks to be a bit of a hybrid of #20 (“It’s My Party and I’ll Tie if I Want To”) from Generation T and #104 (“Knot So Fast”) from Generation T: Beyond Fashion with some gathered sleeve-straps thrown in for good measure.

Cheers to Aimée for her DIY savvy and impressive musical tastes (after the show, Aimée and her brother Paul interviewed the band for his blog, The Reverb Signal) and cheers to Jocelyn for her keen eye for T-shirt refashioning! Oh, and if you haven’t checked out Pearl and the Beard’s Will Smith Medley, please do so immediately. I really can’t stress how important this is.

[ No Comments | Posted on August 18th, 2011 ]

T-shirt Riddle Answer — We Have a Winner!

And the winner of the Generation T birthday giveaway, with the correct answer that Megan has 18 black T-shirts, 11 red T-shirts, and 6 white T-shirts (if W represents the number of white T-shirts that Megan owns, then we can make the equation W + (W+5) + 3W = 35. Solving, W = 6) is Nancy Cluff! (Of course, now Megan has one less white T-shirt since it’s going into the prize pack to Nancy, but I suppose that’s the trick answer…)

Thanks to all who played and stretched your brains — well over 30 total correct answers were submitted! The next giveaway happens when the Generation T Facebook community page hits 3,000–so please spread the word to your T-shirt refashioning friends who might like to join the ranks!

—

The T-shirt puzzle was adapted from the Mensa 365 Brain Puzzlers Page-A-Day calendar.

[ 1 Comment | Posted on August 13th, 2011 ]

A T-shirt Riddle and Giveaway!

Many of you know how much I enjoy giving gifts around the holidays and since I just celebrated a birthday last weekend, it seems as good enough a holiday as any to host a Generation T giveaway. I hope you’ll agree! To enter to win this Generation T gift pack (includes a blank T-shirt and some surprise refashioning goodies), solve the riddle below and e-mail Megan the answer (megan@generation-t.com) by 5 pm (EST) on Friday, August 12. The winner will be selected at random from those who answer correctly and announced via the Generation T website and the Generation T Facebook page.

Here goes:

Megan owns 35 T-shirts whose colors are red, black, and white. She has three times as many black T-shirts as white T-shirts, and the number of red T-shirts she owns is five greater than the number of white T-shirts. How many T-shirts of each color does Megan have?

Happy solving!

—

This puzzle was adapted from the Mensa 365 Brain Puzzlers Page-A-Day calendar.

[ 6 Comments | Posted on August 9th, 2011 ]

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