Enjoy the T-shirt tutorial!

Hi T-shirt fans! I’m super excited to share with you new fun stuff over here at Generation T. (Note the shmancy header on this particular post!) Each month, I’m posting a new project (sometimes T-shirt, sometimes not — I’ll keep you on your toes!) sponsored by the lovely folks over at iLoveToCreate (umm…who doesn’t?). I’ll be posting every project right here, so you guys won’t miss out on anything, but I do encourage you to visit the iLoveToCreate blog from time to time since there are a number of other super fun crafty brains at work on new projects all the time.

Now here’s the good stuff: a T-shirt project I’ve been meaning to make and post for some time. I found the inspiration in a tween-ish retail store I visited this summer (I know, I know, now that I’m a thirty-something perhaps I should start shopping in more adult places) and thought, as I often do, I could so make that….And then, I grabbed some scissors and paint and made it: a tank top with a nod to 80s punk slashed couture and a wink to 80s hip-hop street style.

Materials:

Make it:

1. Cut off the sleeves of the darker T-shirt, just outside the seams, to make a tank top.

2. Cut off the neckband of the lighter T-shirt and lay the tank top over it, lining them up at the neck holes. Trace the tank top onto the T-shirt and cut out the outline through only one layer to make the peekaboo panel.

3. Set aside the dark tank top. Lay the panel flat on the grocery bag paper. Use the fabric markers and stencils to lay a background pattern. (I used chain link fence!)

4. Fill up the paint cannon and spray freehand across the panel in combination with stencils to create another pattern layer. Change colors as much as desired! Then set the panel aside and let it dry.

5. Turn the tank top inside out and measure and mark 9″-long horizontal lines, about 1″ apart, down the front. Stop about 4″ from the bottom hem.

6. Cut along the chalk lines through just one layer of fabric.

7. Gently place the (now dry) panel right side down against the front of the (still inside out) tank top, lining them up again at the neckline. Peel back one side of the panel and squeeze an even amount of fabric glue along the edge. Then gently press the edge against the tank top. Continue gluing around the straight edges only (minus the bottom hem) to attach the panel to the slashed surface of the tank top. Let it dry!

8. Carefully turn the tank top right side out and try it on! The bright graffiti panel will peek through the slashes you made in the front of the darker layer.

Variations:

-If you want to keep the sleeves attached and your shoulders covered, do it! Simply tuck the sleeves inside the shirt while you’re tracing it in step 2.

-If you want to be able to change things up at on a moment’s notice, just spray an entire tank top (rather than a panel) in steps 3 and 4 and wear it layered underneath the slashed tee. Then you have the option of having the graffiti tank peeking between the slashes or any other tank top you have in your wardrobe!

-Try slashing different shapes! Familiarize yourself with the Brokenhearted tee (project #3 in Generation T: 108 Ways to Transform a T-shirt) for a sweet spin on this project.

Now go off and fight. For your right. To par-tee!

Materials:

2 T-shirt (L) sleeves in color 1

1 T-shirt (L) sleeve in color 2

scissors

needle and thread

access to a photo copy machine

printed paper pattern

stuffing

Make it:

1. Print and enlarge the paper pattern. (Increase to 150% to 200% on the photocopy machine.)

2. Use the pattern pieces to cut 20 hexagons from color 1 and 12 pentagons from color 2.

3. Follow the pattern, stitching pentagons and hexagons, with right sides together.

4. Stitch the panel together to create a spherical shape, leaving one seam open.

5. Turn the shape right side out and stuff it through the open seam.

6. Sew the hole closed with a slipstitch, keeping the stitches concealed. Done!

And if you don’t have the patience to stitch your own, check out the balls by Lara Newsom at Handmade Pretties who fashions soccer and basketballs out of scrap jersey, fleece, and sweater material. Accordingly, she has an “undying devotion to recycling and deconstruction”–just check out her sweater and jersey skirts, not to mention the personalized play balls–there are giant ones, too, as seen in ReadyMade!

And don’t forget, long after the matches have ended, the cheers have died down, and the sound of the vuvuzelas have faded, you can still practice in the off-season–no need to wait for the next World Cup!

Simply add markers, paints, or iron-ons  (and maybe some scrap cardboard to make stencils) to your otherwise slim list of materials (scissors!), and you’re moments away from claiming and designing your own superhero identity (need inspiration from the experts?). My sister’s superhero identity is, of course, Super Awesome (I’m developing her nemesis, Wicked Awesome, to lurk menacingly in the shadows in a constant quest to steal some of the remarkable awesomeness for herself).

Super Awesome travels both alone and with the Sunday Recess League of Extraordinary Superheroes to spread the awesome. Here, she’s flanked by other members of her mysterious superhero posse as they disappear into the night to save the world!

And then, of course, the whole renegade crew powers on ’til dawn and beyond to attend actual Sunday Recess games several days later (note the daytime pictures!). They really don’t stop spreading the fun! (And the Hello Kitty cape is a total WIN!)

And, I would be terribly remiss not to mention that you can host your very own Tee Party (superhero-themed or not) at home! What are you waiting for? Grab your scissors and get the party started.

Thanks to Becky Stern at Craft (right, photo by Nathan Rosenquist) and Tiffany Threadgould of RePlayground (with inspiration from Instructables user Seamster) you need look no further! Gather up the materials and follow the video tutorial below with Becky and Tiffany to learn how to make it!

Materials and tools:

• old T-shirts (about 12-18)
• scissors
• pattern paper
• ruler
• protractor
• pencil/pen
• marking chalk
• sewing machine
• thread
• utility knife or serrated bread knife
• cutting mat
• upholstery foam (scrapped from trash furniture, an old mattress, or leftover from another project)
• straight pins
• hand sewing needle

Pillow Chair from Old T-Shirts – CRAFT Video from make magazine on Vimeo.

Let us know how it goes! AND, for a smaller pet version, gather up 4 large T-shirts and check out project #68 “T-shirt’s Pet” in Generation T: Beyond Fashion to make this lovely cushion for your furry best friend:

Enter Etsy seller SupperClub (aka Lily Rothman), who makes one-of-a-kind neckties  from old T-shirts (and other vintage or recycled materials). There’s an Oxford tie for the recent grad. A Notre Dame tie to wear to the next big game. Or, mail Supperclub a T-shirt from your own closet, and she’ll transform it for you into a totally dynamite gift for dad/brother/boyfriend. (And hey, let’s face it, that tie T-shirt isn’t going to get you past the door at a swanky restaurant, but a jersey knit tie might do the trick.)

Scour your closet (or his closet, perhaps) for T-shirt announcing his favorite team, his alma mater, the best rock band of all time (by his estimates), or the time he took home a medal (along with every participant) in the annual Thanksgiving Turkey Trot fun run last year.

Of course, if you’re feeling a bit stitchy and want to do-it-yourself, try experimenting with the tie pattern from Diana Rupp’s sewing and pattern book, S.E.W.: Sew Everything Workshop.

Oh, and did we mention Supperclub has a bow tie option, too? But of course. Don’t forget, Father’s Day is coming June 20…

(All photos courtesy of SupperClub.)

Materials:

1 T-shirt (preferably size L)

scissors

straight pins

ruler

needle and thread (or sewing machine)

1. Cut the front design out in a large rectangle from sleeve inseam to sleeve inseam, and from under the neck to the bottom of the shirt:

2. Fold the bottom of the shirt up until it’s right under the shirt logo or design, then fold the hem down to create a more finished look. Sew into four even sections, with the end section sewn into two for spoon slots.

3. Using the back of your shirt, cut 6 strips, 2.5″ x 24″:

5. You should have two long snakes. Put them on top of each other with wrong sides facing and seams matched, pin, and stitch allllll the way around to make your apron waistband/ties.

6. Then pin your apron skirt to the back in the center, and sew it on!

All done!

To add ruffles, like those on the yellow one, cut a 3″ strip that is 1.5 times the length of your apron skirt’s hemline. Sew with a straight stitch on the longest length, and pull one thread to gather. Then sew the front of the apron’s hemline!

RufflesandStuff via ApartmentTherapy via Craftzine.

You can apply them to headbands or barrettes, make shoe clips, quilts, pillows, or decorate the hem of a skirt! (Or, or, or…the possibilities are endless.) What kind of a yo-yo flower garden will you plant…and where?

Without further ado, here’s Flower Power, project #89 in Generation T: 108 Ways to Transform a T-shirt for your DIY pleasure: