T-shirt Projects

Remember the totally awesome Generation T apron that Megan (one of our readers) made? Well, here’s another take on the T-shirt apron, with photos and tutorial courtesy of a DIYer named Disney from her blog, Ruffles and Stuff. (We added the materials list for easy planning.) Treat yourself by making an apron just for you–or, Mother’s day is just around the corner! You can also adapt the one with pockets as a gardening apron–you know, for all those flowers you’re planting.

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.

It’s still April for a few more days, and this weekend there were showers a-plenty here in a Brooklyn. So what better activity than another flowery DIY project for you to prepare for May: a cluster of colorful blooms! Brought to you as project #29, Fleur-de-Tee  from Generation T: Beyond Fashion: 120 New Ways to Transform a T-shirt, these lovely rosettes are also commonly known in the craft world as “yo-yos.”

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?

Happy day after Earth Day! …in which we craft a softie blossom. I think of scrap fabric as true fertilizer for these blooms; they grow out of the piles of T-shirt sleeves and hems that are leftover from other projects and “composted” in my overflowing scrap bins. Sometimes I “turn” the compost, not to encourage the pieces to break down faster (as is done in real composting), but to see if the shift uncovers any new colors or if viewing the scraps from a different angle inspires a new project!

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

Happy Earth Day, friends! I like to think of Earth Day as being a year-round occasion over here at Generation T, and then when April 22 rolls around, it’s like prom–a touch more excitement in the air, everybody’s on their best behavior, and maybe there’s a DJ–because, hey, why not? Earth Day should totally have a soundtrack.

So, it was raining last night in Brooklyn. And while April showers bring the living, breathing flowers that poke through the soft ground in May,  April rain also encourages a different sort of flower: the kind that comes from a rainy evening or weekend inside, when you’re cozied up crocheting or knitting or stitching or cutting and gluing. This is when various non-wilting flowers are born.

So amidst the sometimes dreary days in April, Generation T is celebrating flowers and the spring rains that inspire all sorts of beauty to pop up! Here’s the first of four flower tutorials for you to try.

Let’s start, appropriately, with small buds–Nip It In the Bud is project #90 in Generation T: 108 Ways to Transform a T-shirt. Here it is, for you:

From the Threadbanger archives (originally posted October 2007), here’s a video tutorial for a T-shirt skirt (otherwise known as a T-skirt) inspired by the Road Trippin’ skirt (project #64) in Generation T: 108 Ways to Transform a T-shirt. Rob and Corinne (of Threadbanger) traveled to San Francisco to meet the lovely Vanina of 12 Mood Studios, and here’s what they made:

I love this skirt because it’s like a scrapbook you can wear–the project in my book uses 6 different T-shirts (for 6 different panels), but in this video, Vanina made one with 3 panels…and it looks like she made another skirt with more panels! No matter how many tees you use, it’s fun to gather the memories and colors from your fabric stash and piece them into a new outfit for new adventures!

A little last-minute, I know, but here’s wishing you a very Happy Valentine’s Day from Generation T! Here are two lovely T-shirt tutorials excerpted from Generation T and Generation T: Beyond Fashion–they’re designs that can be made all year, really, anytime you want to share the love. With a few simple snips and stitches, you can wear your heart on your sleeve, or right across your chest. (And, because I love you all so much, the second one is even no-sew!) Enjoy!

#77 “Heart on Your Sleeve”

(excerpted from Generation T: Beyond Fashion: 120 New Ways to Transform a T-shirt)

#2 “Brokenhearted”

(excerpted from Generation T: 108 Ways to Transform a T-shirt)

Happy New Year! I happily spent the end of the decade and the beginning of the next in a delightfully tropical locale where a T-shirt is commonly worn as just that: a T-shirt. But the cold winds blowing back in Brooklyn demand another use for that spare jersey fabric: the scarf. So, as promised, here are just a few of the ways to transform a T-shirt into a scarf, in cooperation with our dear friends at Threadbanger! (And come to think of it, because they’re so lightweight, and can be layered, these scarves actually could be worn in any climate…warm or cold.)