Posts Tagged ‘4th of July’

How to: Grill Mitts from Old T-shirts!

Before you fire up the grill this summer (Happy 4th of July! Happy belated Canada Day!), fire up that sewing machine to make a grill mitt or two from some old T-shirts that aren’t fit to see another season in the sun in their current form. I dipped into book 2 (Generation T: Beyond Fashion) to bring you this one!

Grill-Mitts-cred

Materials:

2 T-shirts (100% cotton)
pencil
paper
ruler
straight pins
½ yard batting
scissors
needle
thread

Make it:

1. First, make a paper pattern by tracing around your hand (with your thumb at a 45-degree angle). Leave a 1″ allowance, as shown. At the base of the palm, widen the tracing to 2″ and extend it 7″ down. Cut around the tracing. fig 1

2. Lay one T-shirt flat and fold it in half, bringing the bottom hem up to the neckband in the back. Lay the pattern on an angle on the front of the T-shirt and pin it through all four layers. Cut around the pattern. Repeat on the second T-shirt, reversing the pattern so that the thumb points in a different direction.

fig 2

 

3. Fold a portion of the batting in half and pin the pattern onto it through both layers. Cut around the pattern and remove it.

fig 3

 

4. Sandwich a layer of batting between the layers of the T-shirt (there should be two layers of T-shirt, one layer of batting, two layers of T-shirt) to create one half of the mitt. Pin in place. Take that mitt half and sew a series of running stitches in crisscross diagonal lines, through all layers, to create a quilted look, as shown. Repeat on the other piece of the mitt.

fig 4

 

5. Lay the two pieces (sides) of the mitt right sides together (meaning the pieces with the logos are facing). Making sure to go through all layers, sew a tight whipstitch or a running stitch around the perimeter of the mitt, leaving the bottom edge open.

fig 5

6. Carefully turn the mitt right side out (the thumb will be a little tricky—use a pencil to persuade it if necessary).
7. Measure the circumference of the bottom opening and add 1″ to get x”. Cut a 2″ by x” strip of fabric from one of the T-shirt remnants. Line up one long edge around the opening and pin, right sides together. Sew a running stitch about ½” from the edge, being sure to “catch” all layers. Remove the pins.
fig 6

8. Fold the edge down ½” and then wrap it tightly around the raw edge to the inside. Pin and carefully sew a whipstitch securing the edging in place. Remove the pins. Optional: Repeat steps 2–8 to make a second mitt.
fig 7

9. Ready to get all up in that grill? The (veggie) burgers are ready to be flipped and nothing’s too hot to handle!

up-in-my-grill

 

[ 1 Comment | Posted on July 2nd, 2015 ]

DIY: Distressed American Flag Muscle Tee

Between cheering on Team USA in the World Cup and all the 4th of July barbecues just around the corner, this project is at least a fashion twofer (at least — you can save it for next Memorial Day picnic, Flag Day…or whenever you’re feeling stylishly patriotic!).

USA tank top1 generation-t.com.jpg

With just a plain white T-shirt, some classic gold star stickers (50 of them, to be precise), clear tape, and fabric spray paint, you can, for just a few bucks, make a T-shirt that might otherwise retail for (gulp)…$84(!!!). Here’s how.megan-nicolay-blog-footer-1

Materials:
-Plain white T-shirt (I chose an old V-neck, but crew-neck works just as well)
Tulip Fabric Spray paint in red and blue
-Gold or multi-colored star stickers (find them stocked with the teachers’ supplies)
-Clear tape (for best results, look for 1/2″-wide tape)
-Scissors
-Ruler
-Scrap cardboard and/or paper to mask and insert between the layers of the shirt

Flag Step1 generation-t.com

Make it:
1.
Head over to the iLoveToCreate blog for my complete step-by-step tutorial!

USA tank top2 generation-t.com

 

 

[ 3 Comments | Posted on June 24th, 2014 ]