Posts Tagged ‘T-shirt sleeves’

How To: T-shirt Boa Scarf!

Hey there, Generation T! Are you ready to get really knotty? Today’s T-shirt tutorial comes courtesy of one of our esteemed readers: Ms. Liz Russo of Craft-Stop. It’s the “Tic Tac Boa,” project #115 in Generation T: Beyond Fashion — the boa scarf is perfect for spring, infinitely personaliz-able (pick a color, any color!), great for using up scraps (cut strips from old T-shirt sleeves) — oh, and did I mention it’s no-sew? Well, it is. Settle down in front of a good movie while you complete all the knots (you won’t notice when your fingers start to cramp) or, if it’s warm enough where you are, kick back in a park, your backyard, or poolside!

Watch the tutorial here:

Thanks again to Craft-Stop for featuring one of our projects!

[ 7 Comments | Posted on April 12th, 2011 ]

Letter to a Young T-shirt

In which I introduce you to a piece of T-shirt literature quite different from the T-shirt literature you generally consume around these here parts. It’s a smart and whimsical ode to the life cycle of a that essential staple of a young woman’s wardrobe: the black T-shirt, in all its gritty, sweaty, scissor-snipped truth, by my friend–and one of my favorite writers–Ms. Emily Meg Weinstein. Here is an excerpt (for which I took the freedom of combining three of my favorite lines from the essay):

“You might be a little groggy from the surgery I performed on you last night, as soon as I brought you home from the merch table…. I don’t want you to feel any pressure, but you are the cornerstone of my entire wardrobe. When I can only bring one t-shirt, you will be the t-shirt…. But you, new black t-shirt, are at the center of everything, and we, new black t-shirt, have only just begun.” –Emily Meg Weinstein, from To My New T-shirt

"Chloe Libre" black T-shirt (aka The Predecessor to the New Black T-shirt, third from left), flanked by Chloe Libre gray, blue, and red.

What’s the story behind your newest wardrobe essential? Thrift store wonder, merch table masterpiece, vacation souvenir, or refashioned rescue from the dresser drawer?

Please share in the comments. In the meantime, here’s to T-shirt love stories and rock & roll!

[ Comments Off on Letter to a Young T-shirt | Posted on March 24th, 2011 ]

How To: Amazing Technicolor Sleeve Scarf!

It’s hard to “think spring” when the maple syrup buckets are out, the frost heaves are quaking, and oh, it’s snowing. Not exactly T-shirt weather. And yet, T-shirts have their place.

This scarf design grew out of a challenge for my first week students at Artward Bound: We were running low on T-shirts (having already refashioned 206!) and so we hit the scrap bin to make accessories.

I like the rough edges and charmingly awkward shapes and how they patchwork together (and yes, those white blurs are real, legitimate snow flakes swirling about).

Materials:

-16-20 T-shirt sleeves

-scissors

-straight pins

-needle and thread (or access to a sewing machine)

Make It:

1. Gather T-shirt sleeves in various colors and trim off extra fabric or stitching on the inside edge of the sleeve.

2. Line up the sleeves, overlapping the ends about 1″, and pin them in place.

3. Sew a straight stitch along each pinned overlap. Remove pins and trim the threads.

5. Wear your new scarf to add a splash of color (or eight) to a winter wonderland!

On a related note: Stay tuned! One of my students this week has fashioned a pair of pants almost entirely made from sleeves. Appropriately, I have nicknamed them “The Amazing Technicolor Dream Pants”–he’s pondering a blog to track their travel…i.e. The Brotherhood of the Traveling Amazing Technicolor Dream Pants).

[ 5 Comments | Posted on March 15th, 2011 ]

From Our Readers: Kay!

Perhaps this post should have been from Gidget, Kay’s enthusiastic little Yorkie muse who likes to “help” out in the craft room (sitting on piles of T-shirts while Kay cuts and sews around her), but to be fair, Kay is the actual reader in this scenario.

Recently, Kay invited Gidget to participate in a more active way–as a model for Kay’s newest creation (think pint-sized version of project #33, The Tying Game tank top,  from Generation T). Kay grabbed a T-shirt sleeve (yay, scraps!), slid it over Gidget’s head, and marked where the legs would go. She slid the sleeve off (lest she inadvertently give Gidget a haircut) to cut holes at the marks. She then cut open the sleeve on the opposite side (what would be the back), cut horizontal slits  along into each edge to make fringe, and tied the corresponding fringe into double knots.

Once finished, Kay let Gidget try on her new Generation T design. The report: Gidget loves it, and thinks it goes especially well with her pink Harley collar. In fact, she loves it so much, that when Kay took it off for just one minute to comb her, Gidget kept jumping up for the tiny tee, barking and snipping until she was wearing it again! Happily T-shirted once more, this fashion plate was ready to vogue-vogue-vogue-vogue all day long.

Love the little punk rock pooch! What a rock star. And I’m spent! ::doggie chin to floor::

[ 1 Comment | Posted on March 3rd, 2011 ]

I Love to Create: T-shirt Baby Book!

I like projects that help me use up the scraps that threaten to overwhelm my craft space. I also like projects that can be gifted. So this one’s a win-win: The T-shirt Baby Book is perfect for using the T-shirt sleeves that have been cut from another project (like a tank top) and it makes a great personalized baby gift. Once I picked the recipient (my friend’s new baby, Elliot), I had a lot of fun figuring out what words each letter of his name would represent (in other words, what could I illustrate easily?). I settled on: E = earth, L = light, L = love, I = ice cream, O = orange, and T = tree. Sorry, no pictures of baby Elliot and his new book just yet, so the book is presented by these two cute corduroy pals.

Materials:

-T-shirts or T-shirt scraps (in multiple colors)

-Scissors

-Ruler

-Craft knife

-Cutting mat

-Lightweight cardboard (cereal, snack, or tissue boxes work great!)

–Aleene’s Fabric Fusion Permanent Dry Cleanable Fabric Adhesive

–Tulip Disappearing Ink Pen

–Fabric paintbrushes

–Tulip 3D Fashion Paint Blazin’ Brights (variety of colors)

-Clothespins (optional, for clipping in place while gluing/drying)

Make it:

1. Measure and cut one more 4″ x 4″ square of cardboard than there are letters in the baby’s name. (Example: Elliot has 6 letters, so I cut 7 squares.) Then cut as many 5″ x 10″ rectangles from the T-shirts as there are cardboard squares.

2. Squeeze a small ribbon of glue along one long side of one of the fabric rectangles. Then fold over the edge about 3/8″ and press. Repeat on the other long side.

3. Find the center of the rectangle and line up one edge of one of the cardboard squares. Squeeze a small ribbon of glue along the fabric at the top and bottom edge of the cardboard.

4. Fold the fabric in half, sandwiching the cardboard in between the layers. Press the glue into the edges to seal it. Squeeze another ribbon of glue against the cardboard and between the fabric layers on the open side. Press it closed.

5. Repeat steps 2 through 4 until all of the cardboard squares are covered. These are the pages of the book.

6. Use the air-soluble ink pen to begin outlining the letters and images on the book pages.

7. Color in the lines with fabric paint!

8. Paint all the right-folio pages first (including the front cover), let them dry, then paint all the left-folio pages, making sure you match up all the letters and images.

9. Trim the raw edges (the side of the pages that will go into the binding) down to 1/2″. Then squeeze a line of glue along one of the edges you just trimmed and press it against the adjacent page. Keep gluing and adding pages (in the correct order!) until the book is complete.

10. Let dry completely. Optional: Clip the binding closed with clothespins while it dries.

11. Then it’s story time! E is for earth. L is for light. L is also for love. I is for yummy ice cream. O is also for a delicious orange. T is for Tree (and Totally Terrific and….T-shirt book!).


[ 7 Comments | Posted on January 25th, 2011 ]