Posts Tagged ‘Transform a T-shirt’

Harold and the Purple Crayon Halloween!

Baby’s first Halloween is a tough one — there’s a lot of pressure to make it memorable (even though he won’t remember it at all) and it’s also probably the only time that he won’t have an opinion about the costume. About two months in, Mr. T and I discovered our baby had not one, but two literary doppelgangers, and I promised that if he was still anywhere near as bald as he was at the time, we would honor one of his likenesses for his first Halloween. So between Crockett Johnson’s timeless “Harold” and the holiday-appropriate Alfred Hitchcock, Harold and his violet-hued crayon won out. Let’s start with the inspiration (above, at two months old). Wrinkled brow, giant cheeks, turned up nose. Pretty uncanny, right?

And please forgive the inconsistency in the photos…I made the costume over several late nights!

Materials:
-purple T-shirt (to use for parts)
-long-sleeved off-white T-shirt (or more, depending on how many “drawings” Harold will make)
-blue sleeper (this was worn as the top layer over 2 other sleepers, for warmth!)
-fabric scissors
-ballpoint pen
-ruler
-craft knife and cutting mat
-gold fabric spray paint
-freezer paper
-warm iron
-copy of Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson (for reference! and for reading!)
-disappearing ink fabric marking pen
-sewing machine with matching thread
-needle and thread (for hand sewing)
-fiber fill
-craft jingle bells (optional, to make the crayon rattle a bit)

Make it (Harold’s Purple Crayon):
1. Use the ruler and ballpoint pen to mark out a stencil for the stuffed crayon.

2. Use the craft knife and cutting mat to cut out the stencil.

3. Iron the stencil onto a scrap from the purple T-shirt (I used a flattened out sleeve).

4. Use the fabric paint to spray over the stencil, making sure to mask the areas you don’t want painted. (I originally was going to use black paint for authenticity, but saw this Gold Glimmer in my paint stash, and thought the high contrast would make it show up better!)

5. Let the paint dry for a minute, then peel off the stencil before letting it dry entirely. (I let the stencil sit too long on the one below, and as you can see the paint bled a bit — so I made another one!)

6. Cut 4 to 5 additional rectangles of purple fabric to layer beneath the painted piece (to thicken the crayon wall and add structure). Cut a circle (also several layers) for the bottom of the crayon.

7. Fold the rectangle (all layers), right side in, and line up the paint lines. Then pin and use the sewing machine to stitch a straight line to create a tube. Make two angled cuts to help shape the point of the crayon.

8. Cut a length of T-shirt cord and thread it inside the crayon tube, pinning it between the layers at the tip of the crayon. Stitch along the open edges at the tip (catching the end of the T-shirt cord) and turn it right side out. (The cord should appear to be a “drawing line,” extending from the tip of the crayon, as shown. Use fiber fill to stuff the crayon, and add a few bells in the center, if desired, to add a little jingle (it helped create more interest for my little guy, so he would play with it longer!).

9. Tuck in the edges of the layered circle pieces, and hand-sew the end of the crayon in place.

10. Trim the T-shirt cord (drawing line) as necessary.

11. Harold’s costume is finished! But his drawings (aka his parents’ costumes) aren’t…

Make it (Harold’s Drawings):
1. Select a drawing from the book, and use the disappearing ink pen to sketch it onto shirt number 1. (It’s just a coincidence that the ink from the pen shows up purple before it fades!)

Optional: Select and sketch an image onto shirt number 2.

Perhaps, given the weather, I should have gone with one of these pages:

2. Begin to outline the drawings with more T-shirt cord.

3. Use the sewing machine to carefully stitch the T-shirt cord over the sketches, piece by piece.

4. Done!

And what happens… When Grandma is unexpectedly in town for Halloween festivities? A quick online trip to Out of Print Clothing, of course, and we were able to round out the “story,” with Grandma as the cover of the book!

The best news? Less than 364 days until next Halloween. Start planning! What literary character would you dress as?

[ 8 Comments | Posted on November 2nd, 2012 ]

iLoveToCreate: Happy Shiny Pixie Headband!

I attended a photo shoot recently and was inspired to make this headband after I saw a similar one in the stylist’s stash of goodies! While hers was glittery gold and mine is iridescent (I also doubt that hers was fashioned from an old T-shirt sleeve), it’s the Lady-liberty-inspired shape that’s so compelling.

I mean, it’s so bright and sunshine-filled (and a little prehistoric?), and I have to admit, though I was begging for cool temperatures back in the heat waves of July (and couldn’t be happier that nature has complied!), the shorter days are already threatening to change my mood. I’m already missing the sun! This happy, shiny, pixie headband brightens up the day wherever you are.

Materials:
-T-shirt sleeve (or T-shirt scrap of equivalent size)
-scissors
-Tulip Fashion Glitter transfer sheets
-ballpoint pen
-ruler
-Aleene’s Fabric Fusion
-warm iron and pressing cloth
-Tulip Soft Fabric Paint in gold metallic (optional)
-toothpick (optional, to use as a paint applicator)

Make it:
1. Cut out the underarm seam of the sleeve, and lay it flat, right side up. Measure, mark, and cut two 1 1/4″-wide to 1 1/2″-wide strips from the iron-on transfer sheets.

2. Sandwich the two strips together and cut out a series of triangles from one edge (through both layers), leaving a zigzag that runs the width of the strips.

3. Separate the strips and align them along the straight edges, about 3/8″ apart. Use a pressing cloth and iron the strips onto the fabric.

4. Make parallel cuts through the fabric, separating each pair of triangles from the row of zigzags.

5. Determine how many rays of sunshine you’d like (I debated between 5 and 6, and ultimately went with 6), and arrange them evenly around the arc of the headband. Working one ray at a time, spread fabric glue evenly along the inside of the headband, and wrap the flexible fabric piece around the headband, lining up the triangles. Apply glue evenly to the inside of the strip of fabric and press the triangles together (the triangles should seal beyond their edges).

6. Finish gluing each ray, and let them dry flat. (Note: If the fabric is pulling apart, use a clothespin or paperclip to pinch it while it dries.)

7. When the glue is completely dry, trim the fabric to the edges of the triangles.

8. As an optional finishing touch, apply the metallic paint carefully with a toothpick along the fabric edges of the rays. Let it dry.

9. Try on the headband to spread a little sunshine both indoors and out!

[ 4 Comments | Posted on September 25th, 2012 ]

Queens, NY @ Maker Faire/NY Hall of Science

Hey New York — this just in: Megan will be demonstrating some T-shirt transformation techniques at the Maker Square Stage at Maker Faire NYC in just one week!

Reduce, Reuse, ReFASHION! Learn 3 quick-fire, no-sew ways to transform that boring, boxy T-shirt that’s been languishing in the back of your closet into your next go-to style staple. Scissors will be provided, so bring a T-shirt and follow along!

Maker Faire takes place at the New York Hall of Science in Queens — details below.

Maker Faire NY 2012 (@makerfaire)
New York Hall of Science (@nysci)
47-01 111th Street
Queens, NY 11368

Click here for directions. Hope to see you there!

[ 1 Comment ]

From Our Readers: Maria & Franz!

Earlier this summer, I got an email from my brother and sister-in-law with the subject line “T-shirt Guru, Help!” Maria and Franz are two musicians on an adventure along the Trans-Siberian Railway. Like any good musicians, they travel with merch, and like any good merch-peddlers, they run out of stuff fast. So they were down to two XXL T-shirts and quickly discovered that their fans were tending to come in smaller sizes. Maria writes…

“Franz and I have two XXL T-shirts left of one design and people much smaller than XXL keep expressing interest, but then balk at the size. We have a long train ride coming up, so I started thinking about trying to convert the shirts into cute, cut-up T-shirts. My sewing abilities and supplies are limited, but we’ve got decent scissors, safety pins, and a travel sewing kit. Can you recommend an easy-ish pattern that we could sell to a punky Russian girl?”

How could I ignore such a request? A few cross-continent consultation emails later, Maria and Franz had set up shop: They’d been crashing with some cute punk gals in the outer boroughs of St. Petersburg, and set up a workspace on their kitchen table. Armed with a pair of scissors, and that travel sewing kit, they set to work transforming their merch. Measuring and marking…

Cutting…

And knotting. Ta-da! It’s the “Knot So Fast” (project #104) tank top from Generation T: Beyond Fashion.

Sveta, one of the aforementioned cute punk girls who was looking on, was suspicious of all the scissor activity, but once she tried on the completed result, she asked if she could keep it, so, it seemed to be working. Nothing like converting a skeptic!

Then it was time to tackle “Outer Lace” (project #16) from Generation T.

And then they set off in search of one of the Russian editions of the two books, should any additional emerchencies arise.

UPDATE from the road: “We just sold the last of our Generation T-styled Franz Nicolay shirts to the fashionable women of Orenburg Russia. Thanks for the designs!”

[ No Comments | Posted on September 14th, 2012 ]

From Our Readers: CC!

One of my favorite familial designations (big sister, mother, daughter, niece, cousin) is that of “Aunt.” So you can imagine my elation last week when I got an email from CC, another proud auntie who recently sent a copy of Generation T as part of a care package to her niece when an emergency appendectomy (!) threatened to derail the family vacation. Her niece (and nephew) were bummed about the change in course (who wants to go to the emergency room when you’re expecting a relaxing week on Cape Cod?) and Auntie CC had just the remedy. Needless to say, her gift was well-received: “I was on auntie cloud 9 when I got this photo. Thanks for making me look good!”

The young lady (standing here with her brother, who’s wearing a pretty cool T-shirt himself) was so proud of the butterfly slashed tee she made (variation on project #2 Brokenhearted in Generation T that we all hearted so much last month) that she selected it to wear on her first day of school. Now that, my friends, is quite the compliment!

She used the same technique as you would for the slashed heart, but simply used the outline of a butterfly as a guide instead. The great thing about this look is she can change the color of her tank top underneath and change the color of her butterfly — orange for a monarch or yellow for a tiger swallowtail.

Happy back-to-school!

[ No Comments | Posted on September 7th, 2012 ]

From Our Readers: A Crafty Vegan Librarian!

Back in April 2009, craftyveganlibrarian hosted a Tee Party for a magnificent seven DIY teens at the library where she works. The group used scissors and safety pins to customize their wardrobes using a handful of no-sew techniques. Below is the “Brokenhearted” tee design (project #3) by the crafty librarian herself, found on page 30 in Generation T.

[ 1 Comment | Posted on July 20th, 2012 ]

How to: T-shirt Scrunchie Necklace

Last week, I posted a tutorial for making a statement necklace using T-shirt scraps. This week, we’re making a necklace using the scraps leftover from that necklace. It’s worth keeping in mind that you can construct and wear this necklace in about two minutes — seriously! Now that is a statement.

Materials:
-Scrap hems (or scrap sleeve seams) from 2-3 T-shirts
-Safety pin or paperclip
-Fabric scissors

Make it:
1. Trim the stitching off one of the T-shirt hems and stretch it out to create a long T-shirt cord. Attach a safety pin (all I had on hand was a paperclip, which worked fine!) to one end. Collect all the hem pieces left over from cutting the rectangles needed to make the T-shirt Confetti Necklace (a byproduct of step 1, the hem pieces should be about 1 1/2″ long, with the stitching still in place). There should be a hollow space through the center, making it, essentially, a soft bead.

2. Thread the T-shirt cord through the T-shirt beads, arranging them in any desired pattern.

3. Rotate the beads so the stitching appears on the “outside” of the necklace and scrunch them together, creating a ruffled look. Then tie the two ends of the T-shirt cord in a bow at the desired length at the back of your neck.

Ta-da! Almost exciting as fireworks. Happy 4th, everybody!

[ 2 Comments | Posted on July 4th, 2012 ]

I Love To Create: T-shirt Confetti Necklace!

Interestingly, the inspiration for this festive, soft Fourth of July necklace came from south of the border — while I was on vacation in Oaxaca, Mexico, we happened upon a small gallery where I spotted an orange folded paper bracelet made by women in a local artist collective. The paper was so soft and fibrous, it reminded me of fabric. So when I set to re-imagining that bracelet stateside in my Generation T workshop (as a necklace of fabric and glue!), I was pleased that the results are even cozier — a wonderfully celebratory accessory fit for a summer barbecue! (I was intentionally playing it subtle with the shades-of-blue color palette, but a bold red, white, and blue color scheme would really pop.) And it’s comfy, too, when the sun goes down and it’s time to snuggle up and watch the fireworks.

Materials:
-T-shirt scraps (sleeves work well!), including one long one to use as the fastener
-Rotary cutter and cutting mat
-Quilting ruler
-Aleene’s Fabric Fusion glue
-Ribbon (optional, in place of the long piece of T-shirt scrap to fasten the necklace)

Make it:
1. Cut 1 1/2″-wide strips from the T-shirt scraps.

2. Cut the strips into 2″ pieces to make rectangles that are 1 1/2″ x 2″. (I cut about 124 rectangles in two different colors to make an approximately 9″-long necklace segment.)

3. Lay one of the rectangles flat, wrong side up, and spread a thin line of glue slightly off-center and parallel to the short ends. Fold it in half so that the glue line retains the crease. Let the glue dry and repeat for the remaining rectangles.

4. Squeeze a thin line of glue close to the folded edge of one of the rectangles and press another folded rectangle over it.

5. Repeat step 4 as many times as needed, to attach more rectangles together and create the necklace piece. (Arrange different colors to create a pattern!) Reserve two folded rectangles to use in step 7.

6. Let the necklace piece dry, then touch up any gaps as desired.

7. Spread glue along the end of a long T-shirt strip or ribbon (shown here), and center and press it along one of the spare rectangles from step 5.

8. Then add more glue to the ribbon and press it against one end of the necklace piece, aligning the T-shirt rectangles (the ribbon end should be sandwiched in between T-shirt material). Repeat on the opposite end of the necklace piece. Let dry completely. Then snip the T-shirt strip or ribbon in the middle so you have two ends for tying.

9. Tie the ends in a bow at the back of your neck.

Variations:
-Experiment by making smaller rectangles for a more delicate piece (you can make a necklace this way, or, I made an accompanying bracelet using 1″ x 1 1/2″ rectangles).
-Use chain in place of the fabric fastener. (I like the idea of an all-white necklace piece with a gold tone chain.)
-Try wearing it as a headpiece! (My sister’s boyfriend tied the necklace around his head as a joke, bonnet-style, but with the right messy up-do, it could be quite the statement piece.)
-Play with color: Make the red-white-blue version mentioned above, use the color scheme from your favorite sports team to wear to the next game, or craft a rainbow to brighten your day!

Tune in later this week to see the second necklace I made using the scraps left over from this one–super easy, super fast, and also no-sew (no-glue, even!).

[ 3 Comments | Posted on June 26th, 2012 ]

T-shirt Spiral Statement Earrings

Ages ago, I promised variations on my Softie Spiral Headband made from T-shirt coils. Well, at long last, here’s one take — a pair of colorful, bold, statement earrings. As a DIY project, they’re a nice alternative to the headband (if you’re too impatient or too short on time to make all the coils required for the bigger project!).

Materials:
-T-shirt scraps in different colors (T-shirt hems with the stitching cut off are perfect!)
-Fabric scissors
-Aleene’s Fabric Fusion or similar fabric adhesive
-Ruler
-1 pair earring posts and backs
-Aleene’s Jewel-It Embellishing Glue or similar jewelry adhesive

Make It:
Simply follow the instructions for making a T-shirt coil in the spiral headband tutorial. Make three pairs of same-sized and like-colored coils. (In this example, that means: two matching blue coils, two matching gold coils, and two matching pail yellow coils.)

To make sure that the two blue coils end up the same size, start by cutting the T-shirt strips to the same length. The top coil in the earring should be the smallest, with each coil getting gradually larger as you move down the length of the earring (the yellow one is about 1 3/8″ in diameter, the gold one is about 1 1/2″, and the blue one is about 1 3/4″).

Use the Fabric Fusion to glue the coils in a row, rotating the coils so that the ends of the T-shirt strips get “buried” in the seam. Then glue an earring post to each of the small coils (close to the edge, at the top of the earring, as shown) using the jewelry glue.

Allow the glue to set completely, then attach the earring backings, and you’re ready to wear or gift them!

Note: If these earrings are too big for your style (they do measure about 4.5″ long), you can make them smaller — just keep the same basic ratio between the sizes. Alternatively, you can make single coil earring studs for an even faster result!

[ No Comments | Posted on June 4th, 2012 ]

Rookie Turns a T-shirt into a Mod Dress!

How cute is this? Learn how to stitch up this black and white mod dress by Marlena Pope over at RookieMag! I love the styling, too — red-red lips really pop with the black and white geometry of it all.