18 April 2013

singlet from an old t-shirt

Let's be real about this...maybe you had a t-shirt that you really loved but one day you forgot to wear deodorant and you destroyed it.  No matter how many soaks in vinegar solution you do, that smell is in that fabric for life.  Sound familiar?  Hopefully not.  But if you made this mistake, like I did, then this project is perfect for you.  It's also a nice way to redo an oversized concert t-shirt.

crafterhours posted this tutorial on tee to tank.  Like the t-shirt necklaces, this is an incredibly easy sewing project.  You have the option for more sewing to provide refined edges, but I opted out since I was just getting back into the hang of sewing.  Plus I actually like the way cut jersey looks.  My advice for completing this project is to use a safety pin as your "needle" to thread the drawstring through.  Here's a look at the singlets I made:

Two lines of stitching, that's it!

09 April 2013

t-shirt repurposing=necklaces

The next few posts will be a bit outside the box.  I had a stack of old t-shirts that we were done with, but really weren't suitable for donation.  I decided that instead of throwing them away I should try to repurpose the fabric.  Pinterest was very helpful in pursuing projects, as were craft blogs.  I'm not a sewer, and hadn't used a sewing machine in 10 years when I started these projects!  So I started slow and my first go was with making t-shirt necklaces.

The tutorial is here.  The first necklace I made was hand-sewn, then the others were by machine.  These are ridiculously easy to make.  If your jersey is not as stretchy then the pieces don't curl around on themselves as well, but I like the different texture it gives the necklace.  These necklaces are perfect if you have a baby: they are soft, won't break and are washable!