Wednesday, September 30, 2009

hAnDMadE HotTeeS!







WARNING -- You'll never discard another t-shirt ever again after this.

T-shirts are always a great place to start when it comes to repurposing the ole wardrobe. The material is easy to work with, it doesn't fray, and it's got that lived in feeling of comfort going for it. T-shirts also have a built in way of making a statement that can be creatively taken advantage of in a plethora of interesting ways.

One of my favorites as of late is the t-shirt pillow. The shirts can be mixed and matched to create a number of looks and sizes. You can use pillow forms, repurpose old pillows as your forms, or 'stuff to suit' with new or repurposed filling.
I top stitched everything 'wrong-sides' together, leaving seams and edges exposed on the exterior. They just looked better that way, every time. You can even do a no-sew version by cutting strips and tying it together. Have fun with the themes, the color combinations, and the style of pillow. To add to the novelty, use campaign style pins as your 'buttons'. FUN, FUN, FUN!!!





Check out one of our 'quickie' videos that walk you through the simplicity of it all.



The scarf is another beauty that is easy to create and makes for a stylish gift idea. Friends have made them for me, I’ve made several for family and friends, and they'll never go out of style. There are so many unique looks and themes you can compile, they’re always original! A fun way to celebrate school activities, sporting events, concerts and more.
Our instructions are all about using the 12x12 panel because this allows for the commonly sized front and back panel graphics to remain in tact and makes for a fuller scarf. Don't be afraid to trim things down to suit your tastes. A 12x12 scarf version can be sliced right down the middle to create (his and her/best friend) skinny scarves.
It's an excellent way to repurpose your kids favorite tee's because they love to get in on the scarf wearing action, too! For kid sized scarves, cut your panels 7x9 (or, adjust to create your own one of a kind size, style and look!)
If you have a serger, serge your exposed edges for a more polished finish.

As an added touch, use your leftover bits to create a coordinating bag for your scarf. Fun to make, fun to wear!




Another 'quickie' on the t-shirt scarf shows you what you need to know, here.

.......along with a link to the latest issue of the Do It Yourself magazine that is also showing some love towards our hAnDMadE HotTeeS!

Cheers to the t-shirt and its' many creative uses!
michele.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

super fun, michele!
we recently took my girlfriend and her husband's ancient collection of Grateful Dead t-shirts stitched the salvageable pieces together and then backed it in fleece and quilted the whole thing together... fun and fantastic way to use those sentimental shirts!
xoxo
jul

Anne said...

These are all such cool projects!! I love the neck pillow!!

I posted a link to your post on Craft Gossip Sewing:
http://sewing.craftgossip.com/tutorial-scarves-throw-pillows-and-neck-pillows-from-old-tees/2009/10/12/

--Anne

saffiertje said...

Thanx for this awesome inspiration!!!!

greetings from the netherlands by

miranda

Notchka said...

What a fantastic idea - I have a fav Tee in the rag bag that I don't have the heart to chuck out - it will be perfect for this project! Thanks