sanlive

Recycling a t-shirt

This whole project was for learning how to sew darts - folds sewn into the fabric to add 3-dimensional shape.

Merginas t-shirt mod - front

I don't love sewing - let me be upfront about that. Sewing machines have so many moving parts I fear will snap off and fly in my eye. And I don't have room for a proper chair, so I sit on a very uncomfortable Bekväm step stool. But do love seeing something quite new emerge from something quite plain. And I love knowing my clumsy hands and sore butt contributed to it.

This was my first attempt at something like this, and I didn't know what I was doing. The key features of this t-shirt mod are:

  • Darts - front and back
  • Waist made to fit - sort of, roughly
  • Simple hemming
  • Boat-neck
  • Side splits

darts under the bust, front

This whole project was for learning how to sew darts - folds sewn into the fabric to add 3-dimensional shape. The front darts came out all right, but the back ones were in the wrong spot. Passable still, but far from what you'd call "fashion".

darts in the lumbar area, back

I used these tutorials and references for the darts:

trimmed sleeves

The original neck and sleeves were trimmed and hemmed 2mm away from the edge. Now when wearing the top, the hems sometimes flip over, showing the raw edge. I think this means I should have used bias tape? Gah - mistake, but yay - learning!

2mm hem

One annoying thing I found was how warped the original t-shirt was. Maybe that's a quirk of our home, but all our clothes end up slightly twisted after a few washes. I suspect perfect fabric isn't a thing here, though, seeing as how my favourite t-shirt mod reference involves a lot of outright destruction.

I'm keen to find more ways to recycle clothes before resorting to donation. I read that goodwill donations still end up in landfill, so, you know... disappointment and panic. :(

We can do better. I want to believe we can. Re-making stuff is fun - way more fun than walking through crowded shops, imo - so at least having a go won't be boring. Besides, how cool would it be to get good enough to make yourself some decent clothes? Even if they're frankenclothes.

It might be time soon to invest in a good chair. :)