Layered Tee - Tutorial Tuesday

t shirt rehab, originally uploaded by hopestudios1.

My girl, Joy, came up with an amazing project last week that really got my wheels turning. You know when you see something and it inspires you to want to do 25 other things with the idea? Yep, it was like that. Hop on over to see her Recycled T-Shirt Scarf and you'll know where I'm going with this.

See, Joy and I have a similar problem. All our shirts grow holes near the bottom, in the tummy area. We've come up with many ideas as to why this happens (leaning against the counter to wash dishes might be the culprit). What in the world do you do with these shirts with all the tiny holes? Well, you can turn them into a scarf like she did, or you can just cut out the offending parts and layer it!

Recycled Layered T-Shirt

Supplies:

2 t-shirts
paper
chalk
scissors
needle
thread

Begin with two t-shirts, I chose the outer shirt one size larger.

Free hand a leafy sort of design (or hearts, or stars, or smiley faces...) on a sheet of computer paper. Cut out the design like this:



Lay your stencil onto the outer t-shirt and rub the chalk over the open spaces - Yes, I stole this sidewalk chalk from my poor children.



See the design left behind? Actually, looking at this gives me an idea for another project...hmmmm, filing that away for another Tuesday...


Cut out the design with your scissors (*tip: it's easier to do this by cutting a snip out of the center of the leaf first, then work your way out to the edges.)


Okay, this is where brilliance comes in! Oh, that Joy is so amazingly brilliant! Using a q-tip, dab bleach along the edges of the cut out leaves. (Line the shirt with a newspaper to protect the back first)


You end up with these aged-looking edges that make my heart sing!!! (La, la, la!) Now, quit singing and rinse her off and dry her a bit before moving on to the next step.


Layer the two shirts together and sew the leaves around the edges. Joy did this by hand with embroidery thread, but I'm a little impatient, and whipped out the machine instead. Some contrasting hot pink thread with the gray and orange was just the ticket!


Now, stand around a take pictures of yourself in your cute new Layered T!



Imagine the color combos! The designs! The possibilities!



Now, head on over to Kimba's to see lots of other great ideas for DIY day:

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