More Fun

From Our Readers: Aimée!

This photo was enthusiastically submitted by Pearl and the Beard band member Jocelyn while on tour — she spotted Aimée’s sassy red tank top (and Aimée herself!) at a Washington D.C. show and simply had to snap a photo to send to us. (Editor’s Note: Good thinking, Jocelyn! We like your style.) The shirt looks to be a bit of a hybrid of #20 (“It’s My Party and I’ll Tie if I Want To”) from Generation T and #104 (“Knot So Fast”) from Generation T: Beyond Fashion with some gathered sleeve-straps thrown in for good measure.

Cheers to Aimée for her DIY savvy and impressive musical tastes (after the show, Aimée and her brother Paul interviewed the band for his blog, The Reverb Signal) and cheers to Jocelyn for her keen eye for T-shirt refashioning! Oh, and if you haven’t checked out Pearl and the Beard’s Will Smith Medley, please do so immediately. I really can’t stress how important this is.

[ 1 Comment | Posted on August 18th, 2011 ]

Media

New York Times Book Review!

It’s every author’s dream to see their name or book title in the New York Times Book Review. So the first thing I did was pinch myself when I read the words, Generation T: 108 Ways to Transform a T-shirt listed on page 22 under the heading “Inside the List” — in the company and context of Alexander McQueen, no less! — as the writer of the mini article discussed the success of the McQueen Savage Beauty book that accompanied the show at the Met that just closed two weekends ago (a stunning and thoroughly inspiring exhibit — and yes, I bought the book for my personal library). It’s a just a small mention, and way down at the bottom of the page, but there you have it folks: Generation T, as seen in the New York Times Book Review!

[ 2 Comments | Posted on August 15th, 2011 ]

More Fun

T-shirt Riddle Answer — We Have a Winner!

And the winner of the Generation T birthday giveaway, with the correct answer that Megan has 18 black T-shirts, 11 red T-shirts, and 6 white T-shirts (if W represents the number of white T-shirts that Megan owns, then we can make the equation W + (W+5) + 3W = 35. Solving, W = 6) is Nancy Cluff! (Of course, now Megan has one less white T-shirt since it’s going into the prize pack to Nancy, but I suppose that’s the trick answer…)

Thanks to all who played and stretched your brains — well over 30 total correct answers were submitted! The next giveaway happens when the Generation T Facebook community page hits 3,000–so please spread the word to your T-shirt refashioning friends who might like to join the ranks!

—

The T-shirt puzzle was adapted from the Mensa 365 Brain Puzzlers Page-A-Day calendar.

[ 1 Comment | Posted on August 13th, 2011 ]

More Fun

A T-shirt Riddle and Giveaway!

Many of you know how much I enjoy giving gifts around the holidays and since I just celebrated a birthday last weekend, it seems as good enough a holiday as any to host a Generation T giveaway. I hope you’ll agree! To enter to win this Generation T gift pack (includes a blank T-shirt and some surprise refashioning goodies), solve the riddle below and e-mail Megan the answer (megan@generation-t.com) by 5 pm (EST) on Friday, August 12. The winner will be selected at random from those who answer correctly and announced via the Generation T website and the Generation T Facebook page.

Here goes:

Megan owns 35 T-shirts whose colors are red, black, and white. She has three times as many black T-shirts as white T-shirts, and the number of red T-shirts she owns is five greater than the number of white T-shirts. How many T-shirts of each color does Megan have?

Happy solving!

—

This puzzle was adapted from the Mensa 365 Brain Puzzlers Page-A-Day calendar.

[ 7 Comments | Posted on August 9th, 2011 ]

Media

Sew It All TV on PBS!

Hey Coloradans! Did any of you happen to catch Megan and Generation T on Sew It All with host Ellen March Saturday morning (August 6, 2011)  on your local Rocky Mountain PBS station? This was an especially poignant airing of the show since we filmed the episodes in Golden, Colorado almost a year ago!

Check with your local station to see if if they’re airing the show (and if not, request it here!).

[ Comments Off on Sew It All TV on PBS! | Posted on August 8th, 2011 ]

More Fun

From Our Readers: Onyx!

tia haltertopA blast from the past, but still in time for summer 2011! Shortly after Onyx’s dad came to one of my summer 2009 book tour events for Generation T: Beyond Fashion in Portland (sadly, Onyx was out of town!), Onyx made the Pinup Girl halter top at home. Her aunt came over for a visit, and she generously gifted it to her. Instead of using a punk pin for the “pinup” part (the gathers at the front), she used a safety pin and sewed on a barrette–a very cute and creative variation!

Other viable variations include a couple of stitches to keep the gather in place, a button or two (or three!), or a big sparkly bead or brooch. Sum-sum-summertime!

[ 1 Comment | Posted on August 2nd, 2011 ]

T-shirt Projects

I Love to Create: Superhero Arm Warmers!

This T-shirt transformation project is my favorite of the accessories in my first book. They’re the Go-go Gauntlets (project #73) from Generation T: 108 Ways to Transform a T-shirt. They’re super easy to stitch up in an afternoon, and even easier to embellish with iron-on glitter sheets–which seriously increase the superhero factor.

These arm warmers are especially good for:
1) Completing late night deadlines (reports, papers, presentations, tax filing, etc.).
2) Healing goose-bumped flesh in the over-air-conditioned spaces of warm-weather climates.
3) Protecting long-armed folks from that pesky draft caused by the gap between the glove and sleeve in cold weather climates.
4) Shielding the knuckles of bicyclists from biting winds when they ride really fast.
5) Executing superhero power stances.

Materials:
-1 or more old T-shirts (with the bottom hem intact)
 -Fabric marking tool
 -Ruler
-All-purpose scissors
-Fabric scissors
-Needle and thread (or sewing machine)
–Tulip Fashion Glitter Shimmer Transfer Sheets
 -Pressing cloth
 -Iron

1. Measure the distance around the middle of your forearm (x). Mark a rectangle x” wide and between 11″ and 14″ tall that lines up along one of the side folds of the T-shirt and extends up from the bottom hem.

2. Use the fabric scissors to cut out the rectangle through both layers.

3. Cut open the side, along the fold of the shirt.

4. Fold each rectangle, right sides in, and make two marks along each of the open edges that measure 1 1/2″ and 3 1/2″ from the hem.

5. Stitch along the open edge, about 1/4″ from edge, leaving an opening (for the thumbs!) between the two marks.

6. Turn the arm warmers right side out and orient the thumb holes about one-third from the edge.

7. Use all-purpose scissors to cut out fun shapes from the iron-on glitter sheets (in pairs, if you want your arm warmers to match).

8. Keeping the arm warmers oriented as they were in Step 6, flip them over and arrange the glitter shapes near the hem. Peel away the shiny surface layer from the shapes, lay a pressing cloth over the arm warmers (being careful not to disturb the placement of the shapes), and press firmly with the iron for about 40 seconds. Repeat if necessary to set the glitter transfer.

9. Turn off and unplug the iron. Try on your new pair of superhero arm warmers!

10. Use all the shapes you cut out in Step 7 to make more!

Optional: Use remaining T-shirt scraps to make a matching superhero mask or headband!


[ Comments Off on I Love to Create: Superhero Arm Warmers! | Posted on July 26th, 2011 ]

More Fun

From Our Readers: Stacey!

To be fair, these photos actually come courtesy of Stacey’s boyfriend, Ryan, who gets serious points for being so awesome and so proud to show off the swell work of his talented lady friend. This delightful oven mitt (project #40, “Up in My Grill,” from Generation T: Beyond Fashion) is just one of about fifteen projects that Stacey’s got in the DIY pipeline. In Ryan’s words, it is also “pretty much the first thing I show off to people when they visit my new place in Brooklyn.” Ryan also gets serious points for sacrificing his old Mets jersey tee for the cause!

[ 2 Comments | Posted on July 19th, 2011 ]

More Fun

The DIY Necktie: Update

Remember last month’s I Love to Create project? Here’s the update: A rather avant-garde self-portrait taken by my dear ol’ Dad shortly after he received the flashy Father’s Day tie I made him! (It features the numeric representation of the naturally occurring ratio of 1 to 1.618… otherwise known as the Golden Ratio.)

He was on his way to an art opening in his newest geek-tastic fashion accessory. Lookin’ sharp, Dad!

[ 1 Comment | Posted on July 14th, 2011 ]

More Fun

From Our Readers: Flossie!

Last weekend, 14-year-old Flossie was recruited by her dad to help him sell barbecue books at Grillstock, a big BBQ festival in the U.K. Needless to say, the oversize T-shirt Flossie was offered to help promote books written by grilling guru (and fellow Workman author) Steven Raichlen wasn’t exactly her slice of pie.  She wisely refused the tee in its original state and slowly inched toward her scissors (and, of course, her copy of Generation T: 108 Ways to Transform a T-shirt). She came up with this no-sew classic hybrid design that combines project #1 “Scoop, There It Is” with project #4 “Fringe Benefits,” then topped it off by turning the tee around so the back logo (“Hot Enough For You?”) became the front. Totally hot, indeed!

[ Comments Off on From Our Readers: Flossie! | Posted on July 7th, 2011 ]

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »