Generation T

No-Sew T-shirt Superhero Cape

Here’s a classic I recently adapted from my second book, Generation T: Beyond Fashion, because, hey, it’s superhero season (okay, okay, when is it not??). A plain T-shirt is the key ingredient to this phonebooth-like transformation. Whether you’re a superhero at rest, or in action (leaping tall buildings in a single bound, racing faster than a locomotive, and generally exercising capabilities well beyond those of mortal men and women — you know, the usual), this cape has got you covered. Well, partially covered. It’s got your back, at least. (HA!)

The superhero in my household requested an orange lightning bolt on his cape, so once I created the basic shape, I made a couple of stencils I could layer to get the two-color effect. The length can be customized, so rest assured that adults and children of any size can be made super!

PS: Let me know how you like seeing my illustrations in the tutorial. A throwback to the books….

What you need:
-T-shirt
-Pencil or pen
-Ruler
-Fabric scissors
-Freezer paper (for stencils)
-Craft knife and cutting mat
-Warm iron
–Tulip ColorShot Instant Fabric Color (fabric spray paint)

PART 1: The cape.
1. Lay the T-shirt flat, back side up. Use the pencil and ruler to mark a diagonal line from about 4″ up from the T-shirt hem along the left side of the shirt to a point 2″ left of the neckband. Mark a second diagonal line from about 4″ up from the T-shirt hem along the right side of the shirt to a point 2″ right of the neckband.

2. Continue the diagonal lines over each shoulder at the top until they intersect just below the front of the neckband.

3. Continue the diagonal lines around to the front of the shirt at the bottom until they reach the hem.

4. Cut along the pencil markings, through just one layer, and around the neckband in the front.

Slip the neckband over your superhero’s head. The hem at the bottom adds a nice weight, but check that it isn’t too long so that it’s in danger of getting snagged or stepped on, and trim it if necessary.

PART 2: The design.
1. Head on over to the iLoveToCreate blog for the stenciling tutorial!

PART 3: The execution.
1. Test out your cape’s powers!

superhero finish generation-t.com

[ Comments Off on No-Sew T-shirt Superhero Cape | Posted on August 26th, 2015 ]

T-shirt Projects

How to: Grill Mitts from Old T-shirts!

Before you fire up the grill this summer (Happy 4th of July! Happy belated Canada Day!), fire up that sewing machine to make a grill mitt or two from some old T-shirts that aren’t fit to see another season in the sun in their current form. I dipped into book 2 (Generation T: Beyond Fashion) to bring you this one!

Grill-Mitts-cred

Materials:

2 T-shirts (100% cotton)
pencil
paper
ruler
straight pins
½ yard batting
scissors
needle
thread

Make it:

1. First, make a paper pattern by tracing around your hand (with your thumb at a 45-degree angle). Leave a 1″ allowance, as shown. At the base of the palm, widen the tracing to 2″ and extend it 7″ down. Cut around the tracing.

2. Lay one T-shirt flat and fold it in half, bringing the bottom hem up to the neckband in the back. Lay the pattern on an angle on the front of the T-shirt and pin it through all four layers. Cut around the pattern. Repeat on the second T-shirt, reversing the pattern so that the thumb points in a different direction.

3. Fold a portion of the batting in half and pin the pattern onto it through both layers. Cut around the pattern and remove it.

4. Sandwich a layer of batting between the layers of the T-shirt (there should be two layers of T-shirt, one layer of batting, two layers of T-shirt) to create one half of the mitt. Pin in place. Take that mitt half and sew a series of running stitches in crisscross diagonal lines, through all layers, to create a quilted look, as shown. Repeat on the other piece of the mitt.

5. Lay the two pieces (sides) of the mitt right sides together (meaning the pieces with the logos are facing). Making sure to go through all layers, sew a tight whipstitch or a running stitch around the perimeter of the mitt, leaving the bottom edge open.

6. Carefully turn the mitt right side out (the thumb will be a little tricky—use a pencil to persuade it if necessary).
7. Measure the circumference of the bottom opening and add 1″ to get x”. Cut a 2″ by x” strip of fabric from one of the T-shirt remnants. Line up one long edge around the opening and pin, right sides together. Sew a running stitch about ½” from the edge, being sure to “catch” all layers. Remove the pins.

8. Fold the edge down ½” and then wrap it tightly around the raw edge to the inside. Pin and carefully sew a whipstitch securing the edging in place. Remove the pins. Optional: Repeat steps 2–8 to make a second mitt.

9. Ready to get all up in that grill? The (veggie) burgers are ready to be flipped and nothing’s too hot to handle!

up-in-my-grill

[ 1 Comment | Posted on July 2nd, 2015 ]

Other Projects

2-in-1 Picnic Blanket Game Board

The only thing better than playing board games, in my opinion, is playing them al fresco (even if you find yourself caught in a passing shower!). And, though it’s hard to improve on a picnic, here’s my attempt. Grab an old flat sheet or a plain tablecloth and draw a checker/chess board, a tic-tac-toe grid, a Chinese checkers star, or a backgammon board.
Checkers Play crop 2 text generation-t.com

Then, when it’s time to picnic, grab the sandwiches and the game pieces and hit the park. Roll out the blanket (it works on the grass or on the picnic table), and it’s game on. Psst! Drawstring pouches for game pieces made from scrap T-shirt sleeves!

Materials:
–Tulip Fabric Markers in a variety of colors and tips
-plain table cloth or flat sheet
-ruler
-checkers and/or chess pieces
-iron and ironing surface (optional)

Materials generation-t.com
Make it:
Click through to the iLoveToCreate Blog to get the full step-by-step tutorial!

Picnic Blanket Game Board generation-t.com

*Note the T-shirt sleeve drawstring pouches for game pieces! (Use the hem of the shirt sleeve as the drawstring casing.)

[ Comments Off on 2-in-1 Picnic Blanket Game Board | Posted on June 23rd, 2015 ]

T-shirt Projects

No-Sew T-shirt Infinity Top

The best thing about T-shirt season? Umm…T-shirts. Here’s a no-sew T-shirt project to help you kick off your totally sweet summer. Punch it up with custom textile designs, and then wear it any way you like — the possibilities are infinite…or nearly!

Tshirt Infinity Top generation-t.com

Materials:
–Tulip Color Shot Instant Fabric Color
-Light-colored T-shirt (baggy)
-Stencil (I used a panel from a modular stacking unit that I scored at a stoop sale last spring!)
-Scrap paper or cardboard (to insert between the layers of the T-shirt)
-Fabric scissors

Make it:
Head over to the iLoveToCreate blog for step-by-step instructions for achieving the 4 different looks.

[ Comments Off on No-Sew T-shirt Infinity Top | Posted on May 27th, 2015 ]

T-shirt Projects

Tie-Dye T-shirt Wrapped Necklace

This quick and easy accessory heralds in a Bohemian springtime. It’s the perfect project to use up any failed tie-dye attempts — or you can tie-dye a whole T-shirt or piece of fabric and host a party! (You can make at lease 10 necklaces from one large T-shirt.) TiedyeWrapNecklace generation-t.com

This particular version is adapted from the Fabric-Covered Bead Necklace from The Jewelry Recipe Book by Nancy Sorian0 — substituting in T-shirt fabric (of course) whenever possible!

Materials:
-Tie-dye T-shirt (or similar)
-10 wooden beads (5/8″) with large holes
-Fabric scissors
-T-shirt hem scraps (optional)
-Ruler
–Aleene’s Fabric Fusion Glue (optional)

Make it:
For step-by-step photographic instructions, click through to the iLoveToCreate blog.

[ 2 Comments | Posted on April 28th, 2015 ]

Adventures, More Fun

Happy Earth Day 2015!

Last weekend, I spent Saturday evening with these lovely students at my high school alma mater. That’s me on the computer screen–we had a cross-regional Tee Party through the internets! These students are all part of the Green Support team at the school, and invited me to help them celebrate Earth Day. It was wonderful to hear what they’re up to and answer questions they had for me about Generation T.

Here’s another group shot, this time from my perspective–check out all the amazing projects they made!

Generation T at Holderness 2015

Happy Earth Day, all — keep fighting the good fights.

—

In other news: A stack of T-shirts in need of some resuscitation recently arrived on my doorstep…stay tuned in the coming weeks to see what they turn into — I’ll be posting them here!

[ Comments Off on Happy Earth Day 2015! | Posted on April 22nd, 2015 ]

T-shirt Projects

Pointilism Pocket T-shirt

Hi, folks! It’s been awhile, I’ve been in hibernation, but doggone it, it’s officially springtime, and that means T-shirts (soon, when the temperature hits…50 degrees??). As I’m thawing, I’ve been working on a couple of really exciting projects that I’ll share soon here on the blog, but in the meantime: Trompe l’oeil meets pointilism in this faux pocket T-shirt–a great low-stakes revamp that’ll do wonders at masking a well-placed food stain or simply sprucing up a plain shirt. PointilismPocketTee generation-t.com
Making the dots is so meditative, I’m ready to lose myself in a Lichtenstein-inspired image next!

Materials:
–Tulip Fabric Markers (rainbow set)
-thin scrap cardboard cut into 4″-wide pocket template
-thin scrap cardboard to use as T-shirt insert to prevent bleed
-plain, light-colored T-shirt

Make It:
For the fully photographed step-by-step tutorial, click through to the iLoveToCreate blog.

PointilismPocketTee2 generation-t.com

[ 1 Comment | Posted on March 24th, 2015 ]

Other Projects

Sparkle Peter Pan Collar Necklace

The perfect accessory for dressing up a basic crew neck T-shirt: a sequined necklace that mimics a Peter Pan-style collar. Even the sequins don’t take all that long to place–it’s the drying time that’s the most challenging to sit through! The ribbon tie makes it adjustable

Materials:
-Felt
-Ribbon (two lengths, each about 12″)
–Aleene’s Jewel-It Embellishing Glue
-Scissors
-Plain or scrap paper
–Tulip Premium Fashion Sequins

PeterPan necklace materials

Make it:
Click through for the full step-by-step photographed tutorial at the iLoveToCreate blog.

Sparkle on!

[ Comments Off on Sparkle Peter Pan Collar Necklace | Posted on December 24th, 2014 ]

T-shirt Projects

Sparkle Snowflake T-shirt

I have a thing for snowflakes. I do. And winter solstice seems the perfect occasion to share this snowflake T-shirt with you (maybe it will encourage actual snowflakes to fall!). A little sparkle glams up a plain T-shirt, and you can dress it up with a skirt or down with jeans to suit the mood or the occasion.

Materials:
-plain T-shirt
–Fashion Glitter Iron on Shimmer Sheets
-scissors
-iron and press cloth

Make it:
1. Fold one corner of the shimmer sheet down on the diagonal.

2. Trim the excess to square it off.

3. Fold the folded triangle in half again.

4. And in half again.

5. And in half one more time.

6. Pinch the layers together and cut out shapes from the two folded edges, doing your best to go through ALL layers.

7. Unfold the snowflake, and tidy up any mismatched cutouts.

8. Place the snowflake on the T-shirt, plastic side down, and iron it on using a press cloth.

9. Peel back the press cloth to make sure all edges are stuck. Try it on!

—

[ Comments Off on Sparkle Snowflake T-shirt | Posted on December 23rd, 2014 ]

T-shirt Projects

DIY T-shirt Light Switch

A light switch plate is a pretty sweet blank canvas — small in dimension and fairly low-stakes (in case the creative process doesn’t go as planned). But when it does work, what fun! I started by picking through my T-shirt stash, but ended up far beyond there — click through at the end of the post to see a few other creative switch plate options!

Materials:
-T-shirt with small logo or text
–Aleene’s Turbo Tacky Glue
-Blank light switch plate
-Craft knife and cutting mat

Make it:
1. Select a T-shirt or T-shirt scrap and loosely cut out the logo portion. (My T-shirt “excerpt” is clearly from a Red Sox shirt — GO SOX!)

2. Apply glue lightly and evenly to the front of the switch plate, and press it down onto the back of the T-shirt fabric, leaving a 1″ margin on all sides. Trim off the corners and cut an X from corner to corner inside the light switch opening. Fold back the edges and fold back the cut triangle pieces in the center and glue.

3. Let dry completely, and attach your T-shirt light switch plate to the nearest light switch!

For 6 More Ways to Decorate a Light Switch Plate, click through to my tutorials over at the iLoveToCreate Blog.

7 ways light switch plate generation-t.comllage

[ Comments Off on DIY T-shirt Light Switch | Posted on October 28th, 2014 ]

No-Sew T-shirt Superhero Cape

How to: Grill Mitts from Old T-shirts!

2-in-1 Picnic Blanket Game Board

No-Sew T-shirt Infinity Top

Tie-Dye T-shirt Wrapped Necklace

Happy Earth Day 2015!

Pointilism Pocket T-shirt

Sparkle Peter Pan Collar Necklace

Sparkle Snowflake T-shirt

DIY T-shirt Light Switch

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