Posts Tagged ‘T-shirt surgery’

12 Holiday T-shirt Projects!

To celebrate and count down the 12 days until Christmas (yikes), here’s a roundup of 12 T-shirt crafts we love over here at Generation T (and yes, we might be biased on a few of them, but we can’t help it). So if your halls aren’t completely decked, here are some last-minute fixes that will make you sing fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la. Or at least do re mi fa so la teeeee…. Wow, this holiday punch is tasty!

1. T-shirt wreath by Tara Gentile at ScoutieGirl. A colorful (no-sew!) decoration that won’t smell as sweet, but you also won’t have to sweep up dried pine needles in two weeks!

2. T-shirt stockings by Megan Nicolay at Generation T (or by Kathy Cano-Murillo at CraftyChica). Two takes on that old classic–the holiday stocking–made from a classic old T-shirt.

3. T-shirt garland by Ash and Kimmy at GreenEyedMonster. A festive pom-pom decoration that can be brought out year after year–for the tree, for the mantle, for a little window dressing!

4. T-shirt advent calendar by Megan Nicolay at Generation T. You might remember seeing this one during last year’s solstice giveaway–and you better get cracking in order to make and fill this one up in time for a countdown!

5. T-shirt hat by Kalleen from AtSecondStreet. A cute brimmed hat for the milder winter weather–bonus points if you add ear flaps! Or this one by Whitney Moss and Heather Flett at RookieMoms–forget ear flaps, this one’s got ears (and yes, we give you permission to make it in an adult size).

6. T-shirt snowflake by Megan Nicolay at Generation T (project #4 in Generation T: Beyond Fashion). Forget the overplayed sparkly Santa sweater, make a T-shirt snowflake as unique as you are! ::sigh::

7. T-shirt knotted scarf by Gwenstella at BecauseSheStartedKnitting for her. And for him: a Fringy T-shirt scarf by Paul Overton at DudeCraft. Or any of these three scarves, by Megan Nicolay at Generation T (on Threadbanger)!

8. T-shirt mittens by Ashley at LilBlueBoo. Okay, okay, so she makes them from sweatpants (which might be warmer than T-shirt), but the tutorial and techniques still apply since they’re both knit fabrics!

9. T-shirt Christmas tree skirt by Megan Nicolay at Generation T (project #43 in Generation T: Beyond Fashion). And, we’ll have a no-sew variation to post very soon–stay tuned!

10. T-shirt necklace by Melissa Esplin at ISLY. Sometimes it’s not enough to deck the halls or trim the tree–you need to deck yourself for all those holiday parties!

11. T-shirt headband by Megan Nicolay at Generation T for iLovetoCreate. See number 10. Now it’s time to add the tree topper! (Tee topper?)

12. T-shirt apron by Disney at RufflesAndStuff. Or this one by Kayla at KaylaKsThriftyWays if you’re short on time. This was tough: it was between the apron and the T-shirt oven mitt–for all the holiday cookie baking, of course!

Happy last-minute crafting to you! What are your favorite holiday T-shirt tutorials? What have we missed that you would like to see on this list?

[ 3 Comments | Posted on December 14th, 2010 ]

Sew It All, Vol. 2

I’m super excited to share that I have a project in this issue of Sew It All, Volume 2. It’s on newsstands now, so I definitely recommend heading to your local fabric store, quilt sho p, grocery store, or Barnes and Noble to pick up a copy (then flip, really fast, to page 80!). The issue is packed with stitching and finishing how-tos, tool and pattern reviews, plus–the best part!–50 fun, simple projects, including clothing, home decor and accessories–many of which don’t even require a pattern!

Some highlights: Linda Permann has a reverse appliqué “Plush Pillow” project on page 42; Crystal Butler shows how to make a cute “Flour Power” handbag out of a flour sack on page 76; Meream Pacayra‘s “Ribbons in Bloom” bib necklace on page 74 would be perfect to wear to any holiday party; Marian Lewis has a convertible “Towel Tote” on page 82 that I’ve got my eye on, and Sew It All editor-in-chief Ellen March shares how to make a “Gather ‘Round” convertible necklace/headband on page 88.

The project I designed combines a T-shirt and cotton bias strips (great for pairing cotton weave with stretchy knit fabrics!). It’s inspired by a top I made for Generation T: Beyond Fashion, and it”s a great starter project for timid sewists because it requires mere inches of stitching! Hope you like it.

[ Comments Off on Sew It All, Vol. 2 | Posted on December 9th, 2010 ]

I Love to Create: Softie Spiral Headband

Yes, Thanksgiving is nearly upon us, but I’m already looking beyond the food coma to the holiday party scene! A little bit of proper party headgear puts me in the mood. You can make this headband in an afternoon and be party-ready by evening. Make one in bright tones, and you’ll be able to transcend the cold weather and be positively springlike!

Materials:

-1″-wide T-shirt strips of varying lengths (in complementary shades)

-Aleene’s Fabric Fusion Permanent Dry Cleanable Fabric Adhesive

-fabric scissors

-1 fabric-coated plain headband (preferably with a metal base)

-clothespins

-straight pins (optional)

1. Gather the T-shirt strips. (A T-shirt hem works well — just cut off the stitching and stretch it out!) Select one strip, squeeze a dab of Fabric Fusion on the inside end and fold it over on itself.

2. Gently squeeze more glue around the outside of the fold and coil more fabric into the glue.

3. Continue gluing and coiling until you have a 1″ to 1.5″ fabric disc. Then snip the end at an angle and apply a bit of extra Fabric Fusion to make sure it flattens against the edge of the disc.