Posts Tagged ‘T-shirt totebag’

How to: No-Sew T-shirt Grocery Tote II

When you’re talking fruit and vegetable stamping, a change of seasonal harvest can herald a whole new palette of patterns and textures with which to print. And with them, a whole new no-sew T-shirt totebag tutorial — this time, with fringe! Before the summer fruits and veggies officially relinquish their harvest reign to the autumn root vegetables (reminder: potato printing=boring!), see what you can scavenge from the last of the September haul to make some colorful T-shirt prints — and a sturdy T-shirt tote to bring to next weekend’s farmers market! Behold, this fall’s hottest accessory (see this summer’s no-sew tote here)….

Materials:
-Plain old T-shirt (I used an adult size M for this particular one)
–Tulip Dimensional Paint or Tulip Soft Fabric Paint Tubes
-Plastic container lid(s) to use as a paint palette (check your recycling bin!)
-Half of two bell peppers, corn on the cob, lime, and the end of a celery stalk (to use as stamps)
-Scissors
-Ruler or straightedge
-Scrap paper
-Plastic garbage bag or table cloth to protect your work surface
-Mixing bowl or other round item (to use as a cutting guide)

Make it:
Click through to get the photographic step-by-step tutorial through my newest post for iLoveToCreate Blog. You can print lots of T-shirts…

…and then decide which one(s) you want to turn into a totebag!

The ties to the farmers market run deep for this totebag, but don’t limit its use to produce! I had a student make one of these totes during my artist-in-residency at her school, and she quickly transferred all of her textbooks into it before heading off to her next class. If you tie your knots tightly, this bag will definitely hold up to any combination of weighty tomes, making it a great (if a little late) back to school project. Or…with Halloween around the corner, how about using it as a creative vessel for that delicious candy haul…?

[ 2 Comments | Posted on September 24th, 2013 ]

How to: No-Sew T-shirt Grocery Tote!

Move over potato stamping! There are some other fruits and veggies that want in on the action. Printing with fruits and veggies is nothing new — but when applied to a grocery or green market bag, you get a tote that forecasts what should go inside (apples, onions, peppers, celery, corn…). Not to mention, you can construct this sturdy bag from an old T-shirt without sewing–a single safety pin is the closest you’ll get to any specialty tools. I worked out the bag particulars while I was in residency at a workshop up in NH (I’ve since discovered a great tutorial for a very similar technique by Lee Meredith over at Leethal.net, which I imagine works particularly well for larger T-shirts, where the bottom bunching can be redistributed between several gathers). And I was inspired to use an apple after seeing Kayte Terry’s lovely apple-printed tote (I wish my apple had had a stem on it!).

Materials:
-Plain old T-shirt (I used a kid’s size 6-8 for this particular one)
–Tulip Dimensional Paint or Tulip Soft Fabric Paint Tubes
-Plastic lid to use as a paint palette
-Half an apple (or bell pepper, or onion, or…) to use as a stamp
-Scissors
-Safety pin
-Scrap paper (optional)

Make it:

Head on over to iLoveToCreate blog for the complete step-by-step tutorial! You’ll be ready to hit the farmer’s market (or beach! or park!) in no time.

And don’t forget to share your bounty!

Stay tuned: Another veggie-printed, no-sew tote bag tutorial is coming your way right here on Generation T next week!

[ 1 Comment | Posted on June 25th, 2013 ]

From Our Readers: Lincoln High School!

In December, I heard from a teacher at the Lincoln High School Green Academy, a 3 year program for kids interested in potential careers or majors in the green economy.  Her students took old PE uniforms (brilliant!) and made hats and bags (projects #72 Mohawk Mo’ Rock! and #42 Plastic Surgery from Generation T: Beyond Fashion) to give as gifts to the Principal, Assistant Principals, and other members of the school staff who helped them.

Be still my heart: Rescuing shirts that would otherwise have been trash-bound and upcycling them into giftable items!

[ Comments Off on From Our Readers: Lincoln High School! | Posted on March 1st, 2013 ]

A Spot of Tee: Maker Faire Edition

This past weekend we were at Maker Faire, a 2-day celebration of technology, engineering, sustainability, and DIY — and amidst the visual and aural feast of mechanics, explosions, and high-pitched frequencies, there were many a slashed T-shirt for me to spot! Starting with this one (to be fair, this young lady spotted me first — turns out, she’s a fan of Generation T, and recently hosted her own Tee Party at home!).

SPOTTED:

Where: New York Hall of Science, main entrance
When: September 2012
What: Skully Tee
Key accessories: Black T-shirt and denim — and a Maker Faire day pass!
How do I get the look?: Melody used this entry on the Generation T blog to make her Skully Tee the very morning she was headed off to Maker Faire — it’s that quick and easy!

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SPOTTED:

Where: New York Hall of Science, lower level, at the Tracimoc (that’s comic art, backwards) table
When: September 2012
What: T-shirt totebags
Key accessories: Your arm, with this bag hanging off your elbow. (And some Maker Faire loot, perhaps?)
How do I get the look?: Try the grocery tote from Generation T: Beyond Fashion — perfect for toting books, groceries, or that Halloween haul.

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SPOTTED:

Where: New York Hall of Science, near the Maker Faire food trucks (see, there are an actual feast to be devoured, too!)
When: September 2012
What: Slashed long-sleeved T-shirt
Key accessories: Puffy vest (you know, to make up for the body heat lost through those “shoulder vents”)
How do I get the look?: Follow the instructions below, from project #10, Shoulder Slash, in Generation T.

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SPOTTED:

Where: New York Hall of Science, making the rounds
When: September 2012
What: Fringed T-shirts, knotted T-shirts, laced T-shirts, slashed T-shirts on the members of Batala NYC, the all-female reggae percussion band!
Key accessories: Drum sticks.
How do I get the look?: For the fringe look, follow the instructions below for project #4, Fringe Benefits, from Generation T; for the slashed look, follow the instructions above. Add knots, beading, and lacing as desired.

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SPOTTED:
Okay, it’s not technically a T-shirt, but these leggings just seemed so T-shirt-inspired…

Where: New York Hall of Science, outside the Maker Square tent
When: September 2012
What: Slashed and woven leggings
Key accessories: Pink ankle socks
How do I get the look?: Snip parallel horizontal slits about 1″ apart along the outside fold of the leggings on each leg. Cut slits as high as you need to for your skirt or shorts to cover. Use a T-shirt cord (cut the stitching off a T-shirt hem, and strettccchhh it out) to weave through the slits, tying a knot at each link of fabric.

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[ Comments Off on A Spot of Tee: Maker Faire Edition | Posted on October 2nd, 2012 ]

NH: Live Free and DIY!

Isn’t that how the motto goes? I’m back home in NYC, but my heart is still up in New Hampshire, and it feels like my scissor hand is still twitching in my sleep after all the T-shirt refashioning we did! Altogether, the students at the Kenneth A. Brett School upcycled (new vocabulary term for many of the kids in my group!) more than 150 T-shirts over the four days. Below are some of the highlights from the last two days of my artist-in-residency! (And if you want more proof of the fun we had, check out the photos posted over at the Tamworth Arts Council blog.) I miss these kids already…

A lace-up tank top with mismatched sides (#16 in Generation T); another lace-up top with braided multi-colored stitching.

Some in-process braiding and knotting — to complete the finishing touches on two “Mohawk Mo’ Rock” no-sew hats (project #72 in Generation T: Beyond Fashion).

Two finished, fringed hats!

But what’s a finished hat without matching glovelets (#103 in Generation T: Beyond Fashion)? Or a pair of tie-dyed glovelets without multicolored fingernails?

Going with the tie-dye theme, here’s a tie-dye version of Back in Action (#101 in Generation T: Beyond Fashion); plus a sunshine-filled pillow (#30 in Generation T: Beyond Fashion)!

Another completed pillow; a matching totebag (for his mom to use while grocery shopping) and headband (for him).

Some in-progress laced-up glovelets; an innovative visor made from the neckband of a T-shirt (with sun-shielding neck protection, of course!).

A pillow for catnapping; a no-sew tote bag–already filled with books!

DIY hats, tank tops, headbands, and wristbands…

Pillows, pillows, and more pillows!

Hats, hats, and more hats!


[ 4 Comments | Posted on March 14th, 2012 ]

Merry Christmas Giftaway!

Warm wishes for a cozy Christmas and congratulations to Dia, who will be receiving the Rock the Tote tote bag (project #84 in Generation T: 108 Ways to Transform a T-shirt) pictured here as her Christmas surprise!

I made it using a turquoise blue “Caribbean Polka Cruise with the Stars” T-shirt and a bright yellow “2008 Theatre Camp” T-shirt that I found in a Florida thrift shop earlier this year! After stitching it up, I added two punk pins I made — because even bags need accessories.

How inspiring to hear all of you sound off on everything you’ve been busy making — I especially like to hear that so many of you have been using crafting or baking as a reason to spend more time with family and friends. Because as often as DIY can be a solitary activity, I love to craft with fam and friends, too (when I’m not crafting for them, of course!). I took a cookie baking class recently with my friend (no photos — everything was gobbled up too quickly!), I attended a chocolate truffle-making class with my husband last week — the results of which we’re sharing with his family today, and I’m sitting down with my niece to construct a batch of “Cheeseburger” cookies this afternoon. (I expect the sugar high to last through the New Year!)

So, I still have a few projects I’ll share after all the presents have been unwrapped on this end, but in the meantime, visions of your craftivities dance in my head: lots of T-shirt aprons, felted goodies, knitted dishcloths, ornaments, wreaths made from old Christmas trees, a pair of crime-fighting wrist cuffs with lightning bolts on them, scarves, gloves, cereal box wallets, fused plastic bag crafts, Kindle cozies, sculpted animal figurines, photo ornaments, baby hats, jam, hand lotion, pet toys, soap…and more! Oh, and let’s not forget all the baking, too: muffins, pumpkin gingerbread, macaroons, banana bread, rum cake, chocolate truffles, loads and loads of cookies, oh my!

Happy, happy Christmas, and to all a good year ahead!

[ 5 Comments | Posted on December 25th, 2010 ]