T-shirt Yarning

While I was away with the boys last weekend Hubby decided to have a sort out of his wardrobe. He has a large, usually messy, collection of t-shirts, some close to 20 years old. There were about 7 that he decided were past wearing, so he put them with the rags. I rescued them from there for a bit more elaborate repurposing. Here's what I did with them.

Turn the t-shirt inside-out (because it is easier to get it lying flat) and smooth it out on your cutting surface.

Using your rule and rotary cutter cut across the shirt just beneath the sleeves. Of course you can do this with scissors, but a rotary cutter is a lot faster, neater and easier. I just put this piece back with the rags.

Similarly cut off the hem. Put this piece aside.

Now start cutting strips from one side of the shirt ALMOST to the other, but stop about 2cm short.
The first strip should be about 2cm wide, and all the rest 4cm wide.

Then do the same from the other side, cutting the thicker, 4cm, strips in half, so that you get a zig-zag effect as above. But leave the strips touching as in the upper part of the photo.

Next trim off the side seams, just enough to separate the back from the front. Leave the first strip connected, as shown.

Pick up one end of the now continuous strip and start rolling it into a ball - a ball of t-shirt yarn.

I got the idea from this book,….

….which gives instructions for using the t-shirt yarn to make a circular crocheted rag rug. But I don't have a big enough crochet hook (and am not that good at it), so I used the skills and equipment that I do have and…..

….knitted squares instead. I did these last August, but now I can do some more with my new balls of yarn. You could use the squares as cleaning cloths, but I intend to sew them together to form a rug. I need to get a bit more consistent with my sizing though.

Remember those hems? They make great ties for plants in the garden, or  rolls of carpet, or anything that you want to be tied both firmly and gently. I've looped one around all the others to keep them tidy and hung them up in a handy spot.

This got me in the mood for some more repurposing, refashioning, or repairing.

I had a singlet in t-shirt fabric that I was going to treat as above, but when I looked at it,…..

it looked like a great grocery bag!

So I turned it inside-out, did a double row of straight stitch for strength, turned it right-side-out again and was finished. 

The next one was one of my usual repairs to L9's trousers.

Not just a tear, but a great gouge! Too large to patch, even if I could get it under the sewing machine, so cut them just above the damage and make them into long shorts.

Then cut the waste lower leg into 5" wide strips, with the grain. Use these as the binding around the  base of the trimmed legs.

The finished product looks like cuffed shorts. They were worn the very next day.

Lastly a repair (?) I did a few weeks ago. We have three large floor cushions that we keep on the back deck and whose covers were getting very faded, stained and beginning to fall apart. The cushions originally were the seat and backrest of a couch that hubby's brother had picked up from a council hard rubbish collection, maybe 23 years ago. At least 15 years ago I had made new covers for them, but now they needed recovering again. So I made new pillowslip style covers from old curtains that I had made for L9 before he was born, but which didn't fit any of the windows in the house we have moved to since. 

Aside from being a frugal thing to do, and looking great (I think), the job was made easy by the fact that the curtains already had hems top and bottom, and were coated which means the fabric doesn't fray. They were just so quick to make. 

>20yo cushion covered with repurposed 10yo curtain.

Catch-up - Repair, refashion, repurpose, reuse, recycle

Have been a little busy over the last while - no need to go into detail, but I have been studying in preparation for a career change, sort of eliminated any spare time I might have had. But after Uni finished for the year, and while the kids were still at school, I did manage to do a few things.

That blouse to dress from my last post was really lovely to wear, and made me feel good. Unfortunately, during efforts to remove some staining from the blouse, the skirt and sleeves got bleached. So I remade them in a different fabric.

Another project was to refashion a gorgeous Country Road cotton lawn dressing gown that I was given many years ago but rarely wore (because if I don't shower and dress as soon as I get up it tends not to happen at all). It has become a light and cool summer peasant blouse.

Before 

Hmm, still needs some tweaking,
I added small pleats at the shoulders, and darts from bust to waist.

As the boys grow and their legs get longer it is harder to patch their trousers on the sewing machine. So  when the holes are too large the legs are cut off and the cuffs bound with a contrasting or co-ordinating fabric to make shorts. They have a lot of shorts. Good thing we live in a semi-tropical climate!

3 new pairs of shorts - means 3 less pairs of trousers!

One of my favourite summer blouses, a plain white cheesecloth peasant blouse, got a hole, right about belly button level. Darning would have looked daft. I really love the result, using one of the very first fabrics I bought when I started quilting in 1997 - so pretty!

Beginning - cut right through the hole.

Add an insert (the hole is in the seam allowance).
Needed more - so added matching fabric to the sleeves.

Found another hole on the rear right shoulder.

Fused and blanket stitched appliqué to cover it -
plus a couple of extras to balance the design.

I did actually get a few other projects done during the year - but didn't find the time to blog about them. So here they are now.

Another repair due to a hole, this time in a lightweight cardigan (?). I picked this up during a workshop on refashioning at the Craft Show two years ago, and added the triple layer black red and white braid then. But when a hole appear in the front of the jacket some major changes were needed.

Before

After - decorated with a Japanese crane fabric

Then an op-shop find. A black, 100% lambswool turtle neck that someone had probably put through a hot wash, or a dryer. A dreadful shame for them, but a bit of creative fun for me! Easy to work with because the wool has become felted - so no unravelling! The refashion only took a fat quarter of fabric - of spooky black cats. I purchased the fabric from Voodoo Rabbit at the Craft and Quilt Fair (Brisbane) in 2012. You should check their website, their fabric range is different to the 'norm'.

Before - waaaaay too tight!

Cut straight up the middle.

Turtle neck becomes open collar. Add width with a fabric
insert (the placket is a false one, just a pleat).

A little 'peplum' to add length and cover
my kidneys (and my tummy!)

The final result. It has had so many positive comments and enquiries as to where I got it.

I have also given needle felting (by machine) a go - embellishing a $2 fleece scarf from the op-shop. I need a bit more practice I think.

Before

Centre back after

Front after

And lastly - repurposing a favourite, but worn out, pair of jeans into a bag. By folding it in half it no longer looks like a pair of jeans, and I get a more compact shoulder bag with an extra central pocket. It actually has 3 large pockets (one secure and accessed using the zip, now at the side of the bag), and three smaller ones that were the original pockets of the jeans.

Decorated with Suffolk Puffs (Yo-yos)

Here is the zip for the secure pocket.

Lots of handy pockets to make finding things easy.

I've replaced a lot of elastic in school shorts and pyjama bottoms - but nobody needs to see photos of those do they?

Isn't it fun to find ways to give things another life?

Merry Christmas, & Happy New Year!

Ravs

Shirt to Dress - Refashion

Remember that blouse I told you about?

The one with the arms that were too tight?

Well, I unpicked them, carefully.  Then cut the cuffs off.

Cut one up the centre to the seam line, spread it out to add volume, and made a paper pattern.

Cut out a toile or muslin & pinned it to the shirt, with the original sleeve on the other side for comparison.

Decided that looked OK, so moved on to the skirt.

I wanted an A-line style, as it is flattering to almost anyone, and fairly easy.  As the bottom section of the shirt is 6 panels, I decided to match my skirt panels to these.  The four side panels are all the same size, but the front and back panels differ from them and from each other - so three different panel patterns were required.

I decided that I wanted the skirt to start below the waist, but above the hips, no need to accentuate my widest part!  So marked & measured the panel widths 12cm above the shirt hem.  Then again at the hem.  Next I decided how long I wanted the skirt to be, and what circumference at the hemline (adding 700mm seemed a nice number to start with).  Worked out how much needed to be added to each panel to achieve that increase - proportional to the initial width of the panel at the hip line.  That is more was added to the front panel than to the side panels, and more again to the back panel.  This helps keep the angles and seam lines equal.

Drew the pattern pieces up & cut and sewed my first real muslin!  A simple one I know, but all the same.....

I was very happy when I tried it on, except I liked the length before turning the hem better than after.  So I modified the pattern, adding 2" to the length.  One thing I did with the pattern was keep the width constant from the hemline to the cutting line - this makes it a lot easier to turn a neat hem.

I zig-zagged all the raw edges of the seams, and top-stitched the seams down in the same direction as those on the shirt.

I stopped the left side seam at the level of the shirt hem, and then sewed the rest with a longer stitch to make it easier to unpick later, as this is where the zipper is (on the shirt).

I hemmed the skirt & added ricrac, because I thought it looked a bit plain otherwise.  But because I hate having to iron ricrac flat, I sewed it down the middle, and top and bottom too.  With four rows of stitching this hem is NEVER going to come down!

The arms were sewn in place and hand hemmed.  I chose the hem width so it would cover the raw edge of the shirt at the underarm.

And here is the finished result.

Well, I say finished but really.... I need your help with three questions.

1. Should I top stitch the sleeve hem?
2. Should I replace the white fabric buttons with self-covered ones to match the skirt & sleeves?
3. Should I add a fine matching bias strip to the collar?

Please, I would value your advice.

Ravs

Ride 'em Cowboy!

Yesterday I finished the long promised and awaited Cowboy outfits!  Actually they didn't take long at all.  But I think I am going to have to finish the edges of the chaps, it is obviously not quite the same type of  material as recommended in the pattern (which supposedly shouldn't fray).

The little one asked for the outfit - but I made one for  L7 as well - just to be on the safe-side.

I am also starting a refashion of this blouse.

I really like it, but like most close fitting ones, the arms are just too tight around the biceps.  They must think women do no physical work or something - but I reckon any mother would struggle after lifting children, hanging & carrying baskets of washing, or the like, even if they aren't naturally inclined to carry muscle!

The main thing I have been working on is a quilt for a friend's baby daughter (who's just about toddling already!).  But, although she knows about the quilt (she asked me to make one), she doesn't know the theme or the design, so I can't blog about it until I've handed it over.  Finished the top yesterday though!

Happy sewing.
Ravs