No Pattern, No Problem: The making of a T-shirt

I have a frightful confession. I don't sew with knits. Oh I do hope you didn't bump your noggin when you fainted from the shock of it. Now that you've recovered I can tell you that I can happily revise that confession to: For years I did not sew with knits. 

It was not always so. When I was a teen I sewed knits with impunity, I had no fear and I couldn't for the life of me understand why people were hesitant to sew with knit fabrics. Ok, I do admit a slight aversion to pure polyester knits, but that's a story for another day.

Somewhere along the way I stopped sewing with knits, and with this lack of knit sewing I too began to have doubts, fears even. Silly me.

On the practical side, one of my excuses was that good quality knit fabrics are expensive. Well, the other day I was taking a long overdue peruse through my local thrift shop, and though I did not find the perfect v neck sweater I was searching for, I did find a few very large men's T-shirts in white. The perfect lead in to playing around with knits without breaking the bank while at the same time upcycling some formerly unloved clothing.

I didn't have a pattern so I made one. This is true of some knits, they can be forgiving of the hastily self drafted pattern. I created a Dolman sleeve t-shirt, one of the easiest things to sew, really! I then went about making a couple with various sleeve lengths. In the photos above I used some gorgeous knit that my friend Nancy sent me ages ago and added the contrasting bands from another shirt that happened to be the perfect shade of green.

This one was made using one of the white thrift store t-shirts, dyed black and stenciled with a horse of course.

There are some tricky things about sewing with knits, but honestly it's just like anything else... it takes practice and there is no reason to fear sewing with knits. Not that you're afraid, of course not, you are very brave and have no idea what I'm talking about. It was probably just me. Silly me.

I also whipped up a pair of yoga pants made from t-shirts that suffered from an unfortunate dye job. (Note to self: Order some good quality fiber reactive dyes!)

Well, I'm so glad I now sew with knits. 

Oh! And coming up on Friday I will be posting a quick tutorial on how to make a Dolman Sleeve T-Shirt of your very own! Hooray!

Pa's Shirts

As I finally started tucking into the collection of the Mr.'s old shirts that I've been collecting for ages, I began the imagining the endless possibilities to refashion and upcycle them. I unpicked pockets and ripped out collars trying to adjust to the new development of reading/stitching glasses slipping down my nose. It's been cold out with an icy wind so I sat by the fire and I had to laugh, I suddenly had a vision of Little House on the Prairie. Here's me, "Ma" making clothes for the child out of Pa's old shirts.

It started a while back with this skirt...

Yesterday I finished off this shirt made from a shirt. Should we call it a Tunic instead? I'm unsure. I do know that I was helped by my young assistant who suggested the addition of lace. She was quite right about that I think.

Since I last posted about my 6 (and a half) shirts, I uncovered 2 more shirts hidden in the mayhem of my studio. So, I have many more chances to re-imagine and turn them into something else. I think perhaps a dress will be next.

What have you been up to?

6 Shirts

I may have mentioned awhile back that I have been saving up some of the Engineer's old work shirts. I made a sweet little skirt and had grand plans to make a few somethings from the rest of the shirts. That plan, my friends, took the long way 'round and other mayhem took it's place in line.

The other day as I made a half-hearted attempt to organize the overflow in the studio, I came across my collection of shirts. I was reminded of my grand plan and felt that I had 2 choices. My only options were to 1. Make good on my threat to come up with at least one new idea on the remaking of a man's work shirt (do you know how many tutorials, how-tos, and refashions there are out there on the interwebs? There's a lot!) and 2. Throw the lot of 'em into the recycling bin.

I have 6 shirts...
and a half...

It seems the Engineer has rather aggressive elbows, they seem to be the breakaway reason for a shirt's retirement. So... what am I gonna make? How long will it take? I've no idea, but I hope to throw in a tutorial here and there.

For a fleeting moment I considered a quilty type project, but then I remembered that I'd done that already.
So, my mind is a-whirl; all tempest in a teapot, hurly-burly reckless with imaginings... in subdued hues of blue and gray.

Wish me luck!

Skirting the Issue

Well, well, well. It seems I am on a skirt making tear. Yesterday I took one of the Engineer's old work shirts, some scrap fabric and whipped this little skirt up. I had a plan and then I threw the plan out the window and made this instead. I'm really pleased with how it came out and I always love giving new life to old clothes. I even have enough shirt left to make a second skirt. This has me thinking... uh oh, that always leads to trouble! As I was saying, I was thinking about just how many things can be made from men's old shirts. I'm sure that you too, have seen your share of clever re-working tutorials using the good old button down shirt.

Why not add my own re-makes to the fray? I'm going to see how many skirts I can make from the couple of old shirts I have in my "formerly loved" pile. You may just see a month of skirts from shirts in March with tutorials. Why not? Sounds like a good time to me! What do you think?

Edited to add: Oops! Did I forget to mention that this skirt is for an 8 year old. So... it's all about kid size skirts. For now....