Hi everyone! This is my first post, however I have been a glitter "voyeur" all summer and I have been SO inspired by all your creative ideas.

I recently saw a great reconstructed T-shirt in ONE magazine. It was made from a vintage T, the sleeves were removed and hemmed, the neck was reworked into a v-neck, the sides were stished up with "sloppy stitches", and there was a diagonal fold sewn into the shirt. The magazine said the shirts were made by YNUUB and quite popular on the West Coast.

I was wondering if anyone has tried to make a shirt like this and, if so, would you please pass on any instructions, helpful hints, web links, etc.

Thanks!

Hmmm... that sounds cool, almost like a crazy quilt or something. It might be hard with a stretchy t-shirt, but a less stretchy one would be good.
Never heard of YNUUB, but then I wouldn't unless they sold clothes at Target. ;)

the west coast of what? mars?

just kidding. i live in california, and i have never seen such a shirt. it sounds cool, but people here are still really into those t-shirts that say crap like "princess" and "boy crazy".

i modify t-shirts by cutting off the neck and sleeves, but if you bought a slightly large t-shirt, you could have all kinds of fun taking it apart and pinning it back together.

stella

Hey!
well I've re"worked" allllllloooootttttt of t-shirts....they just look so much better that way....
my latest try was on this large gray one...I took it in on the sides so it would b tight but not "unbreathable" tight.....then I cut diagonnally across the top of it so that the original collar and one sleeve were cut off...then on the sleeve that was left I cut it up the side so it would look torn from the bottom of the sleeve to the shoulder ( I dunno if that makes sense) then I just hemmed all the ruff edges and stuff and it's just sooooooo awesome!!!! oh and I usually cut a bit off the bottom to get it the length I like....
my other tees have been successes too...cause u can't really mess up....anyways just doing it and going crazy with ur imagination and feeling like a fashion designer is worth it.....I can't sleep at night just thinking of new designs....it's a drug I swear!!!! anyways hope it all works out for ya!!!
luv Christal xxx

Thanks for the advice! A quick update: I made 2 reconstructed T-shirts thanks to everone's help! The one was a large white T that I made into more of a fitted tank top.

The second one is a bit more fun! It was originally a small, white MULLET (yes, you read that right...it has the word "mullet" and pictures of 8 hockey players on it) T-shirt that I dyed hot pink, and reshaped into a tank. It now has a V-neck, no sleeves, and I restitched the seams on the side of the shirt to make it more fitted.

It worked out pretty well, and is a good way to make use of all those old T-shirts. Thanks everyone!

I saw a really cool reconstructed tee shirt on the Chicks On Speed website in their catalog type section... (chicksonspeed.com ... they're a really great avant-garde technoish type group that are extremely artistic, they make their own outfits out of paper, tape and patent leather.. very interesting)
ANYWAY! they took this t shirt, cut off the collar, and cut down the shoulder in straight lines to kind of creat strips of fabric that fall over your shoulders.. i guess they cut off the sleeves. hard to explain but looked really cool.

not really a craft discussion but I just had to say...

Yay! chicks on speed are great! Their take on music and fashion and the intersection of the two is FAB! I saw them in Minneapolis and was blown away! They are crazy!

yeah,

the reworked t and sweatshirt thing is HUGE in japan, and in the funkster shops in eastcoast canada. one shop reworks t's in to undies. it makes me gag how much is charged for essentially a ripped and sloppily sewed old crappy t-shirt, tho.DIY all the way, dammit.

one neat one: the t collar was taken off and resewed so that it gathered at the neck a bit. then the sleeves were cut along the shoulders (but still attached by the collar) and hemmed so that there is a slit and the fabric falls on either side of your shoulders. i hope that makes sense.

yeah, as podge said, it's big in Japan. In fact, next time you're at Tower Records take a peek in Cutie or KERouAc for some inspiration! :)

-S

But WAIT!? How do you sew on stretchy material like T-shirts and have your stiff cotten thread that WON'T stretch not rip or break!??Do they make stretchy thread?
I can just see myself sewing a groovy little number and then pulling it over my head and having it all rip apart.
...maybe I can just say that's how I intended it to look. :)

They make stretch thread. but would u need it? just regular cotton thread would fine i think...

I posted this EXACT same topic last summer, and no one knew what i was talking about.

anyhoo... Do the people who reconstructed their t-shirts have sergers?

do you need one?

I know this was LOOONG ago, but I've had the same problem with un-stretchiness using cotton thread to decontstruct T-shirts. I read somewhere once that you should use polyester thread, which has more "give."

when you sew it, you could zigzag it an it would stretch fine. also, most sewing machines have a stretch sewing setting. you could do that. or stretch it as you sew, but it usually puckers up kind of afterwards. =) goodluck

Sergers? I should know this but isn't it the stitch over the edge of the fabric so it doesn't unravel?

If that's right, I don't & my recon. shirts do not unravel (usually cotton or a cotton blend) but if it was a knit or very thin item I think I would do serge.

I wasn't particularily worried about unravelling, but the over all look of the shirt.

Does anyone have samples of their reconstructed t's? I'd LOVE to see some!

regular t-shirts are sewn with both straight stitch and sergers. You definitely don't want to use stretchy thread in the machine, as it'll screw up your tension but good. Like if you're sewing on sleeves, how much stress will be put on the seams that will require them to stretch? Probably not much. I think it's better for those be straight stitch and nice and firm, so your shoulders don't pull all out of shape.

I don't like seeing zigzag on the presentable side of the shirt, and find it doesn't always make a nice clean seam if you're using it as the main stitch. But if you're worried about raveling (with most tshirts you shouldn't be), you can zigzag the edged of the raw seam to prevent that. A 3-step zigzag also adds more stretch if you definitely need to make a small neckhole, but still want to be able to fit it over your head.

In general, when you're assembling the deconstructed shirt, you should take into account things like where the shirt will need to stretch over your head and fun stuff like that, and add in some ease. As for hems where straight stitching is most likely to pop, use a double needle in the machine to sew the hem. This is what most commerical shirts have, and it makes a double line of straight stiching about 1/4 inch apart on the top, and the bobbin thread zigzags on the reverse, making it somewhat stretchy. It's also good for necks.


Jen

When I revamp my t-shirts I cut the neck off, cut the hem off the sleeves, and cut the length. I then fold the t-shirt in half, to find the middle, and cut a slit in the front neck so that the t-shirt falls open to a v-neck. On the back, I cut a slit on the bottom middle of the t-shirt and take the ends and tie them in a knot. I also cut a slit in the sleeves and tie a knot in them. I always get compliments on them and they're sooooo comfortable!

My fave band tee is like a tent on me

it's short sleeved and the sleeves come down to my elbows. the bottom comes down 2 above me knees. it's very wide. I was thinking I'd just cut up the side seams. detach the sleeves and shorten it. if u look @ melis page. it'll look like that.
anywho.

i'd really like to keep the sleeves but i wouldn't know how 2 go about putting them on again. any sugestions?

mouse

i really want to keep this thread alive...just wanted to say that if you have a tee that's too tight, chopping off the sleeves at the seams usually lossens it up, making a very fly and comfortable muscle-t or tank. Also raw edges aren't a problem, in that they don't seem to unravel or anything - the worst that can happen is that they roll a bit, which i actually like.
i hereby vow to reconstruct every t-shirt that i own and don't wear. I think somebody with good sewing skills should write an article about it for getcrafty!!!

grumpetunia - I did the same thing; reconstructing every shirt I did not wear. It is the best thing to do rather then selling them. Now I wear about 90% of my closet vs. only 50%. The other 10% have gone to the recon. shirt Gods. But I know I can still use them for a "mosaic" shirt.

I second that, does anyone have any advice on sleeves? Most of my tees are hella huge. I'm still working on deconstructing them, but the sleeves baffle me. I'm not even so good at sleeveless ones. ;)

I was out dancing this weekend and this chick was wearing a cool reconstructed t. It was beige/skintone with a big black liprint on the chest. She had cut off the sleeves, cut off the neck binding and chopped up the neckline so it was slightly assymetric, cut it short, slit up the sides, and used the fabric she cut off from elsewhere to lace up the sides. It was way cool. I went directly to the thrift store to find some tees the next day. I found a gray one with a butterfly that I will chop up and then sequin-and-glitter to death.

The slitting all the way up the side/lace-up would be a good way to deal with shirts whose armholes are waaaaay too big for you just to chop off the sleeves. This is my problem with t-shirts and why I never wear them. I am small, both short and "petite," and I might as well belt adult sized t-shirts and wear them as dresses; the armhole hangs down halfway to my waist and the sleeves cover my elbows.

^^^yah i have the same problem.....
i have this shirt i bought @ a concert. and it's like a frickin' dress.....

somebody help us pwease....

to make a big t-shirt smaller:

put on the shirt and mark on the shoulder seams where you want the seeve to be. this can also be done by laying a shirt in the size you want over the big shirt and folding in at the seams to mark strategic points. (does this make sense? you just want to know where to put the new shoulder seam)

cut-out each side seam from the bottom of the shirt up to the end of the sleeve. this should be one long seam.

then make a large tuck in the top of the sleve meeting the fabric at the mark you made for the new shoulder seam according to the neck line and leaving on the other side the length you want the new sleeve to be. (at this step you could leave the sleeve in a more traditional style or bring in at an angle to make it funkier)

sew those seams all the way down to the cut sides.

now fold the shirt inside-out from the shoulder seams and lay under a shirt the tigntness around that you want and mark 3/4 inch from the edge. to get it straight line up the center of the collars and/or measure in from each side.

sew the side seams up including the new bottom of the sleeve. this way you don't have to re-hem the sleeves.

then do whatever with the neck - i don't know. cut it down in that v-thing if you want. those sounded cool.

if the shirt is too long, you can simply cut the bottom wherever you want and do a zig-zag along the bottom to finish.


done!

i would use a straight stitch for the entire body of the shirt and only a zig-zag for the bottom un-hemmed portion. i've made shirts this way before and haven't been betrayed.

good luck!