Project 8: Lightning T-Shirt

Click pictures to enlarge

Materials:

• T-shirt
• Acrylic paint
• Fabric medium

I'm somewhat obsessed with lightning motifs. The design for this shirt has been in my head for a while; I knew it was more suited for a DIY project then to waste my time looking for a version for sale.

It was fairly simple – I marked off the shape in masked tape, mixed the paint and medium, and went at it. After it was all dry, I hand washed the shirt, roughing it up a bit in the water to eliminate some of the paint's stiffness.

The pictures don't pick it up well, but the blue has some silver mixed in for a sparkly metallic finish. I also like the irregularities in paint color and line. I'm all about the irregularities.

Project 7: T-Shirt Necklace 2.0

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Materials:

• 2 t-shirts

That's right, I made another one. This t-shirt necklace is fuller and much more interesting. I like the color combination a lot too; it goes with my hair!

So you can reproduce the results, I will provide an addendum to the tutorial I previously posted:

Step 6.1: Repeat steps 1-6 with another t-shirt.
Step 6.2: Select three loops and cut each of them. You should now have three long strips of fabric.
Step 6.3: Tie (or sew) these strips together at one end. Braid them together, stretching the braid as you go so it doesn't end up way shorter than the loose loops. Tie/sew together the other end.
Step 6.4: Tie/sew the ends of the braided section together.
Step 6.5: Repeat steps 6.1-6.4 until you have the desired amount of braided strips.
When you reach step 7, gather both the plain and braided loops. When you tie them together, make sure the strip covers the tied/sewn ends of the braid.

Pretty!

Project 2: T-Shirt Necklace

Click to enlarge

Materials:

• T-shirt

This is a massively easy project that I've been meaning to do for a long time. Since my Friday project is taking a long time, I decided this would be a quick fix for Thursday.

The necklace itself is inspired by the Necklush, an accessory which has recieved a bunch of press. Seriously? $24-$74 for something I can make by cutting up a shirt I got at the thrift store? I think not. Save your money; do this:

1. Get a t-shirt. It shouldn't have any seams down the torso. The larger the shirt, the longer your necklace will be. Plain old unisex shirts (like Hanes Beefy T, etc) work the best. Freebie shirts are great for this.
2. Lay it out flat.
3. Cut a straight line under the armpits. I used a ruler, but you can just as easily freehand it.
4. Cut off the bottom seam.
5. Cut horizontal strips off the remaining section to form loops. Mine were a little wider than an inch; if you want strands of different thickness modify accordingly.
6. Stretch out the loops (like a rubber band). The jersey fabric will roll up and won't fray.
7. Gather the loops. Cut a strip of fabric about an inch wide from the remaining material. Wrap it around all the loops several times and tie a tight square knot to secure. Trim the ends.

That's it! As you can see, my necklace isn't as full as most of the Necklushes, but I could easily have made it with more t-shirts to get more volume.


Any questions?

Project 1: Crocheted Kitty Hat

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Materials:

• 1 1/2 skeins Sirdar Big Softie yarn in Flossie 340
• 1/4 skeins Sensations Sumptuous yarn in 49322

The inaugural post on this blog is actually a leftover Christmas gift for my boyfriend. Yes, it is pink and has kitty ears. I used the Jayne Cobb Hat by Kim Werker as a basic pattern, then went from there.

As a fairly new crocheter (I learned this fall semester), this hat marks a few firsts. First hat, first item I crocheted by request, and the first time I've crocheted with such bulky yarn. I'd heard about the quick-hooking joys of using super bulky weight but never actually experienced it, and whoa, this project flew. From start to finish this hat only took a few hours, including weaving the ends in and knotting the ties.

Close up of the stitchery, for those of you who know/care about that sort of thing. Dime for scale. The original pattern had the body of the hat in half double crochet and the earflaps in single, but I worked all the white portions in single because that yarn was much fatter than the pink.

Ears! I just improvised them as I went along. Very easy to do in crochet. I think that crochet is better than knitting for sculptural work since you usually only hold one stitch at a time on your hook. Then again, I'm biased because I can't knit to save my life (not for lack of trying, mind you).

This project was a definite success: I liked it, the recipient liked it, and my mom says she really likes it too. :) What do you think? If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask in the comments.