if you, like me, are bored to death by the t-shirt offerings in the store... you may want to read on. (also, can someone tell me who thought to add spandex to summer tshirts? it's so unflattering.)
when i was younger, i got a subscription to sassy magazine, which featured a column called "making it". they would show you how to make a t-shirt dress, or a ribbon skirt. cool, creative projects mostly doable by teens.
today, subconsciously inspired by this memory, i played around with some plain old hanes mens tees. it didn't photograph well, but it looks super cute. i got the tees a little baggy to offset some skinny jeans (skinny jeans and spandex tees DO NOT WORK for the general population- especially in summer. ) and i used some tshirt scraps to tie up the shoulders. ribbons would work too, but make sure that they can be run through the wash unless you plan to untie them every time you wash the shirt.
i have a dress form, which makes cutting up tees a breeze. just draw some new lines and bingo, cut away. the form does really help with this and certainly cuts down your margin of error if you're not altering a shirt that comes in a 3-pack. or that you stole from your boyfriend (fyi- just cut out some old sweat stains and give a beloved shirt new life- and he's with you all day! hahah, that's too sweet even for me). if you don't have a dress form, they sell reasonable ones at joanne crafts online (they're twice the price in the store!) or you can even make your own! (it does require a pretty patient/loyal friend to assist on that project). if you don't have a form, use a friend, or just lay the tee flat and wing it. simple alterations like cutting out the collar are easy, just always be conservative. it's easier to cut more away than to put some back. but that said, don't be afraid to move beyond the simple "cutting a boatneck" move. experiment with angles and lines, cut into a shirt and sew new parts into it. use ribbon and fabric scraps. go nuts!
my next project may involve sewing a tanktop from an old shirt i've grown to hate. we'll see.
thinking of sassy made me look for some old issues on ebay, but damned if the same people that hoard beenie babies haven't started charging $30 a copy. and that's just for the mayim bialik issue! (no disrespect, blossom was my IDOL. i'm not kidding. saw the first episode and immediately bought as many pairs of colored tights and layering socks as i could find or afford.) but here's a cool link to the kurt and courtney article from april 1992!
i'd love a book of all their projects. if anyone can help with this, let me know. i miss you, sassy magazine... shaper of my youthful mind, and provider of small photos of the pixies for my locker... sigh.
