Saturday, August 28, 2010

cool rocking tee






Hi T-shirt fans! I’m super excited to share with you new fun stuff over here at Generation T. (Note the shmancy header on this particular post!) Each month, I’m posting a new project (sometimes T-shirt, sometimes not — I’ll keep you on your toes!) sponsored by the lovely folks over at iLoveToCreate (umm…who doesn’t?). I’ll be posting every project right here, so you guys won’t miss out on anything, but I do encourage you to visit the iLoveToCreate blog from time to time since there are a number of other super fun crafty brains at work on new projects all the time.

Now here’s the good stuff: a T-shirt project I’ve been meaning to make and post for some time. I found the inspiration in a tween-ish retail store I visited this summer (I know, I know, now that I’m a thirty-something perhaps I should start shopping in more adult places) and thought, as I often do, I could so make that….And then, I grabbed some scissors and paint and made it: a tank top with a nod to 80s punk slashed couture and a wink to 80s hip-hop street style.

Materials:

2 T-shirts (1 fitted, dark color; 1 in larger size, light color)

scissors
Tulip Big Phat fabric markers
Tulip Fashion Graffiti Spray Paint Kit (including fabric paint and spray paint cannon)
Tulip Fashion Graffiti stencils

paper grocery bag (or other scrap paper or sheet to use as a drop cloth)
ruler

chalk markerAleene’s Fabric Fusion (or needle and thread)



Make it:

1. Cut off the sleeves of the darker T-shirt, just outside the seams, to make a tank top.



2. Cut off the neckband of the lighter T-shirt and lay the tank top over it, lining them up at the neck holes. Trace the tank top onto the T-shirt and cut out the outline through only one layer to make the peekaboo panel.



3. Set aside the dark tank top. Lay the panel flat on the grocery bag paper. Use the fabric markers and stencils to lay a background pattern. (I used chain link fence!)



4. Fill up the paint cannon and spray freehand across the panel in combination with stencils to create another pattern layer. Change colors as much as desired! Then set the panel aside and let it dry.



5. Turn the tank top inside out and measure and mark 9″-long horizontal lines, about 1″ apart, down the front. Stop about 4″ from the bottom hem.



6. Cut along the chalk lines through just one layer of fabric.



7. Gently place the (now dry) panel right side down against the front of the (still inside out) tank top, lining them up again at the neckline. Peel back one side of the panel and squeeze an even amount of fabric glue along the edge. Then gently press the edge against the tank top. Continue gluing around the straight edges only (minus the bottom hem) to attach the panel to the slashed surface of the tank top. Let it dry!



8. Carefully turn the tank top right side out and try it on! The bright graffiti panel will peek through the slashes you made in the front of the darker layer.



Variations:

-If you want to keep the sleeves attached and your shoulders covered, do it! Simply tuck the sleeves inside the shirt while you’re tracing it in step 2.

-If you want to be able to change things up at on a moment’s notice, just spray an entire tank top (rather than a panel) in steps 3 and 4 and wear it layered underneath the slashed tee. Then you have the option of having the graffiti tank peeking between the slashes or any other tank top you have in your wardrobe!

-Try slashing different shapes! Familiarize yourself with the Brokenhearted tee (project #3 in Generation T: 108 Ways to Transform a T-shirt) for a sweet spin on this project.

Now go off and fight. For your right. To par-tee!

2 comments:

  1. Hi Marie,

    I'm not much of a t-shirt kind of girl. I did want to see a bigger picture of the silver layered necklace you have below, do you have a larger pic?

    Tina D
    vampire-love-affair.com

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  2. I Like how you did that it is very neat I might try that I love designing my own clothes! : )

    ----xoxo RJ

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