T-shirt Upcycling-Repurposing META POST
from Wikipedia: Upcycling is the process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or a higher environmental value.
Another word I’m going to ‘throw around’
Verb to repurpose
2. To alter to make more suited for a different purpose.
I’m sure a lot of you readers are familiar with taking something old and using it for a different purpose that it was originally intended. I’m also sure that a lot of you practice upcycling and repurposing on a regular basis.
Our Ancestors used things until they were just plumb unusable anymore. I know my Grandmother says to me “Use it up, wear it out, make do with what you have”. Examples of repurposing?
Two rag rugs I’m crocheting out of scraps from other projects. Everyone is familiar with these kind of rugs! Or howabout quilts?
Antique Crazy Quilt
Lately I’ve been gifted with quite a few t-shirts. Some my kids loved. Some my kids friends loved. But others… meh. What to do with them? I’ve seen a few posts from blogs I follow where they’d re-done a shirt into something a little better fitting, or made market bags. That occurred to me. But some of them are just plain ugly, or have slogans I’m opposed to wearing. So I did what I always do.
I googled it. heh.
and OH MAN the sheer QUANTITY of links I found. Then those links led to more links, and to more links. Next thing I know, I’ve got a mission. To write a post about the things you can do with t-shirts. A Meta Post, we shall call it!
So here we go. If you’d like to see a picture of the project, simple hover your cursor over the link and a picture should pop up. If any of the links are broken please let me know! And if you’ve got a project you’d like included, feel free to let me know. I’d like to ask that it be significantly different from the other items included that it’s new information AND that it’s a tutorial or has enough pictures to be pretty darn clear about how it was made. Thanks!! I’d also like you to note that some of these items are not originally made with t-shirt material. However, they are made out of material (like fleece and felt) that would lend itself admirably to a t-shirt project.
edited to add: Sorry about the BOLDING of links and the smooshing them together and the various colors. WordPress isn’t my original home and html is not my best friend. So in the interest of actually having this post up on Earth Day and having a life the rest of today. I’m going to leave it the way it is while it still works LOL!!
Tops
- Layered Tee with Cutouts<< Hope Studios
- Tshirt Rehab with Bleach! << Hope Studios
- Anthropologie Pratia Tank << Made by Lex
- Vertical Ruffle Shirt << Tea Rose
- Argyle Applique T-Shirt << A Hoot and Holler
- Ruffly Shirt Refashion << Ruffles and Stuff
- $2 “Ruffle Necklace” Waffle Shirt << Ruffles and Stuff
- Ruffle Bib Front Tank << Ruffles and Stuff
- T-shirt Refashion into Ruffle Madness << Made by Lex
- Ruffled Front Top<< Cut Out + Keep – What Katie Does
- T-shirt to Peasant Top<< Cut Out + Keep – Melva
- Empire Cut Blouse << Cut Out + Keep – Jordana Castro
- Vneck Gathered Cleavage Tank Top << Cut Out + Keep – penguin
- Tux T Shirt << Cut Out + Keep – Felicia Rose
- Galaxy Top << Crochet Me – Katy@4
- The Cover-Me-Pretty Cami << Trintje
- Cardigan with 3/4 ruffle sleeves << CraftStylish – Cal Patch
- T Shirt Shrug << Cut Out + Keep – EVEnl
- Ruched Front Shirt with Puffed Sleeves << OysterBoy – JPG
- Baseball Sleeve Tutorial << Craftster.org – Little Pierre
- He Shirt to She Shirt << Cut Out + Keep – OfenJen
- Ruffled and Flowered Tank << Ruffles and Roses
Bottoms
- Recycled T Shirt Patchwork Skirt << Cut Out + Keep – Rae
- Simple Skirt!<< Cut Out + Keep – hiphopolito
-
T-shirt Skirt << Instructables – Jubilee
– would work for maternity - Full and Flirty (NO Sew) T-shirt Skirt << Craftster.org – RococoPop
- Yoga Pants Keep That Logo On << Cut Out + Keep – TK Rainy
- Pants Tutorial << Livejournal T-shirt Surgery – Bakedinapie
- T-shirt Skirt << Epicurean Style
- Ruffled Skirt << Analog Me – I’m so making this one this weekend too!
Childrens
- Tiered Top/Dress << Obsessively Stitching
- Roses and Ruffles Tshirt to Toddler Dress << So Happy Together
- Little Girls Frilly embellished T’s << BlogHer
-
Girls scraps and T-shirt Tank Top << Crafter Hours
- Kid Bloomers << Walter and Veronica
- Reversible Child’s Apron << QFDC – Rachel Measham-Pywell from Four Wise Monkeys
- Yoga Pants << Craftzine – Bernadette Noll and Kathie Sever
- 3-in-1 << Everything Your Mama Made & More
-
Childs Dress << Quilting in Cornfields
- ‘Pillowcase’ Dress << Cut Out + Keep -SEWbutterfly
Toddler Ruffle Skirt << Sew Much Ado
Baby
Baby Romper from a T Shirt << wikiHow
- Bib << Cut Out + Keep – Lisa MB.
- Minimalist Baby/Kid Pants << Craftzine – Bernadette Noll and Kathie Sever
Underwear
- How to Make Your Own Underwear << CraftStylish
- T-Shirt Trunks for Boys << Nancys Couture
- Cheeky Panties sizes 32-46 << Paranoire Design – PDF
- Boxers << Supernaturale – PDF
- Undies Extra – Supernaturale – PDF
- Undies << Supernaturale – PDF
- Hanna Unders << Sewing Mamas Forums – nutmeg – PDF
-
Self Bound
Underwear << Sewing Mama Forums – Rocket Scientist – PDF
- One Piece Undies << Sewing Mama Forums – nutmeg – PDF
- Boxerbriefs << Sewing Mama Forums – nutmeg – PDF
- Panties << Sewing Mamas Forum – nutmeg – PDF
Make Your Own Bras << Queen of the Trailer Park
Bathing Suits
- SexyOne Piece Swimsuit << Instructables – giannyl the ‘butt’ area on this particular bathing suit is NOT full coverage, so you are warned when watching the video *grin* she waggles it at you LOL
Bikini << Cut Out + Keep – M.a.r.i.s.o.l.
Dresses
- Nerdtastic T-Shirt Dress << Corvus tristis
- How to Make a Dress Out of a T-Shirt « MyWoodenRobot’s Weblog
- Womens Knit Shirt into a Dress << Make it and Love it
Bags
- Yellow Goodbye Purse<<pfeffermint_ish
- T-shirt to Purse << Rachel Stuart
- Drawstring bag Tutorial << Craftblog
- Laptop Case << makezine
- Quick T Shirt Knapsack << Cut Out + Keep
- Crocheted Wheelchair Walker Tote Bag << My Recycled Bags.com
- No Sew Tie Up Purse << Cut Out + Keep – KT
- Fast Tote Bag << Instructables – Sew Margaret Sew
Accessories
Hats/Headbands
- Headband << CraftStylish
- YoYo Headband<< Cut Out + Keep – ay*lee*sha
- Reversible Slouchy Beret << Vively Online
- Braided TShirt Headband << Cut Out + Keep – Katie M
- TShirt Headband << Cut Out + Keep – Claire O.
- Kitty Hat << Craftster.org – snowtigress
Jewelry
- DIY T-shirt Necklace << Erratic & Obsessive
- T-shirt Bracelet << Instructables
- Necklace << ChicTopia – Ms Dyno
Scarves
- Circle Scarf<< Cut Out + Keep – kimhoay
- Ruffled Flowery Scarf << Repurposed
- Braid a Summer Scarf << Dollar Store Crafts
- T-Shirt Memory Scarf << Craftzine
- Beautiful Scarf << Cut Out + Keep -Disney P
- Beaded Fringe Scarf << Cut Out + Keep – Keri L.
- TShirt Scarf << Cut Out + Keep – dudecraft
Shoes/slippers
Mittens
- Dino Mittens << Mme Zsazsa
- How to make Glittens << Instructables – alittlestranger Baby Mittens << Olivia’s Angels – PDF
Decor
- Thick and Warm Crazy Rug << Instructables
- Recycled T-Shirt Bathmat Rug << My Recycled Bags.com
- Wreath << Scoutie Girl
- T Shirt Coasters << Cut Out + Keep – Veenessar
- How to Crochet a Rug out of T-Shirts << CraftStylish – Cal Patch
- RectangularCrochet Rug Pattern << Associated Content – Karen Barnes
- Pillow << Instructables – Provenzan0c
Ruffle Pillow Tutorial << FloralShowers
Stuffed Animals aka: Plushies aka: Softies
- Tshirt Plushie << Cut Out + Keep – hennie
- 20 Sweet Softies << TipNut.com
- Frog Beanbag (He’s a Prince!) << Lil Blue Boo
- Owl Doll << Lu Bird Baby with guest Cyndi
- Owl Army << Moonstitches
- Monster Softie << Craftster – chello
- One Hour Softie People – Ric Rac
- How to Make a Plush Alphabet << Chex Beeper Bebe
- Softie sssssSSSSSNAKE!!! << Get Your Craft On
- Softie Chicken << I Kat Bag
- Softie Cat << WeeWonderfuls
- Softie Bird << Spool Sewing – PDF
- Knotty Doll << Sewing Mama Forums – nutmeg – PDF
Extra’s
- Round Luggage Tag Tutorial « Craft Apple
- Menstrual Pads<< eHow.com
- Tshirt Flower Tutorial << On a Whim
- Recycled T-Shirt Flowers Tutorial << Lisa Dickinson at Gettin’ By
- Making T-Yarn from Recycled Tee-Shirts << My Recycled Bags.com
- Out-of-the-Ordinary -Shirt Quilt << CraftStylish
- Baby Shirt to Dog Shirt << Obsessively Stitching
- Picnic Blanket Backpack << ThreadBanger
- Add Long Sleeves to Regular Shirt – Sewing Mamas Forum – hsmom24 – PDF
- Reverse applique tutorial << Sewing Mama Forums – nutmeg – PDF
-
T-Shirt Neckband Tutorial << Sewing Mama Forums – Victoria – PDF
Spiral Owl's Create-it Blog 
Thanks for linking to several of my t-shirt yarn projects. I noticed that the link for my t-yarn bathmat rug isn’t going to my website though. The correct link is http://www.myrecycledbags.com/2010/02/12/recycled-t-shirt-bathmat-rug/
Best wishes and thanks again for posting all these links in one post. I will link back to you from our Trash to Treasures at Ravelry as a resource page.
Thank you for posting these!
Awesome!
This has given me more ideas. Thanks for posting this. Whenever I go to the ARC, I get a T-shirt, so I have a lot of older ones I no longer wear. A T-shirt quilt made with ARC panels sounds like a plan.
Thank you for linking to my little girl ruffled t-shirt skirt! I am flattered.
Recently I’ve been gathering links to write a post on t-shirt surgery for grown-ups (I’m to old to let my belly hang out between my shirts & skirts). But I see you already wrote the post for me! Heh. Thank you for posting all these links. May I reference this if I do end up writing that post?
Low cut empire waist halter top link has spam linked to it with malicious download.
Thanks!
Awesome! Thanks!
Oh, and I’ve always hear the quote, “Use it up, wear it out, make do or do without” – very similar to what you’re grandma says! 🙂