Ever since I started my sewing journey I have tried to upcycle/ refashion existing garments. Over the half term holidays I spent a day doing just this. I had several of my hubby's t-shirts that didn't fit him, so I had a look at them to see what could be made, rather than ditching them.
3 of them I made into t-shirts for me. I had to choose a pattern carefully so that I could fit the pieces on the existing body/ sleeves of the t-shirts. I considered both the Stellan T-shirt pattern and the Basic InstincTee.
Both of these are free patterns, but I found that the stellan pieces were a touch too wide so I used the size small of the Basic InstincT tee. This fits my frame well and the shoulders are a good width, which is always my issue with T shirts!
The Blue and Black Tees had a graphic print on, so I had to be careful to place the front in a good position to have the print placed well. I cut self bands from the T shirt hems to create the neckline.
The grey Tee was plain and I used some contrast ribbing from my stash to add a neckband and sleeve bands.
These are already getting some wear with my new wide legged Dawn jeans.
The other couple of Tees were desitined to be made into underwear. I used my TNT Watson pattern by Cloth habit. I thought I had nailed the fit on this, and I have with the regular band, but the longline version fits very differently. The hook and eye is very low at the back and this means there is not as much underbust support, which is where fitting is key in a bra. The longline version is wearable, but the fit is not great. I really like the back version though. Lingerie is fab to make from t shirts as the pieces are so small.
All the elastics and hardware I had in my stash. I lined the cups with mesh and used cotton for the inside of the front band, making it stable.
I enclosed all the seams so it looks pretty neat! I really should have different colours in my bobbin thread to ensure that it matches the elastic - but life is too short.
The knickers are also the watson pattern, but the waist is raised by 2cm. I do need to find a good source of suitable elastic for knickers as my options are not the best here.
I've been considering repurposing tee shirts into briefs. (Btw I may need new glasses - checking my blog roll this morning on my phone, I thought your post was recycled TREES) A few years back, I added 'leakproof' gussets to some Sloggis. That was relatively successful. I notice Tilly&TheButtons recommends FOE for home sewn briefs. Have you any experience of this? other sites recommend fixing it with the 3 Step ZigZag stitch. If my diet continues to work, I'll need smaller pants in the New Year!!
ReplyDelete