Friday, June 12, 2009

Frugal Fashion Friday: Pretty Up Your Tanks and Tees

We all have those plain tanks and tees in our closet that could use a little bit of pretty. And by pretty, I mean the options are endless. By using fabric remnants and fusible "iron on" webbing... you can create words, pictures, designs... whatever your imagination can think of.
It really is as easy as 1, 2, 3.



Step 1... Draw on the fabric to create a design or picture... stencils work well for monograms.

Step 2... Cut out design (making sure to cut on the INSIDE of your drawing lines).

Step 3... Iron them on your shirt.



I'll give you pictorial instructions for you visual learners (I certainly am one!).
For this project, I created a tank top for my sister, Emily (aka the Fashionista from Le Quaintrelle). She is into being "green" (i.e. tries to use earth friendly products and eat organic food, etc). I decided to make her an "eco-friendly shirt" by using my fabric remnants (kind of like a form of recycling, right? ;) ). Here is how the shirt was created:

Started with a hot pink tank.

I cut out letters from the material, along with a make-shift Earth.
I then took my individual cut-outs and pinned them onto fusible webbing.
I cut the webbing to fit the shapes.

In case y'all were wondering what fusible webbing looks like in the package... this is what I use. (It seems to work quite well. After several washes there is virtually no lift from the fused fabric.)
I purchased this at JoAnn Fabrics.
Next, I laid out the pieces the way I wanted them, pinned them in place and ironed away! You can make it as simple or extravagant as you would like.
Here is the finished product:

Remember how I mentioned that I have a bad, bad habit of giving gifts that are themed, right?
Yeah. So I made this bag for her, too. You can find these panels in different colors at JoAnn Fabrics as well. I thought this would be a great way to be eco-friendly. She can take this bag thrifting, shopping or when she goes to flea markets and use it for purchases instead of plastic bags.
Nope. Didn't stop there either. I made a matching felt clip, too. ha! All you need is a sheet (or two) of felt, some embroidery floss and a snap clip!

That completed my "eco-friendly" themed gift for Emily... I sent the package off to her... and she sent me back some pictures of her new goodies! Here she is modeling them:

I'm 83% sure that the clip is upside down in this picture...or at least on its side. But then again, my felt continents weren't exactly to scale. In fact, their shape was more than likely unrecognizable to anyone but me. haha You're off the hook on this one, Emily. ;)

I did a similar DIY iron on project (and posted it a while ago) by cutting out fabric that had big design pieces...

Check out this project here.

Hope y'all have fun with creating unique designs for your plain tees and tanks!
It is officially the weekend now!! Go play. :)


6 comments:

Karen at Nittany Inspirations said...

I have gotten T-shirts from places I've visited or as gifts from really cool places. The T-Shirts become, stained, ripped, too small, etc., but I hate to throw it out because of the picture. I cut the picture out and iron it on to a canvas tote. That way I can still save it.

Blondie's Journal said...

This is a great idea, Melissa. Everyone loves a handmade gift. And the Eco theme is very big now.

Thanks for the idea and instructions!!

xoxo
Jane

mub said...

This is such a good idea! I bet if you felt like it you could do a tight zigzag over the edges to give it a little extra something too!

Le Quaintrelle said...

Thanks again for these! :) and you're right.. the clip is upside down, that's because I put it in with the clip going towards my face because I thought it fit in my hair better that way. thanks for pointing it out, sheesh! haha

jessica said...

really cute..so creative and green! ;)

Farming On Faith said...

Cute~ thanks for the idea!
Blessings~
Carrie

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