Remember I wanted to alter some big old t-shirts of mine a while back?
Well I've finally done it, thanks to a new friend who I met through freecycle!!!!!
I went to her house and she helped cut up 3 of my t-shirts and we sewed them with her fancy serger machine into new tops
. For each of them, we chopped off the hems round the sleeves, neck and bottom, which makes them much lighter feeling already. Apparently t-shirt material doesn't fray!
We made a little hole in the top of the shoulder, and used a strip of the hem as a 'ribbon' and tied it through the arm hole and new hole, to draw up the sleeves shorter and more girly. Then we used the rest of the strips of hem as tie backs just below the arms, to give it more shape when tied at the back. Super easy and no sewing involved for that one at all!!!
The next t-shirt was really big, and we managed to turn it into a one shoulder vest top, and ran a piece of ribbon in and out of holes all the way around the top. We also added a shoulder strap. It looks so super cool I can't wait to wear it!!
Anyways, I took my new skills that evening to the Filipino kids house, and taught the 3 girls these new ideas too. Can you believe they have never even used a needle and thread at aged 13?! They LOVED altering their t-shirts and made super funky skirts to wear over leggings, with woven belts over top. I feel like I've tought then a new skill and I bet they are cutting up and altering all sorts of clothes this weekend.
It's amazing how one encounter through a freecycle pick-up has turned into teaching 3 kids how to make new fashions from old. Thursday was a very good day.
