Repurpose Your Purpose

Long time no post, right!?

First off, I apologize that I haven't kept constant on my posts. I've been out and about creating new stories and finding inspiration, because lately I've had creator's block. Yes, that's the equivalent of writer's block. Now that I've found inspiration, I'm excited to share.

So let me just inform you on the whole repurpose concept. Take an old shirt or something you find at a thrift shop and make it into something more YOU...Cut it up, tie it up, sew it up. I've become quite familiar with my mom's old sewing machine :3 I've taken my dad's old work shirts and made an apron, an patriotic dress-shirt, took large t-shirts and made them into grocery tote bags. Today I bring you a a men's tank that I got at a thrift store and a shirt I had taken apart before and cleaned up the rough cutting.

Men's Large Tank -->split back women's tank shirt

front view

side view

back view

So yeah, there's the split back shirt. I saw these shirts on pinterest and thought they were so cute.  So I looked up a few d.i.y. ideas. Unfortunately, I came up empty on any 'how to' tutorials. :( So I just guesstimated on how one would go about creating the split back style. Cut the tank right down the middle (backside) and sewed it back up like a racer back, only sewing it closed a quarter of the way down. I'm satisfied with the way it came out. Now compare this $7 repurposed tank to what you find on the net/stores. Yeah, I'm a beast!  

 Blouse --> halter-racer back

front

back (w/bow)

So I took a blouse I had hidden among shirts I never wear and decided to tear it up.  Sorry I don't have a picture of what it looked like before.  So I took apart the sleeves completely. I didn't like the sleeves, they had that slight poof to the shoulders. Kind of like the sleeve below:

Yeah, the style can be very feminine and cute, but I had far outgrown the shirt, but I really like the nautical-like feel the blouse had and didn't want to part from it. So I changed it up. I looked up ideas on Pinterest (a great site for d.i.y. ideas) and found a few no sew repurposed shirt ideas.  First I had two straps going down the back that met at the bottom center- knotted at various points.  However, that looked too messy and bulky. So I took away all the tie-knots and sewed up pieces to make it look more clean. Cleaned up the arm area cut outs and added a bow at the bottom. Vuola!

Altogether both shirts took only a few hours in a day to complete. The tank to split back was really quick. I think it took me like 2 hours max to get it cut, pinned, fitted, and sewn. The blouse to halter took longer because I had to fix previous errors from my last repurpose and then figure out how to make it work using the materials I had left. If you have a sewing machine I highly recommend getting to know how to use it. You'll save yourself lots of money by finding bargain pieces and taking old clothes and making them awesome again! Also, sewing is a great skill to have.

Ok, before I end this post I have a question for my viewers. I have this small boys black t-shirt. Anyone have any suggestions/ideas of what I should do with it? I'd like to hear your thoughts :)

F.Y.I. you can buy any woman's Large/X-large blouse and make a dress out of it by adding a belt :) Just make sure it's the right length.

CIAO <3 <3