Shirt.Woot

I have a lot of woot shirts that I've never worn, but I love the images on them so much. So I decided to go all crafty on one of my all time favorite designs. This thing makes me laugh every single time. Now, instead of being a shirt in the back of my closet, it's a funny pillow that I see every day.






Go HERE for more info/pics of the project.

Anyone else like to turn woot shirts into other woot-things?

That turned out great! :D

That's amazing! I'm making a shirt quilt but I can't get enough shirts in fast enough.

etkendall11 wrote:That's amazing! I'm making a shirt quilt but I can't get enough shirts in fast enough.

A whole quilt?? That's impressive!

I've pondered making a quilt as well...the tough bit would be picking which shirts to use, as I have nearly 100 that I don't wear often. A few are set aside to be framed, as well...But now I'm thinking a bunch of pillows would be cool.

Woo, clever!

Haven't thought to go arts and crafts on any of mine (and I do have a sewing machine) ... most do make their rounds into wear rotation eventually. Some I just don't wear often at all, like I've only worn gettin' toasty twice; once in 2010 year, once this 2011. And I'm just wearing Captain Polly for the first time today.

That doesn't explain why I keep buying more, but I'm not sure there's anything that'd ever explain that one.

This is awesome!

Turned out very cute! I might have to do that with one of mine... the button is perfect!

jewelwing wrote:
Anyone else like to turn woot shirts into other woot-things?

The WXL shirt is still just too small on me so I took my Shakespeare alphabet, cut it out and sewed it as an appliqué to the back of a jean jacket. It's not perfect but at least I still get to wear it and people behind me in line can take time to check each letter without staring at my chest!

That is quite awesome.

I've been trying to figure out what to do with all the t-shirts I have (over 100, mainly Woot and Threadless). My style has evolved as I'm getting older and I find myself reaching for t-shirts less and less.

I don't really need any pillows but maybe I'll turn them into some sort of bag (though I want something with more shape than a tote). Ugh, what to do?! I hope to find some ideas in this thread! I wish there was a way to turn them into a more "dressy" type of top but my sewing/fashion design skills are lacking.

Yup! My MIL made my son's favorite Woot! shirt into a pillow when he outgrew it!

These t-shirt bags aren't the prettiest, but the lack of tools and time needed to make them kind of makes up for it. :-)

I'm saving up all my son's woot shirts to turn into a blanket once he outgrows them. He loves them to death and who can't use more blanket?!

thewronggrape wrote:That is quite awesome.

I've been trying to figure out what to do with all the t-shirts I have (over 100, mainly Woot and Threadless). My style has evolved as I'm getting older and I find myself reaching for t-shirts less and less.

I don't really need any pillows but maybe I'll turn them into some sort of bag (though I want something with more shape than a tote). Ugh, what to do?! I hope to find some ideas in this thread! I wish there was a way to turn them into a more "dressy" type of top but my sewing/fashion design skills are lacking.

If you cut the top seem and collar ring off, rotate the shirt 90* you can probably make a decent and quick one shoulder shirt with the art on side instead of front out of it. But that might work better if the shirt starts baggy/unfitted on you.

blanked wrote:If you cut the top seem and collar ring off, rotate the shirt 90* you can probably make a decent and quick one shoulder shirt with the art on side instead of front out of it. But that might work better if the shirt starts baggy/unfitted on you.

Unfortunately for me, I was a big fan of the fitted look and most of my t-shirts are all WS or XS. Towards the end there, I started buying much larger sizes for a looser/blousey-er look that paired better with skirts and accessories.

Love this thread though—it's definitely got my brain juices flowing!

I also have a TON of unused shirts between here and Threadless and have been interested in attempting a blanket. For those who have started one, what can you recommend on sizing for the squares?

Even better - anyone want to do it for me!? :p

I was thinking of doing a quilt too, though a pillow seems to be much simpler project! I'll have to consider doing that as well.

As for cutting squares for a quilt, I was supposing that if you cut all your shirt images off into rectangles that were divisible by two (like a 6''x10'' piece), it wouldn't be too hard to add in little 2'' strips to fill in the gaps between designs. That way you can cut out your shirt designs, arrange them in the general shape you want, and then figure out what looks pleasing to fill in. However, I've never made a quilt before so this could be a bad way of doing it!

(Though I guess you'd want to leave about a quarter inch room for stitches, so you'd actually want to cut things with an extra half inch overall (a quarter inch on all sides)).

jewelwing wrote:Now, instead of being a shirt in the back of my closet, it's a funny pillow that I see every day.

That looks fantastic!

I've got a few shirts I've been making into bags, something like this one I did for an old sweatshirt. The zipper had broken on it but it was one of my favorites so I grabbed some canvas I had lying around, whipped up a bag (i made up my own pattern, didn't have one on hand so I pretty much just winged it) and then I bought some iron on bonding material to make the sweatshirt stick to the bag. The edges curl up just a little, but its a lot cleaner looking than it would have been if I'd have tried to sew in a circle! I did one strap asymmetrical so it would just hug my body, plus I wanted to incorporate the design on the sleeve too. I think the trick is to let the design you're working with lead you, like the tea cup button on the pillow. So cute! Here is my bag (again, not a woot tee, but I don't have any pictures of those yet!) :


IMAG0560 by Brieethecheese, on Flickr

panpear wrote:I was thinking of doing a quilt too, though a pillow seems to be much simpler project! I'll have to consider doing that as well.

As for cutting squares for a quilt, I was supposing that if you cut all your shirt images off into rectangles that were divisible by two (like a 6''x10'' piece), it wouldn't be too hard to add in little 2'' strips to fill in the gaps between designs. That way you can cut out your shirt designs, arrange them in the general shape you want, and then figure out what looks pleasing to fill in. However, I've never made a quilt before so this could be a bad way of doing it!

(Though I guess you'd want to leave about a quarter inch room for stitches, so you'd actually want to cut things with an extra half inch overall (a quarter inch on all sides)).

Biggest thing for a quilt will be determining what size you want the finished product. I wouldn't worry about getting all the pieces the same size or shape, either, but I prefer the 'scrappier' look in quilts. And exactly right on the seams--you need 1/4 extra all around.

Technically, that part is piecing--the 'quilting' part refers to the pattern sewn in to hold the pieced portion, batting, and the back together. Since tees are stretchy, they're more of a challenge to piece with, though.

And yes, there are kits you can use, as well as places on line where you can send you tees and they'll make the quilt. Just a matter of $$$.

Here is a site with some nice DIY ideas! http://craftingagreenworld.com/2010/06/18/memorable-ways-to-repurpose-old-t-shirts/

hinesola wrote:Here is a site with some nice DIY ideas! http://craftingagreenworld.com/2010/06/18/memorable-ways-to-repurpose-old-t-shirts/

Love the scarf. I need to try some of these.

Mavyn wrote:Biggest thing for a quilt will be determining what size you want the finished product. I wouldn't worry about getting all the pieces the same size or shape, either, but I prefer the 'scrappier' look in quilts. And exactly right on the seams--you need 1/4 extra all around.

Technically, that part is piecing--the 'quilting' part refers to the pattern sewn in to hold the pieced portion, batting, and the back together. Since tees are stretchy, they're more of a challenge to piece with, though.

And yes, there are kits you can use, as well as places on line where you can send you tees and they'll make the quilt. Just a matter of $$$.

Wow, really?

*checks the internet*

Indeed! Though it certainly does cost quite a bit of money. Still, if you don't have the means to sew yourself, that's a nice way to do it. Even if the way they tend to look isn't as 'scrappy' (which I think I prefer myself. I'm a rather sloppy person to begin with, so my quilt should be too, right? XD)

And all of these projects seem awesome! It makes me want to do them all at once. And then I remember I'm lazy and I won't actually do it. But still - I could!

I kind of want to make a blanket... Saw this posted a while back... Kind of want to try it.

http://shirt.woot.com/forums/viewpost.aspx?PostID=4291298

Not that I know anything about sewing...

panpear wrote:Wow, really?

*checks the internet*

Indeed! Though it certainly does cost quite a bit of money. Still, if you don't have the means to sew yourself, that's a nice way to do it. Even if the way they tend to look isn't as 'scrappy' (which I think I prefer myself. I'm a rather sloppy person to begin with, so my quilt should be too, right? XD)

And all of these projects seem awesome! It makes me want to do them all at once. And then I remember I'm lazy and I won't actually do it. But still - I could!

according to my wife, who is quite the quilter, you need to sew the tee material to a backing before piecing it together because it stretches too easily, making the placement difficult.

panpear wrote:Wow, really?

*checks the internet*

Indeed! Though it certainly does cost quite a bit of money. Still, if you don't have the means to sew yourself, that's a nice way to do it. Even if the way they tend to look isn't as 'scrappy' (which I think I prefer myself. I'm a rather sloppy person to begin with, so my quilt should be too, right? XD)

And all of these projects seem awesome! It makes me want to do them all at once. And then I remember I'm lazy and I won't actually do it. But still - I could!

I quilt, so already have most of what I'd need, other than time. But, when I make a queen sized quilt, I fully expect it to cost me ~$200 in fabric, thread, batting, backing, and quilting. So really, most of the online places aren't that expensive, it just feels that was compared to buying a quilt off the shelf.

As far as quilting goesI always cheat and pay some one with a machine to actually do the quilting part. I just sew the squares together and finish off the edges. most fabric stores have a business card bulletin board, if you're looking for some one. I lived in Amish country PA so there where quilters-a-plenty in that area.

The shirts them selves are the expensive parts for me, But if you already have the shirts then I use the printed side on the front of the quilt and the solid side to patch work the back of the quilt. So you don't have to buy extra material! Plus most fabric stores, Joanns in particular, have coupons. So I get my batting for about $5 a yard. and the shirts are super soft and comfy from Shirt.Woot

Josephus wrote:according to my wife, who is quite the quilter, you need to sew the tee material to a backing before piecing it together because it stretches too easily, making the placement difficult.

I laugh in the face of proper placement. Ha ha ha ha ha. >_>

And then I would likely cry because everything would have stretched out of place. XD

hinesola wrote:Here is a site with some nice DIY ideas! http://craftingagreenworld.com/2010/06/18/memorable-ways-to-repurpose-old-t-shirts/

Thanks! I also love the scarf idea. Gonna dust off the old sewing machine—can't wait!

I am loving the bags, especially the 'no sew' variety - looks easy enough and fun to gather up several shirts for an evening project.

Okay, I bought today's shirt with the express intent of turning it into a pillow or a tote - and I'm posting this because I am a horrible procrastinator and I need you all to bug me for pics.

Thank yous.

Josephus wrote:according to my wife, who is quite the quilter, you need to sew the tee material to a backing before piecing it together because it stretches too easily, making the placement difficult.

That's the #1 tip for all these projects. I did this blog post about it if anyone's interested HERE.

What I love tho is the way the shirt fabric feels after you fuse it to the backing. It starts all stretchy and flimsy and once the backing is on it feels pretty substantial but still super soft. Kind of like felt almost. It's niiiice.

Oh, and size wise, I just buy a women's large/x-large and it works well for the kind of pillow I made, which is like a small accent pillow.

thewronggrape wrote:Thanks! I also love the scarf idea. Gonna dust off the old sewing machine—can't wait!

The scarf is awesome! I'm going to to that too. Trying to figure out some way to do a more structured bag, I'm not a big fan of sacks or totes either. I'm thinking you might be able to make a flap bag, like timbuk2 style, with the tees because those are made up of several panels.

inkycatz wrote:Okay, I bought today's shirt with the express intent of turning it into a pillow or a tote - and I'm posting this because I am a horrible procrastinator and I need you all to bug me for pics.

Thank yous.

I'm waiting for pictures. :3

All of these projects really sound cool! And my pile of shirts keeps getting bigger... But alas, I am lazy.

Josephus wrote:according to my wife, who is quite the quilter, you need to sew the tee material to a backing before piecing it together because it stretches too easily, making the placement difficult.

/agree

What I would do is get one-sided fusible interfacing from the fabric store (way cheap), and iron it on to the back of the shirt design before cutting out the square and sewing. It's fast, easy, and stabilizes the stretch. It'll make the process a lot quicker and easier for a quilt square.

inkycatz wrote:Okay, I bought today's shirt with the express intent of turning it into a pillow or a tote - and I'm posting this because I am a horrible procrastinator and I need you all to bug me for pics.

Thank yous.

Soooooo...

how goes that pillow or tote project? Pictures yet?

bluejester wrote:Soooooo...

how goes that pillow or tote project? Pictures yet?

Snowpocalypse sorta threw me behind. Rest assured, have not forgotten about it!

Look what I found yesterday!

Another tee quilt. Pattern is for sale there as well.