Tuesday, August 16, 2011

DIY: T-Shirt Makeover

I’ve almost finished putting together my wardrobe for fall but…I have been severely disappointed in the lack of cute, affordable tops. Apart from a couple blouses, it’s been really hard to find anything that’s suitable to wear under a blazer for school or pair with a skirt. So yesterday in the bookstore, I stumbled upon a couple of the many, many books on the recreation of the t-shirt. See here and here for examples. I admire the creativity and diversity of the craft but sometimes I think these t-shirts end up looking a little unfinished. After skimming through a couple project books, I decided to take an idea for sleeves I found and add some of my own ideas to a shirt.

I went to the local Goodwill and picked up four t-shirts in my size and then moseyed around the craft stores looking for embellishments and trim. I came up with a concept for each shirt. Today, I’m sharing the first one. I think it turned out pretty okay considering I’ve never done something like this before and I’ll definitely get a chance to wear it.

The shirt is a light pink from J. Crew in my size that I scored for $3.49. Total steal.

BEFORE


AFTER


I stole this idea directly from one of the books (who stole it from Blondie’s lead singer, Debbie Harry).



The fashion zipper is from the fabric store.


If you unzip it, it reads, “Here I love you” from one of my favorite poems by Pablo Neruda. One of my favorite passages goes like this…
This is a port.
Here I love you.
Here I love you and the horizon hides you in vain.
I love you still among these cold things.
Sometimes my kisses go on those heavy vessels
that cross the sea towards no arrival.

(excerpt, Pablo Neruda)




What about you? What kinds of DIY projects are you working on lately? Does anyone have a t-shirt they’ve modified?

love, elizabeth

PS: I’m making stuffed mushrooms for a party tonight. I got the recipe from Ashley over here. I’ll let you know how they turn out!

8 comments:

Jen said...

I love this! Love the zipper and then when I saw you can unzip it and it has your favorite verse it became ever cooler :-) Great job!!

Simply Camylla said...

What a great Shirt that turned out to be! I love it!!

Ashley @ A Recipe for Sanity said...

Love love love your shirt! Please let me know when you come out with your own line of clothes, as I'd like to be first in line to buy some! So cool!

And I'm so glad you're trying the recipe! I'm crossing my fingers that it turns out okay and that people like it! ;)

Alana said...

I love Neruda! (as you can see here: http://alanaleanne.blogspot.com/2011/02/if-you-forget-me.html )

Love the shirt! What a cute idea! I've really got to learn to sew...

Mrs. Pancakes said...

OMG! you could so do this and sale them Elizabeth! i feel an etsy shop coming! creative!

Hannah {Culture Connoisseur} said...

Cool! Well, does Honey Rosemary butter count as a DIY? Because I did that...and I am working on those end tables we found.

Cool idea for the top. Love the poem too.

Unknown said...

Stumbled on your blog today! I enjoyed reading it, and this shirt is fantastic! I love it!

Calling In Sick Today said...

Hi there, like so many others i read your blog and it struck me that I don't think I've ever left a comment. Like enoying the busker's music without tossing him some change! So I just wanted to say thank you, i love the beautiful way you see the world, the way you love and the life you try to live. Thanks for sharing that with us. Med

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