Tag Archives: repurpose

Apr 27 2013
bleach a shirt

How to Bleach a Shirt

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I have this sweater style t-shirt that I accidentally got some bleach on. It’s disappointing but not surprising that I managed this. I didn’t want to go around with a dark brown shirt with a few random orange spots and I also didn’t want to throw the shirt away. So, I decided to bleach my shirt in trying to make the entire shirt orange.

bleach a shirt

This to ———->bleach a shirt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s what I did.

Materials:

  • bleach
  • water
  • shirt/item you want bleached
  • rubber gloves
  • clothing you’d be ok if bleach accidentally got on
  • hair tie, bobby pins to keep hair out of your face

Instructions:

  1. Make sure the item you want bleach is clean
  2. In a stainless steel sink or something white, I used a small white trash can, do a mixture of ¼ cup bleach to 2 quarts warm water, the warmer the water the more bleach the item will absorb. I also did this in my tub if some of the bleach water splashed around.
  3. Add your item and let it soak for about 20 minutes. I let it soak for 30 minutes because I went and watched TV while I waited and checked/stirred it on commercial breaks.
  4. In the tub or sink completely rinse out item and wash in your machine separately,  following tag instructions. 

Now I have a new shirt and I didn’t have to pay for it! I feel like the picture doesn’t do the pretty pumpkin shade of orange justice.

Mar 26 2013

How to Make a T-Shirt into a Tote Bag

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tote bag

totebagI had this old University of Illinois shirt that I got on Ebay when I was a sophomore there. I wore it a few times and it was a fantastic and soft shirt. But it was old and didn’t fit me quite right. I first tried to make it a more fitted shirt and that was a fail. The weird seam line above the chest just made it look like a ruined sports jersey or something. So, I decided to turn it into a tote bag. Now I just need to decide what to do with the sleeves. I’m thinking Rusty might need some leg warmers or a hat.

Materials Needed:

  • Shirt with design you love but don’t really want to wear
  • Nylon Webbing or durable Ribbon for the straps, I used this ribbon.
  • Sewing Machine
  • Matching thread

Directions:

tote bag

Measure and Mark

 

1. Measure and mark where on your shirt you’d like to cut on the top and bottom of the shirt. I decided to make it a little easier on myself and re-use the side seams of the shirt. My finished bag was 15″x 14″

To cut, I used regular fabric scissors for the top and pinking shears at the bottom. If you don’t have pinking shears, cut with your fabric scissors and finish the raw edge with a zigzag stitch.

2. With right sides together, pin the bottom and sew with 5/8″ seam. Press. Now, if you kept the side seams intact, you should have a pillow case with three sides sewn.

3. To finish the opening of the bag, roll the hem about 1/4″ all the way around and press to keep it in place. Repeat, to incase the raw edge. Sew to finish the edge.

4. Cut 2 pieces of ribbon or webbing to your desired length, I cut mine to be 36″ long.

5. Place and pin where you’d like your straps being careful not to twist them as you’re placing them. I put mine on the inside of the bag a couple of inches down.

tote bag

kind of difficult to see, but it’s a rectangle

6. Sew the straps on, if you’re using webbing make sure you have the correct needle, in a rectangle, this is a little bit of added strength to the straps and bag. Press.

7. Enjoy! I think I’ll take mine to work and light grocery shopping , maybe one I’ll add a zipper to it. And it’s washable!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

tote bag

Mar 19 2013
pin cushion lid

Decorating a Glass Jar with Pin Cushion Lid

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pin cushion lid

I decided I needed something new to hold my buttons. So I took a jelly jar and removed the label. It took a lot of soaking and scrubbing that thing was really stuck on there. Then I got out my rainbow of permanent markers, beads and hot glue and decided to get to work, free hand style. FAIL this is how it started to turn out and I was not impressed. My lack of patience got the better me, again.

 

pin cushion lid

FAIL :(

So I removed the beads and got out some rubbing alcohol and cotton balls and removed the marker. The silver was a bit stubborn but it eventually came off. Now, it was time for some planning.

First I decided to create a design on my computer of what I wanted my jar to look like. But Photoshop kept crashing when I went to print the design so I said the heck with it, and hand drew the design on. It’s not perfect but I like it.

For the pin cushion lid. I just took a scrap piece of thick fabric and some Fiber Fill  stuffing and used Mod Podge to glue the fabric over the fill to the lid. I did have to fold over the fabric a bit along the edges but some better planning and correct cutting would fix this issue. The fabric was a little to long, so I cut off the excess from the bottom of the lid after the glue had dried and I now have my button jar with a pin cushion top!

pin cushion top