108 Ways to Transform a T-Shirt

This book is a breezy, trendy call of encouragement to a young crop of do-it-yourselfers, with enough ideas to inspire experienced crafty types, too. The T-shirt is the starting point; the 108 end results—many of which have an edgy, even punk-like feel (much like the projects in Debbie Stoller’s Stitch ‘n Bitch)—range from slightly modified tops requiring no sewing to much more intricate fashion products like the sexy “sidewinder” skirt and the two-piece “teeny bikini,” with variations suggested for many projects. The book starts with an introduction to design terms, tools, measurement, materials and stitches, making it accessible to beginners. And because the author—who got into transforming Ts by gathering friends and hosting “Brooklyn Tee Parties” to resuscitate old T-shirts—is budget-conscious (and so are all the projects in the book), anyone can afford to experiment with this kind of fashion design.

This inspirational guide with DIY attitude has everything you need to know about the world’s great T-shirt: how to cut it, sew it, deconstruct it, reconstruct it, and best of all, transform it. It Features more than 100 projects (plus 200 variations) for customized tees, tank tops, tube tops, T-skirts—even handbags, a patchwork blanket, iPod cozies, leg warmers, and more. More than one third of the projects are no sew, meaning anyone who can wield a pair of scissors can put a personal stamp on her wardrobe. But the sewing basics are here too: backstitch and whipstitch, gather and ruche, appliqué and drawstrings. And the mission statement for Generation T: Ask not what your T-shirt can do for you; ask what you can do for your T-shirt. And then Do-It-Yourself!

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