Your friend recently bought a new t-shirt. You thought that the shirt was cool because it bore the name and logo of your favorite rock band. Imagine your friend rocking out with that shirt whenever he watches your favorite band. He might even be called upstage and praised by the vocalist because of his brand new shirt. You have to get a shirt just like his to be noticed by your rock star idols. Good thing you have the option to create your own t-shirt and make your friend’s shirt look shabby in the process.
The t-shirt is the most common garment on the market. You can find it almost anywhere. When you take a stroll in a shopping center, you will see huge collections of shirts that come in different styles and designs. Some of those shirts are cheap and stylish, which is why you can get a good-looking t-shirt even if you have a small budget. So, what’s the point of making your own t-shirt? Simple! A t-shirt is fun to create and customize.
With basic sewing skills and a lot of creativity, you can easily make a t-shirt. You just need to cut out the shirt’s components from a piece of fabric then sew them together to form your t-shirt. You can then attach your own designs to make your t-shirt look hip.
Materials Used:
fabric
needle
thread
scissors
pencil
tape measure
paper
sewing machine (optional)
Plans and Dimensions
The first step of this do-it-yourself project is to make a garment plan for your t-shirt. Get your tape measurer and get the measurements of your arms and body. Make sure that you take note of those measurements since you will need them later to determine the size of your shirt.
Now you have to think of a good design for your t-shirt. You can draw several model designs until you come up with a shirt design that suits you best. If you need more ideas for your t-shirt, you can read magazines, surf the internet or simply walk outside to see a plethora of t-shirt designs. When you have settled on a particular design, sketch your shirt on a piece of paper (garment plan), complete with dimensions (refer to the measurements of your arms and body).
Gather Materials
Go to a clothing store and check out the various textiles that they offer. Feel the texture of each fabric type and look at the patterns closely because you might get last minute ideas for your shirt. Once you purchase your final selection, go to a sewing store and buy all the sewing equipment that you need.
Sew Your T-Shirt Together
When you have all the materials ready, draw the outline of your t-shirt on the fabric. Refer to your garment plan to ensure that the dimensions of your t-shirt are accurate. Once done, cut the outline of the shirt’s front side, back side, and sleeves. You can now sew the shirt’s front and back sides together with your needle and thread. As for the sleeves, create a one inch hemline at the bottom portion of both sleeves. If you are not convinced of the fabric’s durability, you can create a second hemline right under the first one that you just created. When you are done, attach the sleeves to the sides of your t-shirt.
Design Your Shirt
There are a lot of options when you place designs on your t-shirt. You can use your sewing equipment, hand-paint the designs or have them silk-screened. You can even sew accessories like patches, buttons and other pieces of fabric to make your shirt look striking.
After you design your t-shirt, you can flaunt it to your friends. Watch how their eyes pop at the sight of your shirt’s cool designs. Pretty soon, some of them might actually make t-shirts of their own, so be prepared.