Problem Solving & Bleached T-Shirts

Although fall doesn't really start until the end of the month, today always feels like the last day of summer to me. School starts tomorrow and after that everything gets back to "normal". Last year, there was no first day of school in our house but this year I do have a child going although in a doesn't need Mom nearly so much capacity. After taking a year off, Kyle is starting first year university. That year was good for him.

I haven't set any September to September goals which isn't at all normal for me. Typically, I set personal goals in January and business goals in September. When business turned to sabbatical, I switched business goals to studio goals. Perhaps I'm not setting them because they already exist. I'm already working on black t-shirts, zero waste, using what I have in stash, saving funds for the workshop next June, and exploring refashioning and creative everyday wear. Perhaps that's enough.

The most popular course I taught was Self Expressions. It's about creating pattern free, independent, textile art. Refashioning garments is very similar. What I like about both of these is the ongoing problem solving. It engages my brain. There are always questions to answer.

As I mentioned last week, this t-shirt started with five faded black t-shirts that were bleached pulling a raspberry color.  The original hemlines were cut off and pieced together with a wide zigzag stitch and then...

 ... restitched to the hemline. I didn't want a raw edge, a serged edge, a flounce, or a turned hem. This seemed the perfect finish.

To stabilize the V-point of the neckline, I used a rectangle of knit interfacing and to stabilize the neckline shape, I used 3/8" strips. The V was clipped and the edges turned under and then ...

... stitched and zigzagged on the right side. This created a firm neckline that won't lose shape without introducing another color or line to the garment. Anything more involved would have distracted from the monochromatic shading and the overall simplicity,

The old t-shirts were long enough to cut the side back sections but not long enough for the side front sections. These were cut in two parts and then pieced together in the same manner as the princess seams. For each seam, I cut away the seam allowance on one piece, overlapped it with the other, pinned and stitched the layers together, and then zigzagged the raw edges to hold. I like the way it looks. Finished but soft.

On Friday, I was auditioning ideas for the bottom of the center front section and ending up piecing it like the back. It was a good choice. There's enough going on already without added details.

Here's the finished front and...

... the finished back. After two stretchy wadders, I was worried about the shape of the armholes since that was the problem with both of those. I much prefer stable knits and this "garbage" knit is stable but even so - just in case - just like with the neckline - I cut 3/8" strips of knit interfacing and fused them around the armhole placing the edge of the interfacing just over the stitching line and then stitched through and encased the interfacing with a serged seam. It worked perfectly.

There were remnants of the t-shirts left still. It's amazing how hard it is to use everything up. I'm working on a small sweater coat.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - success after two wadders