DIY: What to Do With the BF’s Old Tees #1

Sep 6, 2009 | DIY | 10 comments

I’m sure (for those of you who have SO’s who are male) you’ve got a man’s white underwear-style t-shirt bangin’ around somewhere. Probably Hanes, no?

Hub has this ridiculous tendency to toss his clothes in the trash the minute they have the slightest stain, look a little dingy, exhibit some pilling, or stretch out of shape a little. Wasteful! Though I donate as much as I can of his used clothes to Goodwill/Salvation Army, his ol’ white tees were begging to be given a new life.

And there’s no end to the possibilities with a little fabric dye or paint on hand. Tie dye, potato printing, brushstrokes…it’s all up to you. 80’s-style, abstract tees are all over the place right now.

So why buy when you can DIY?

I used Tulip Brand Soft Fabric Paint (because it dries soft and flexible unlike a lot of other brands out there), but found that the bottle it comes in has too wide a mouth to distribute a thin scribble-like line (and fabric markers will skip over the fabric, not producing a continuous line, which is what I wanted). So I poured the paint into a Ziploc bag, snipped the tip off (I made the snip too tiny and the paint wouldn’t come out at first – this stuff is surprisingly viscous).

Then – scribble, scribble, scribble front, let dry, turn over, and scribble, scribble, scribble back – and you’re done!

I know the scribbles don’t exactly hide the pilling and the stains – but they draw the eye away, leaving me with a very wearable t-shirt. It also looks casual cool under a blazer/suit combo.

Something to try over the long weekend, perhaps?

Happy DIY’ing!
xoxox
Carly

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10 Comments

  1. Lizzie
    Lizzie on September 6, 2009 at 4:12 pm

    Cool idea, it looks awesome! I can't wait to see what else you come up with 🙂

  2. trust me pomegranate
    trust me pomegranate on September 6, 2009 at 7:31 pm

    That is so cool :]
    It looks really nice!
    great work and thank you for the inspiration

  4. Kristin
    Kristin on September 7, 2009 at 3:14 am

    LOVE the DIY, but I'm also drooling over those fab heels!

  5. carlyjcais
    carlyjcais on September 7, 2009 at 4:34 am

    Lizzie: Thanks! Working on a series of what to do with the BF's white shirts…goodness knows I've saved alot of them from being thrown out here!

    trust me pomegranate: LOVE your screen name! Thanks for the props!

    Martha: Thank you, as always!

    Kristin: They're Pleaser Platform Pumps, bought new on Ebay for under $50!

    Do I use too many exclamation points??
    Thanks for your comments!
    xoxo
    Carly

  7. Mandy Li
    Mandy Li on September 8, 2009 at 2:13 pm

    omg this is so very unique and creative. I am definately doing this one day.

  8. musie
    musie on October 6, 2009 at 11:16 pm

    I love this! I'm making one for my brother tonight.

  9. Fake handbags
    Fake handbags on February 13, 2010 at 9:47 am

    Fake handbags are the copies of the designer handbags available at lower rates. However, cheaper price does not mean that the handbag is any lower in quality. In fact the design and make of the bag is such that it is very difficult to point out which is the original handbag and which is the Fake handbags.

  10. Riechan
    Riechan on November 13, 2010 at 10:01 am

    Great idea!!

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