i had a huge problem getting rid of old t-shirts. band t-shirts (my band), t-shirts that had ben made for me. etc... i took a camera and wore them all one last time. Actually through this process i kept two... but the rest i can remember whenever I log onto facebook.
Overall Rating: 1 vote
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Posted 2 years ago #
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Some people also make quilts out of old t-shirts. It's a good way to bundle the memories together into one thing that will remain useful.
Posted 2 years ago # -
My mom made all of my old baseball jerseys into decorative pillows when I outgrew them.
Posted 2 years ago # -
If you want to go the make-a-quilt route, this blog posts lists a number of places that will make one for you: http://jdorganizer.blogspot.com/2008/01/four-options-for-old-t-shirts-besides.html
Posted 2 years ago # -
Like the photo idea. Even if not wearing them, could make a photo collage or something, like for some us, they would no longer fit .... ;(
I'm planning to photo all the old artwork I have. Right now, I never get to see it, it's just stored. At least online, will be able to see it whenever I want. Will have a lot of frames to deal with though. Maybe donate?
Posted 2 years ago # -
I've heard of the quilt route, too; in fact, my grandma is often asking what she can give me for Christmas or my birthday, and she LOVES to make me stuff. I have a lot of keepsake blankets from her already (which my husband laughs at me for, and I just tell him we'll have enough to go around when kids start showing up). Maybe a relative could make it their labor of love to you as an awesome gift, making the t-shirts all the more special?
Also, you could make them into a blanket like the fuzzy ones that have the tabs tied together. Maybe make the area around the logo big enough to make tab-tied quilt squares? It's a no-sew project!
Posted 2 years ago # -
I have a large plastic box full of old t-shirts in the bottom of my closet... I get attached to stuff too easily I can't seem to let them go but taking pictures of them seems like a good idea. I kinda want to keep them so when I grow older my kids can see how silly my clothes were... or how awesome they were!
Posted 2 years ago # -
I have found the best way to deal with t-shirts is not to over acquire them. i donated everything i wouldn't wear currently until I was down to 2 or 3 old favorites and i just wore em until they wore out. (I have a rule to automatically throw all clothes with holes or stains) now i keep newish t-shirts of several different colors. . . when the navy blue one dies..i buy another blue one at the thrift store. but i DON'T acquire t-shirts as souvenirs.
Posted 2 years ago # -
how about a scarf?
http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2009/10/t-shirt_memory_scarf.htmlPosted 2 years ago # -
Pictures are cheapest, quilts are most sentimental, donations or rag-bags are the most practical. I like the don't-overacquire idea. Most of the freebies that would come my way are not ones I even want so I'm going to start declining them. When I don't like the fit they inevitably become clutter.
Posted 2 years ago # -
I saw the cutest solution just a while ago and had to share - you can buy patterns from Little Blue Boo on Etsy (http://www.etsy.com/shop/lilblueboo) that let you turn old t-shirts into adorable kids clothes - perfect re-use, IMHO.
Posted 2 years ago # -
To take the quilts a bit farther, I have a friend who has made them for her daughter from college tees to hang on her wall. Even if you don't like using a quilt to sleep, it makes a cute wallhanging.
Posted 2 years ago # -
I have 3 strategies 1) get fewer souvenir t-shirts 2) make shopping bags from the old t-shirt and 3) I am currently making a Gee's Bend/modern style quilt with my old college t-shirts. Not one is cut squarely centered on the graphic. all graphics are cut in 2 or 3 bricks and will be separated in the design.
Posted 2 years ago # -
I like the quilt idea though for some reason I hadn't connected it with my own t-shirts. I have seen it done before and it's omething i want to consider doing something like it for my son (he will be 1 on thanksgiving) so i can give him a gift when he's older (ie save a t-shirt or piece of a shirt/sweater etc until we can make a large duvet).
great stuff
Posted 2 years ago # -
The scarf is great!
Posted 2 years ago # -
I saw an idea in a magazine one time where someone framed just the center part of the t-shirt - the part that has the logo or the picture or whatever... The stylist had taken 6 simple wooden frames (with no glass) and centered the t-shirt tightly over the back board of the frame and then inserted it into the frame so just the center logo/etc. was on "display". They were all hung up in a nice grouping in a child's playroom. It looked really cool. They had a retro Superman logo, a logo from a summer camp, etc., etc. Very cool and seemed very inexpensive.
Posted 2 years ago # -
I made a T-shirt quilt for my husband, but I thought it would also be cool to have him try on all the shirts (one last time) and take a picture of each and then make a collage/mural of them. Could be a cool piece of artwork in a game room or something.
Posted 2 years ago # -
I've heard of the quilt idea too. I've run a few races and got a t-shirt for each one. Apparently more serious runners have quite impressive numbers of t-shirts, so one flyer being given out at my last race was advertising one service that turned old race t-shirts into quilts. A good idea, except they charged an obscene amount of money for a quilt. Does anyone really need to spend that much on a bunch of t-shirts that you get more or less for free?
If you're into quilting yourself, though, or know someone who will do it for you, that's another story... personally I don't have enough t-shirts to worry about getting rid of them yet.
Posted 2 years ago # -
It's a job to make that quilt. The knit fabric of the t-shirt really must be stabilized before you cut into it to try to work with it. It will want to roll and unravel. An iron-on knit interfacing product works well to avoid stiffness, but it's not cheap. Then you need coordinating fabric(s) to use the t-shirt pieces as a design for a quilt look; either you have scraps to use up or you need to buy fabric. It can take a while to get the t-shirts cut into blocks to use; most t-shirts won't all have the same size logo on them and you need a uniform size or multiple of a size to make a pleasing pattern. Finally you need batting and backing, and probably to have it quilted on a longarm machine by someone since most bed-sized quilts are just going to be too big to wrangle into your regular home machine. So you could have $300 in one of these with your "free" t-shirts without even trying, and maybe more depending on your fabric choices and the price of your quilting service. It really is a job and we all need to really consider if it's fair to just ask family members to do it for us for free. Every project I take on as a volunteer erodes time I could be using for my own pursuits. Most knitters and quilters run into this. Just mentioning it all as food for thought.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Celeste -- you've explained a very high quality product, and I'd argue you can go with less on a few steps and not compromise too much:
1) Not so difficult to get the uniform size -- I used 13" square as a consistent pattern, using the largest Tshirt image I wanted to accommodate as a template.
2) As for a backing, I got a great deal on Amazon for a king size set of jersey sheets, and used the flat sheet as the backing. Probably cost $30, and didn't need to join fabric to make a seam
3) Batting can be expensive, but that's why they invented Jo-Ann Fabric coupons
4) you can do tie quilting instead of machine quilting to help the batting stay in place rather than quilt the whole thing. I did machine quilt strategically throughout for more stability, but I imagine I could have just gone with tie quilting successfully.
5) I did not use interfacing, but ironed everything prior to sewing and didn't find the fabric to be too challenging to work with. Not ideal, but not overly challenging.Clearly, my husband's quilt won't be as quality a product as you described, but for a tshirt quilt to snuggle in front of the TV with, it's been great. And I think my total cost was under $60. And my husband can't stop showing it off to his friends. :-)
Posted 2 years ago #
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