Friday, January 25, 2008

Four Options for The Old T-Shirts (Besides Donating Them or Using Them as Rags)



Have some old t-shirts and/or sports jerseys you'll never wear, but you can't quite make yourself get rid of them? Here are some options to consider.

If you want to preserve them

sports jersey, Arizona State, framed

1. Have selected ones framed. This can be expensive (if you get a special jersey frame with UV protection glass, as shown in the picture) or less expensive if you use a simple rack. You could also frame a t-shirt in a shadow box; Michaels sells instant shadow boxes.


quilt from 16 t-shirts

2. Have them made into a quilt.

I've mentioned this in prior newsletters, but I've found even more companies that will make a quilt for you, including:
- Patchwork Memories; that's one of theirs above
- Keepsake Theme Quilts
- ShirtQuilts [thanks to organizer John Trosko for this one]
- stitch'T
- Too Cool T-shirt Quilts
- Wild Zipper


If you just want to get a bit more use out of them

bag made from I Love New York t-shirt

3. If you enjoy do-it-yourself projects and can sew better than I can, turn them into reusable bags or a laptop case. If you're a knitter, melaniejo (Melanie Watts) shows you how to make a rug out of old t-shirts. [photo from greenteebag, which sells bags made from I Love New York t-shirts] Update on Aug. 2, 2012: Greenteabag seems to have disappeared.


woman wearing undies made from t-shirt

4. Have them made into undies. [via Lifehacker]

[Pink Freud t-shirt from Zazzle]

10 comments:

Blue Yonder said...

I love the book Generation T: 108 Ways to Transform a T-shirt. So far, I've made four of their very cute designs. I'm so pleased that I've been able to give new life to T-shirts I never wore, and turn them into unique, chic pieces that I love.

Jeri Dansky said...

Blue Yonder, thanks for the pointer - and congratulations on your t-shirt transformations!

Anonymous said...

LOL- I have a post in waiting to come out tomorrow on t-shirt quilts because someone in our member message boards was mentioning running shirts. I see you have thoroughly covered this topic! You're amazing.

- Lorie

37-Ravens said...

Take a T-shirt, sew the bottom together, put it on a hanger and you have a clothespin container for rope hanging your clothes.

Remember those, growing up?

Jeri Dansky said...

Guzzigirl, that's a sewing project even I could handle.

Quban B said...

Blue Yonder, Great ideas I like that

Britta said...

If you are looking for someone to create a t-shirt quilt, please check out my company Queen B Quilts! www.myqueenbquilts.com

Jeri Dansky said...

Always glad to know about another quilt-maker, Britta!

Anonymous said...

Me gustaría postearos sobre una nueva web española de camisetas bastante potente: laTostadora.com

Puedes imprimir cualquier tipo de diseño multicolor desde 1 unidad. En fin, interesante, creo.

Un saludo!
Anna

Doug said...

I have been in the t-shirt printing biz for over 15 years and never knew you could make them into underwear. :) TShirtsInkandMore