How to make a see-through skull shirt with a Sizzix die cut

I haven't done too much with clothing lately but today's post is my latest favorite thing to do with clothing- die cutting it! With my new Sizzix Big Shot. I thought it would be fun to do a skull on the back of a black shirt for Halloween.

I found a plain black shirt in the stash and gathered up:
white tulle
Heat n Bond
press cloth
Inner ironing board with scrap press cloth
Sizzix skull die

The first step is to turn the shirt inside out and iron on a square of Heat n Bond to the area you are going to die cut.

Next die cut your shape. The  Sizzix Big Shot makes all the difference as you have tons of space for all the extra fabric of the shirt.

Then Iron on the tulle. Be sure to use a press cloth under the shirt surface and on top so you don't get adhesive on the front side of the shirt or your iron.

Then flip the shirt right side out and peal off the paper backing on the die cut eyes and nose and iron them onto the tulle. Be sure to use the press cloths on this step too!

Here's another photo you can see how translucent the shirt die cut is with the window light coming through.

3 T-shirts upcycled using inspiration and techniques from the book 101 Tees by Cathie Filian

I had so much fun today giving the t-shirts in my closet a "new and improved" look with the t-shirts I had in my stash that had great graphics, a fun Plaid Metallic Iron-On fawn and a whole lotta inspiration from Cathie Fillian's new a-mazing book 101 Tees: Restyle + Refashion + Revamp.
First up I embellished a plain top with a recycled graphic safety pin and a die cut fabric broken heart.
These were 2 t-shirts I have been saving just because I love the graphics of the safety pins but they are printed on heavy t-shirt/sweatshirt fabric and they are pretty short on me so they aren't getting worn as is.

As I say......."scissor time"

This is an adorable top on me but in desperate need of some "uniqueness"
I simply rough cut out the image and pinned it onto the t-shirt (while it was on me so I liked the placement). I think this is really important because the image could look great flat but that's not how it gets seen on our 3-D bodies! I added a die cut broken heart to the safety pin applique just like one of the projects in 101 Tees: Restyle + Refashion + Revamp used a bit of this and that.

Next up I wanted to add the little safety pin graphic to something and I had this great fitting black tank but not loving the words on it I felt this was a perfect use of the graphic!
I rough cut out again the graphic and pinned it like crazy since I was sewing on a ribbed fabric and it's super stretchy. (Please note my punk "rock" literal pin cushion!!!)
"Before" tank.
"After" tank with 2 laps of crazy contrast thread stitching.

Lastly I tried out one of the cool Fawn Plaid Metallic Iron-Ons on a plain t-shirt.
I also used another of the techniques from 101 Tees: Restyle + Refashion + Revamp to add a gather at the neckline just to spiff it up a bit more!
The directions for the iron-on were easy to follow and I simply love the result!

If you are like me and like to make your clothes truly your own grab a copy of 101 Tees: Restyle + Refashion + Revamp and your scissors and get cuttin'!
101 Tees: Restyle + Refashion + Revamp

By
Cathie Filian

The best way to find a t-shirt that suits you to a T is to make one!

Popular craft personality Cathie Filian has dreamed up more than 101 ways to embellish, customize, and transform the everyday t-shirt into something truly fashionable. Beginners will find Cathie's projects wonderfully easy and creative--and the 10 technique-themed chapters give crafters plenty to choose from. Just take a shirt of any type--from crew neck to long-sleeved--and cut and stitch, embroider, paint, dye, image transfer, or add rhinestones, ribbons, and other trim. The result will be gorgeous!

Los-Angeles based Cathie Filian created, produced, and co-hosted the popular lifestyle shows Creative Juice and Witch Crafts on HGTV & DIY Network. She is a National Spokesperson for Plaid Enterprises, one of the largest manufacturers of art and craft products in the United States, and the author of 101 Snappy Fashions (Lark, 2010). Cathie maintains an active blog (www.cathiefilian.com) and website (www.cathieandsteve.com).

Giant Recycled T-shirt Shamrock craft decoration for St. Patrick's Day

I love crafting "green", both eco-friendly and for St. Patrick's Day
I like working in all different scales. I did two fun crafts for St. Patrick's day. One tiny little recycled wool felted sweater shamrock pin and these big shamrock wall decorations out of hangers and t-shirts. Read on for the recycled t-shirt and wire hanger wall St. Patrick's day shamrock. I'll be posting the tutorial soon for the recycled sweater shamrock!

First I went to the old t-shirt stash for some green t-shirts and to the closet for some wire hangers.
To cut the t-shirts into strips I ran them through my Deluxe Rotary Cutter. This made the job so easy and quick. I set the Rotary Cutter to about 2.5 and I got about 5 yards of t-shirt strips from each shirt. I just kept cutting around and around.
I bent 4 hangers each in kind of a "heart" shape.
Then I taped them together with a bit of packing tape and wrapped them with the t-shirt strips. I wrapped with one color to cover the hanger and then with the other color loosely to make a candy can like stripe. The big shamrock took 2 t-shirts to cover. So I had one t-shirt all cut into a strip so I bent one more hanger and made a little shamrock.