braided shirt
March 22nd, 2010
It seems that all anthropology and jcrew are doing these days is slapping things on t-shirts and calling it couture, then charging 60 bucks for it (see here and here if you don’t know what I’m taking about). I mean come on people, we can make this stuff. Look! I just turned into my mother before your very eyes! Shopping with her was awful (sorry mom) because no matter what I picked out she would say, “oh, you could make that.” Not necessarily me, I was 12 years old, but “one” could make it. No “one” ever did, of course. Until 20 years later.
So anyway, a while back a friend invited me over to slap some things on t-shirts and call it couture. I came up with this braided number. I think it actually was inspired by an anthropology shirt, but I can’t remember which one. I bought two 5 dollar shirts from Target and washed them both, one shrunk up really weird (only on one side–that’s what 5 bucks will get you) so I cut that one up. I started at the bottom and cut spiraling up to the armpits. The strip was super long and was about an inch wide. Then I cut it into three equal pieces and braided it.
Then I pinned it on, starting from the bottom and going up around the neckline, then back down the front and then I hand sewed that sucker on. I was watching a movie while I did it, so it’s a little uneven, but you can’t really tell when I wear it. I’ve got more anthrocopies (awesome word coined by the angry chicken!) planned, but that baby up there? he is just all over the place these days. So maybe you look to these people for inspiration while I go chase him down:
- Amy’s anthrocopy
- Dorothy’s winter to spring dress
- And there are just a ton of t-shirt refashion idea on Made By Lex (her blog used to be titled “My Mama Made It”)
Looks great! And I love the word ‘anthrocopies’.
cute! I saw some cute shirts at anthropologie with rope all over them. made me think I might need to sew rope to something.
Awesome! This looks great. I’m always refusing to buy stuff because I think “Oh, I could make that,” but I never seem to actually get around to making it.
I love it! I’m with Sarah also, I do the exact same thing
clever. as ever. i mean to do this much more than i actually do.
i invented a word too, mine is birkenmocks after all the fake birkenstocks that were de rigeur a season or two ago. check me!
Thanks for the shout-out!
Seriously, slapping embellishments onto clothing is something the clothing world gets from the crafting world. We do it when we can because, sheesh 60 bucks.
It sounds weird, but I think Target shirts are prone to shrinking on one side.
And now see where all that frustration got you? It has burst out in all this creativity—-you just never what ideas will grow in that compost pile of the mind. A word of caution: Watch out what you say to those little ones–you just never know!
This has got to be th best blog ever. This post made me laught so hard. Very creative, I love it. I also love your post of family ansembles, I need to try that. I have a new little one on the way. So that makes three for me.
Good to see you still have time on your hands, encouages me.
yay for the anthrocopy!
That’s so pretty! I really need to try some of these anthrocopies. I don’t own a single thing from anthro, but I wish I had it all! :D
One word, said Barney Stinson-style: Nice!
Many of the “Anthro-inspired” and “J. Crew-inspired” tops out there are… well… neither flattering nor inspiring. Yours, however, is quite lovely. And last spring I experimented with braiding strips of knit fabric but couldn’t get it to behave like I wanted. I had not tried cutting it on a bias so maybe that is a better plan….
Great shirt Meg! Looks very fetching.
clever. simple. stylish. and it rocks. my kind of project!
I was just thinking how I could make that stuff in Anthro, and its going to be my spring refashion! HAHAHAH, thanks for the links, good luck on mobile baby and sewing.