After ages thinking through how to paint fabric, which paints in NZ to buy, colour choices, etc etc, I decided to just check what t-shirts I had in my cupboard and go for it. I was looking for something very loud and 60´s, as I am really into making vintage clothes at the moment (once I lose those joyfully obtained, but hard to shift, Xmas kilos).I cut up my two loudest old t-shirts, and used red paint and bright orange thread. The shirts did have a side seam, but I figure that would be at the bit that ties, so it probably wouldn´t matter.
Well, I wonder whether my tshirts were just too old, or stretched? Do they have different cotton fabric in America? Maybe this fabric was too cheap and thin? It was very hard to sew, and stretched way too much while handsewing. More than I think they would be supposed to. I won´t keep going with this particular project.
So I used the chance to try out different lengths of stitches etc, and cut out the leaves to get a glimpse of how the final effect might have looked like if finished.I did buy some new knit fabric to make into a skirt, which has nothing like the stretch of my old shirts, so that´s fine. But I had been hoping to turn all my old tshirts into Alabama Chanin creations, keeping in with the recycling ethos of the book, and I think this seems unlikely now.
A Church on the point, Bay of Plenty, North Island, New Zealand
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