11.29.2008

The Shredder

When I first stumbled across Raquel Allegra's beautiful shirts I was intrigued by how a basic t-shirt could look like a piece of couture. The fact that Raquel sources her shirts from the LA County Jail adds interesting history and depth to her pieces. Just imagine the story behind that shirt - it was likely worn by a convicted felon while he served kitchen duty, cooking up meals for his fellow inmates! While I'm not brave enough to march into jail and ask for their old, unwanted t-shirts, you can get the same look with a Hanes or Fruit of the Loom undershirt from any supermarket.


What You'll Need:

T-shirt
Seam ripper

Scissors

First, cut the hem off your t-shirt, and style it as desired. You can leave it plain, but I cut a scoop neck and rolled up the sleeves for a more feminine look. Now, decide what section of your t-shirt you want shredded. I found that one side panel (pictured above) or a section of the back usually looks best. Stretch the shirt horizontally between your knees to separate the threads. Take your seam ripper, and pull loose a panel of threads from the bottom of the hem. Using quick, stabbing motions, work your vertically up the shirt, until you have a stripe of loose threads running the entire length of the t-shirt.

I've tried lots of shredding techniques, and found this one works best. Repeat this process for as large a section as you want shredded. After many hours, you'll end up with a one-of-a-kind conversation piece!

xx,CC

Helpful hint: If you're shredding a large section of the shirt, buy one size smaller than normal. The shirt tends to get bigger the more you shred it.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

your blog is amazing

Anonymous said...

Very cool! i can't wait to try it!

Anonymous said...

This is FABULOUS! I'll be linking.

Cheryl said...

I'm wearing my Raquel Allegra DIY right now. Too bad I made lots of mistakes and ripped it lots because I did it all without a seam ripper and got impatient but it still looks good under my Claude Maus hoodie! I'm about to make a dress next.

Yours looks awesome! Its so tidy!

Alison said...

childhoodflames.blogspot.com also did this DIY!

Pixienish said...

Yay! I finally know what a seam ripper looks like. HAHAHHA thanks :)

la petite fashionista said...

wow! how time consuming yet AWESOME. probably not one of those diys you can multi task while watching tv huh? turned out amazing!

Cara said...

Thanks guys for your comments!

Alison - As a fan of childhood flames, I tried out her DIY tutorial on my first attempt at this shirt. However, I found ripping the threads with your fingers results in a more spider web look, while a seam rippers gives you the lace-like quality.

Petite Fashionista - I actually made this entire shirt while watching TV. I think I would have gone insane otherwise!

Anonymous said...

Haha, it's so coincidental you should post this now - I'm planning on buying a tee for this DIY tomorrow!

saray said...

this is the hottest DIY now..

Anonymous said...

i just stumbled across your blog and i lvoe it! your diys are great

jane said...

what type of shirt did you use? i tried Camille's tutorial via childhoodflames with a Hanes vneck and when i tried it (i did a wide panel on the back) the threads were all droopy and became engtangled with eachother :[[. oh and i used my fingers to pull the horizontal threads.. Any suggestions/help?

TheShoeGirl said...

This is ridiculous!! SO AWESOME! Thank you!! haha- I love it!!
I cant wait to go home and tear ish up.

TheShoeGirl said...

Ok... I did it! (sort of) hehe.
You did an AMAZING job! I found it really hard and I dont know how you did it so perfectly! wow.

http://theshoegirl.blogspot.com/2008/12/night-on-town.html

Fabulous Finds Gal said...

I'm inspired to shred some shrts up!

Unknown said...

Amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!