Seek Joy: Remaking T-Shirts
- The Crafty Raven
- Jun 20
- 2 min read
As a woman in a world without standardized sizing, I think about fast fashion quite a lot. I have no interest in fashion other than wanting to be comfortable and have appropriately sized pockets. My wardrobe consists almost exclusively of t-shirts and jean pants.
So why, with such low standards for my clothing, do I think about fast fashion so much?
Clothes are both costly and very cheap. I mentioned in a previous post that I stopped buying new jeans the day the cost rose to over $100 a pair. These jeans aren’t made to last a lifetime. The three or four pairs I typically own would wear out within a year. Clothing has become cheaply made. Fabrics are thin, seams are flimsy, and he majority are made of synthetic fibers.
There is a lack of standardized sizing. A large shirt from one company could be marketed as a small or an extra large from another. Buyers should take care to find the measurements of a garment before purchasing, especially online.
Nothing fits correctly. Clothes are being churned out on a massive scale, made to fit no one. Human beings do not come in a standard size. The number of people who find a perfect fit pulling a garment off a clothes rack is such a small percentage that the rest of the people interested in purchasing that item either pass it up or suffer with a fit they do not like.
I will omit more nuanced reasons for my argument for brevity. As mentioned in this post, my main issue is my own wardrobe. My latest victims are a couple of well-loved T-shirts. As my body size/shape fluctuates, there comes a point when they are no longer comfortable to wear. Suddenly, I’m on a limited rotation of five or so tees with a drawer full of others awaiting a size/shape swing in the other direction. Enough is enough!
PSA: This is not a tutorial. I am not a sewist. I dabble, and usually it turns out okay.
In this instance, these are the same size, shape, and material t-shirts, with different designs on the fronts. I chose which was my favorite to insert panels along the side seams to increase the size of the shirt. I used the second t-shirt to cut out the side seams to be used for said panels.
The whole process would have taken little time if I had stopped there. For some reason, I also chose to add the sacrificial shirt fabric around the sleeves and the bottom of the shirt. This took me the entire day as I had to pin and repin these bits a few times. I do like how it looks, though.
Since I am so pleased with the results and the new two-in-one shirt is so comfortable, I plan on doing this to as many of my shirts as possible. I go through all of this time and effort because, piece by piece, I am increasing the items of clothing that I will happily wear. I will have fewer unused items. And I will feel more comfortable in the clothes I currently own.
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