What do I do with a tshirt I won't wear?

October 25, 2006 8:07 PM

What do I do with a tshirt that I love but don't want to wear?

One of my closest friends drew something and had it printed on a tshirt for my birthday. I love the design and I loved the idea; I don't love the style of the t-shirt he picked to put it on. I plan to order another shirt (perhaps a tank) with the print that I would wear outside but what do I do with the one I have now? He suggested a pillow but I don't want or need another pillow. Any ideas?

posted by pinksoftsoap to sports, hobbies, & recreation (27 comments total)

You could frame it and hang it.
posted by Airhen at 8:09 PM on October 25, 2006

You could Frame it or make a pillow out of it!
posted by Kensational at 8:12 PM on October 25, 2006

Recycle them into cute undies.
posted by iconomy at 8:13 PM on October 25, 2006 [2 favorites]

Frame it. Hang it. Be done with it.
posted by Effigy2000 at 8:20 PM on October 25, 2006

Turn it into a pillow?
posted by Ufez Jones at 8:32 PM on October 25, 2006

Third the pillow idea. If you don't know how to sew, there's usually plenty of ladies at churches who would be willing to do it for you (I'm not being sexist; I really know about 5 older women at my church who do this for people!)
posted by fvox13 at 8:45 PM on October 25, 2006

From the question: He suggested a pillow but I don't want or need another pillow.

I've seen t-shirts used as front seat covers in cars with dirty/ugly/uncomfortable seats to good effect.
posted by Espy Gillespie at 8:52 PM on October 25, 2006

Cut out the design and sew it artfully on to a t-shirt you like more.
posted by crabintheocean at 9:04 PM on October 25, 2006

Or cut out the design and sew it onto the back of a jeans jacket. Or try a little t-shirt surgery.
Or make a pillow.
posted by iconomy at 9:07 PM on October 25, 2006

You could hot glue it to a lampshade.
posted by owhydididoit at 9:38 PM on October 25, 2006

the design, I mean
posted by owhydididoit at 9:39 PM on October 25, 2006 [1 favorite]

Cut out the design and use it to decorate your favorite big bag.
posted by youngergirl44 at 9:50 PM on October 25, 2006

Cut out the design and pin it to the back of your hoody.
posted by DieHipsterDie at 9:57 PM on October 25, 2006

Get a plain canvas tote bag and pin or sew the design onto it. You can never have too many tote bags.
posted by decathecting at 10:22 PM on October 25, 2006

I'm making a quilt out of the ones I can't quite bear to get rid of...
posted by susanbeeswax at 11:09 PM on October 25, 2006

You could make a groovy laptop sleeve like this.
posted by jonesor at 3:42 AM on October 26, 2006

Turn it into a pair of undies.
posted by lobstah at 4:14 AM on October 26, 2006

You could tack it to the wall and call it a tapestry. Or cut out the design and put it in a picture frame, as others have suggested. I did this with an old Far Side t-shirt that was too holey to wear in public.
posted by pmann at 9:21 AM on October 26, 2006

I had a friend save up a bunch and I made them a duvet cover out of them. Sewed the fronts together, sewed some plain cotton on the back, velcro on the open end, and they just tossed in some cheap Target comforter.
posted by Kellydamnit at 9:44 AM on October 26, 2006

I've made a quilt/ duvet cover out of old t-shirts. My suggestion is get instructions on how to make a small lap or baby quilt and modify the deisgn to accomodate the T-shirt graphic. You can then make the quilt in to a small wall hanging with the image as a certerpiece surrounded by a pattern. It might be more work than you wanted to give it (certianly more work than making a pillow) but it is a unique way to display the work instead of framing it. You wouldn't need that much fabric if it's a small quilt maybe two or three yards.
posted by rodz at 9:49 AM on October 26, 2006

I just sewed all of my old ones (just the logos, really) onto a nice flannel blanket. Easy and comfy.
posted by Four Flavors at 9:58 AM on October 26, 2006

I nth the suggestion of sewing it onto a tote bag. But, rather than decorate a pre-existing bag, why don't you sew the bag yourself from the t-shirt fabric? I had a t-shirt surgery go horribly awry but fixed it by creating a bag. Now, that bag is my favorite tote.

There are plenty of bag tutorials on Craftster. If you want, I can poke around and dig some up for you. :)
posted by ElectricBlue at 10:15 AM on October 26, 2006

My lady has been known to rework t-shirts somehow into skirts. I don't know the logistics of it, but it looks pretty cute. I imagine it's just a matter of making a bigger hole in the top and...eh...schmattergliffering the sleeves.
posted by Darth Fedor at 10:42 AM on October 26, 2006

T-shirt to skirt transformation found in this book, which I thought was great. Just be sure to practice on a less loved shirt first.
posted by Nathanial Hörnblowér at 11:30 AM on October 26, 2006

Give it to your dog to wear (assuming you have a dog)
posted by comatose at 3:20 PM on October 26, 2006

T-Shirt Surgery?
posted by divabat at 4:39 PM on October 26, 2006

Someone suggested t-shirt quilts above. This company does it for you since I know you can't sew. They also make pillows from old t-shirts. it's a great way to recycle more than 1 t-shirt, especially if you really love the t-shirt but just don't wear it anymore.

http://www.campusquilt.com/
posted by pikaboy202 at 10:38 PM on December 6, 2006