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| The end product - a perfect shirt filet! |
This time around the focus is on basic thrift store shirt butchery. The shirts in question are those endless racks of classic man-tailored shirts ideally suited for boring nine to five office jobs, found by the armload at any thrift store. They can generally be had for anywhere from $3 to $5 depending on the thrift store. That means you are getting lots and lots of lovely cotton fabric (check labels and avoid synthetics) far more cheaply than you'd pay at a fabric store, and you are keeping all of those shirts in circulation and out of the landfill.
To create a jigsaw pieced creation like the one above, pick at least three shirts in complementary hues, or in contrasting colors that appeal to you. Butchering a man's shirt involves removing all useable expanses of fabric and gutting and tossing the reinforced seams. You may want to save collars and cuffs for other projects (see
Power Cuffs for another fun and fashionable project). Stream something online, grab your scissors, and make an evening of it!
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| Shirt butchering diagram |
Keep the front button and button hole plackets intact – they can contribute interesting and unexpected details to your final creation. What you end up with after an enjoyable evening of shirt butchering is a lovely array of useable fabric. At that point, let the creative fun begin.
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| The salvaged fabric |
Try piecing the fabric together in a variety of different ways. The end product in this case is a short-sleeved shirt formed from a rectangle, which gives you lots of leeway to mess around.
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| Let the piecing begin! |
One priority for me has always been pockets, and I found a number of ways to incorporate them into this new creation from the butchered parts. The top center pocket is actually a meta-pocket, incorporating the breast pocket that was on one of the original shirts, which is itself simply the exterior of another, larger pocket formed from a panel that includes a portion of the buttoned front placket of the original shirt. A button placket was used again for the lower right pocket.
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| Pockets, count 'em! |
There is no limit to your creativity when it comes to shirt butchery.
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| Shirt back |
And finally, here is the shirt in action. . . shown on me in a spaced out moment in my living room.
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| Moi |
