Transform a T-Shirt into a Leather Yoke Tunic: My Latest T-shirt Refashion

I am so proud of my latest t-shirt refashion! I turned my husband's shirt into a leather yoked tunic!

I couldn't believe it when my husband finally let me have this shirt. Maybe he gave in after the 100th time I asked for it? I loved this t-shirt it from the minute he bought it. The bright, sparkle of the gold leaf design against the black background, the intricate detail of the eagle's wings, and the large gold outlines in the upper right corner made for a beautiful printed textile begging to be refashioned.

I knew I wanted a leather yoke for this similar to the one  made for this tunic out of a purse. But, lo and behold, I didn't have a  leather piece big enough for my yoke pattern. What I did have, was leather scraps so I sewed leather scraps together and made a large enough piece for the yoke. Here it is. I love the patchwork effect from the different types of leather. 

I kept the neck band and simply moved it slightly lower, under the yoke, creating a little peek a boo cut out. 

Lastly, I cut the hemline in asymmetrical fashion to compliment the design which was, indeed, also asymmetrical. I am so happy with the results, and have worn it several times already. It also looks really great with a black blazer or sweater. 

T-Shirt Refashion: Regular "El Bar Rio" T-Shirt to Bat-Wing Draped Pocket Top

My latest t-shirt refashion!

The "El Bar Rio" (El Barrio) t-shirt started out like this. It is designed by Luis Cordero, Founder of PRIDA. Cordero is a graphic artist and photographer, among other things. He also designs, produces, and sells his own line of t-shirts with Native American Taíno and other Puerto Rican cultural icons. You can purchase his tees here. 

PRIDA stands for Puerto Rican Institute for the Development of the Arts, a Project of Comité Noviembre. Their mission is to promote and provide support for the Puerto Rican artist and the arts. I happen to be a proud member. You can find out more about PRIDA here. 

Okay, now back to how I redesigned the tee. The first thing I did was to separate the front from the back, sleeves and all.  

 Next, I separated the graphic and cut it into this shape. This is all that I used of the t-shirt itself. 

I had this long black 2X dress which I used for fabric.

I used the fabric from the dress for the sides, back, and pockets  of the new top. There are no side seams, just one single seam in the back middle.  

 I then added the pockets on the sides and professionally hemmed the neckline, bottom, and sleeve openings with my handy dandy hem machine (did I just say handy dandy? lol)

 And here it is. The neck line is wide enough that I could also use it as an off the shoulder top. 

I really love it and so glad I decided to add pockets.

 Here's a side view

I love these tunic-like tops and the "El Bar Rio" (El Barrio) graphic really pops. What do you think? Would you have done anything differently? As always, I appreciate feedback and respond to all comments. 

Have a great day! 

Tuesday Tutorial: Sting T-Shirt Refashion

I had so much fun redesigning this Sting t-shirt from his 1993 World Tour, Ten Summoner's Tales. I absolutely LOVE Sting and his, was the first concert I had ever been to.

That night, I made it through the crowds and long line, to get this shirt. This is the front and back of similar shirt. I didn't take before pics of the the one I reconstructed.

This is the first time I reconstructed the shirt 10 years ago. I recently tried it on and felt it needed another revamp. It looked boring. I decided to give it a shawl-like collar

This is the shape I used, sorry it's so wrinkly

Then I folded it in half

I separated the front and back of the shirt at shoulder seams, pinned, and then sewed the ends of the folded shawl piece to the underarm part of the shirt.

On the back, I cut the collar off, giving it a straight line. I then sewed the back of the piece to this section.

Voila! a cute little shawl collar!

 Here's the back

Front and back

I love this revamp and will be wearing it a lot this summer as the shirt continues to mean so much to me. Like I said before, this was the first time I have ever been to a "secular" music concert. I might have mentioned it before, but I grew up in a very religious, pentecostal, Spanish-speaking, fundamentalist-like, church where there were clear demarcations between secular and sacred. We weren't even allowed to listen to secular music, although we broke this rule all the time. My sisters and I were constantly bopping to every 80s music star from Lisa Lisa to the Police, thus my love for Sting. 

In the early 1990's, the lyrics to Sting's song If I Ever Lose My Faith in You, pretty much summed up how I was feeling. I was losing my faith in the church, but still trying, desperately, not to lose a hold of God in my life. 

You could say I lost my faith in science and progress
You could say I lost my belief in the holy church
You could say I lost my sense of direction
You could say all of this and worse but

If I ever lose my faith in you
There'd be nothing left for me to do

When I heard that Sting would be performing in Madison Square Garden in 1993, I called my friend and asked if she would go with me and I high-tailed it downtown to Madison Square Garden and got the tickets. By then I was an adult going to a different church and knew in my heart that God loved Sting too.

The day of the concert I felt so empowered, happy and joyful to be in the presence of such great artistic talent (even if he did look like a little ant to me, we were pretty far back.) It didn't feel at all like I had entered into the "devil's playground" as some of my former church members might have called it. It was a wonderful night. Hearing, "If I Ever Lose My Faith, live, well, there was just nothing like it. I will treasure that memory forever. 

...and that's the power of clothes, people. Every time I look at this Sting t-shirt, it reminds me of that great night and the lovely memory I will forever share with my friend Maxine. I dedicate this post to you Max, and hope we can pick up where we left off someday. I haven't lost faith in our friendship.