FYI DIY: Destroyed Tees

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This project has been a couple weeks in the making, and I apologize for the lack of DIYs but I’ve been confined to my bedroom and doing nothing but watching season 3 of the OC, ripping up a 5-pack of vnecks, and spending a lot of time with my new seam ripper and sewing kit.  Making the “perfect” destroyed tee is very hit or miss, you make one mistake and it looks like you tried too hard (too much scissors, not enough ‘I didn’t try to do this but it still works’).

I got a 5-pack of Vnecks for about $11, a seam ripper for $2, pack of safety pins for $2, and a small sewing kit for $2.  Here’s what I came up with:

This was my first attempt. Someone left their vneck tee at my house, and I decided I wanted a new shirt to wear. One small snip along the seam of the neckline, and I ripped the neck out by hand. This is very difficult to control, but is a much better option over scissors. I then cut the sleeves off very deep, and tied the back together with a small string I made from the scraps.

Second attempt, this one is a lot more controlled. I cut the scoop neck shape with scissors and let the fabric curl on its own. I cut the sleeves on their seam line, and then cut the left side down to a thin strap.  With the right, I twisted it tightly, and then secured it with an old chain I found from a broken necklace.  I wrapped the chain around the twist a few times and then knotted it.  It isn’t completely secure, but enough to keep the twist in tact. I also ripped the hole with a seam ripper.

This one is really easy.  If you liked the cropped tee look, just chop off a tshirt just below your waistline, so that when it curls up it will be right at your waistline.  I then used a seam ripper and ripped the neckline from the middle until I was about halfway to the shoulder. I then took safety pins and pinned the neckline back to the shirt.

This one was kindof a forced accident. When I ripped the neck after cutting the sleeves off, I almost tore the straps I had just made, so I had to use scissors to make sure I didn’t break the strap, and then I tied the loose ends around the straps in knots.  I cut the sleeves very deep and wide so there was only a small strip in the back, and then took one of the scraps and cut it into a long strip and began wrapping it around the strip I had just made so that when I reached the end the strings were equal on both sides, and then I knotted them and let the extra hang down.  

Now for the difficult, still in progress work:

Shredding is a lot harder than it looks.  As I’ve figured out so far, you take a seam ripper and snag a thread, and then use the seam ripper to force the strands to unravel.  It’s very tedious, and I haven’t quite figured it out enough to share, but am still working on it.  I’m thinking a video in the days to come would suffice?