TUTORIAL: Reconstructed Men's Shirt to Button-down Tank Top! (surgery prep)

Last summer I underwent major surgery on my torso which resulted in a prolonged period of the inability to lift my arms. This, combined with the warm weather, made wardrobe prep very important! I was told I needed button-down shirts or things I didn't need to lift my arms up to put on. Alas, I found availability in stores for anything remotely cute and season concious lacking..

This led me to create a simple design which converted second hand men's button-down dress shirts into cute tanktops that could be worn in more than one way. I kept it simple in the hopes that someone going through any type of surgery on their torso or mid-section who knew sewing basics would be able to use this tutorial to create their own version :) Or someone who wants to make something sustainable and girly! Feel free to email me if you have any questions!

All Photo Credits: TM 2011 SMASHWORKS. All Rights Reserved. 

ON TO THE TUTORIAL! (Click the Link Below)

Studio: Deconstruct/Reconstruct Sustainability Project

For studio class this semester we had to create a sustainable garment out of vintage or second hand garments. The goal was to use 100% of the materials to create an upcycled clothing piece. As I hate the crunchy patchwork style that is commonly associated with reconstructing second-hand clothing I knew I needed to do something that directly spoke to my own aesthetic. This led me to conceptualizing the idea of using unsustainable fabrics to design fetishwear! The fabrics used to create fetishwear are typically quite bad for the environment and the idea of 'sustainability'.

Over 33 million of tons of PVC is produced annually and it emits toxic compounds from manufacture to disposal. The shiny lovely durability it boasts is unfortunately also its downfall-> It is not biodegradable or degradable, which means all the PVC that gets dumped in landfills either just sits there for decades.. Or it is burned and releases toxic fumes like hydrogren chloride gas and dioxin :/ I knew I wanted to use PVC garments for this project for just this reason.

My first order of business was to find some interesting PVC material and I immediately thought of children's raincoats. They had fun patterns and didn't have excessive amounts of material or lining! I picked up three coats and opted for this Mickey Mouse version because it reminded me of my childhood adventures in Disneyland :) From there I also knew I wanted to make a corset so I found a kilt in my closet that I didn't mind parting with that would work for the lining.

It was a huge amount of work but I was very happy with what I produced. I started with 651.5 grams of fabric from my garments which included the weights of all extra embellishments that were needed, such as the boning and eyelets. And *drumroll* I ended up being able to use 100% of the original garments! I even saved the thread from the original constructions.. I swear, there was method to my madness! lol The fruits of my labor are posted below. I constructed an underbust corset, Minnie ears, a pair of spats, a purse, and a little neck tie :)

The construction process was VERY long and painstaking and contains many pictures! For this reason, I'm not posting it directly here. If you'd like to read more about my adventures click below!