Goodwill Alterations with Chanté Gibbs
Spring is finally here! I wanted an easy top for me to wear to brunch or even a date night, and I was quickly inspired by a graphic tee I upcycled when looking through my content from last spring. With that tee, I had made cutouts that you tie in the front and back of the shirt, but this time I wanted to explore placing the cutouts differently.
Once I sketched out where I wanted the new cutouts to be, I brought my design with me to the thrift store to look around. I searched through the women’s shirt section first, hoping to find a cotton graphic tee. I needed the shirt to be my size but not too tight on the body. I couldn’t find a graphic tee, but I eventually came across a beautiful shirt with an unusual tie dye pattern. I loved the color combinations and the softness of the shirt in my hand.
How do I make it?
- First I tried on the tee to see how it fit me. I knew I wanted the shoulder strap to be on the right side and the cutouts to be on the left side.
- I laid down the shirt and made a curved line a half inch from the right arm seam. Then about a inch and a half away from that line, I made another one diagonally across to the bottom of the left arm seam.
- Then I marked two small lines and a dot to help me create a left horizontal triangle cutout and connected the lines to the dot towards the middle of the shirt.
- Once I was satisfied with the placement, I cut along the lines I had made.
- Then I cut the 2 small seams on the left side of the shirt and tied them together to form the bow in the middle of the cutout.
- When I tried my shirt on again the bottom felt too long, so I also decided to cut off about an inch there.
Chanté is a local thrift blogger and sustainable designer. She is our inspiration and guide to exploring what can be done with some creative alterations and updates of thrifted finds. Each month she starts with a concept, shops our stores, and reworks her thrift finds into high-fashion pieces. She takes us on a thrift journey from start to finish, and it’s a great ride every month!