Goodwill Alterations with Chanté Gibbs
When I went to Goodwill, I started in the women’s short sleeve shirts section. My goal was to find a t-shirt with an interesting pattern or graphic on it in my size. After spending time searching through the rack, I found a cute striped H&M shirt with a Harvard college logo on it. The nice colors drew me to it, and I really loved the college streetwear element.
When I was searching through my old Facebook pictures, I came across a t-shirt I upcycled back in high school. It had a Checotah-like pattern, and I turned it into a fringed crop top. I really liked how that project turned out, and it inspired me to do something similar.
How do I make it?
- I tried on the shirt to see how it fit me. Luckily the shirt wasn’t too big on me, and I didn’t have to alter the side seams.
- While wearing it, I made a notch near my belly button where I wanted the fringe to start.
- Next I laid the shirt down and with a ruler created a horizontal line where I had just marked it.
- I determined what I wanted for the width of my fringe, and I drew vertical lines starting from the horizontal line to the bottom of the shirt.
- Then I cut off the bottom hem and the sleeves of the shirt.
- After that I started cutting along the vertical lines and did the same to the back. The slits don’t have to be even, and you can make a slit on the side of the shirt if needed.
- Lastly, I stretched out each piece of the new fringe to make it curl and have the fringe look more uniform.
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!