Upcycling T-shirts with Love Notions Vanguard Kit

Catching up on old projects. Made this one March 2018.

My son loved this Spiderman T-shirt that had gotten too small and had a few holes. Most of his old clothes are passed on to his cousin, but I thought I could upcycle this one using the Vanguard Kit from Love Notions. It is perfect for panels and well, saving too small shirts.


For the second colour I used this larger shirt I'd picked up at a second hand store.

The shirt came together very quickly and easily. I used some better quality cotton lycra for the neckband and salvaged the cuffs from the orange shirt for the cuffs on the new ones. Bonus for using 2nd hand shirts? Didn't need to hem it as I kept the hem off the orange shirt.


I love how the shirt came out, and was able to add some much needed long sleeves to my son's wardrobe. However, mental note for next time... he's refused to wear it because he doesn't like the seaming on the sleeves. Either I'll leave this off next time, or topstitch it down first. 

I will definitely be making more and can't wait to make some pants. The fit is great and I really love how it turned out.  



Cost breakdown:

Materials: $5 for orange shirt, $0 for spiderman
Pattern: I can't remember the actual price I paid, but I got it on sale for about $8 Cnd I think.

Total cost: $13

Cost to purchase: $10-20 (let's say $20 so I can call this a win LOL. The first make is always the most expensive one when you need to count pattern costs). 

Total savings: -$3 to $7, but the possibility to save old favourites is worth it. 


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