DIY Crap.
With the struggling economy, practically everyone’s looking for ways to make some extra cash. Personally, I am adopting a new hobby (ha, still with my 50 others!) that will hopefully, eventually turn a profit. DIY (Do It Youself) tops!
I’ve always been a huge fan of recontructed t-shirts. I haven’t tried to make them myself, but I’ve always been curious as to whether I could. Sooooo, I’m going to try! 🙂
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I am a HUGE fan of eBay, and I buy and sell on there often. EBay is a great source for DIY and reconstructed tops (as well as bags, pants, etc..). I figured if I can make a few decent shirts, hopefully I can turn a nice profit by selling them on eBay. Even better, I already have this awesome website, so I could make a section dedicated just to selling my creations! Hot damn.
You can find items like this on eBay!
Unfortunately, I was unsure of the beginning “business” costs this was going to cause.. I’m hoping that my parents’ old sewing machine works fine and I can just have theirs, but other than that, I’d have to buy all my tools.
I recently went to Michael’s, a large craft store, and tried to begin my venture. I purchased some fabric, sewing essentials, iron on letters and decorations, and a few other things to get me started. There are definitely a few craft stores in town so I may have to check out.
Have you ever considered doing something like this yourself but don’t have any seamtress experience? Don’t fret! I don’t know jack shit about sewing! However, I’m an extremely meticulous person when it comes to my work, so I’m hoping that rolls over into sewing. I figured once I become comfortable with a sewing machine, I should be able to follow patterns and whatnot of tanks and rip an old concert tee into a cute halter top!
There are also tons of great websites out there that have step-by-step instructions to make your own girly tops out of regular t-shirts. Here are a few I’ve found:
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/03/diy_tshirt_surgery.php
http://www.essortment.com/hobbies/haltertopouto_sxwp.htm
http://www.michaels.com/art/online/projectsheet?pid=e06512
http://www.ohmystars.net/craft/index-surgery.php?page=tsstut1
*my favorite!*
So anyway- it’s pretty much like any business; you’re going to have to spend a little money to make money. You’ll need to buy crafting accessories, like maybe a leather hole-punch (great for making corset tops!), ribbon, other fabrics to work into the t-shirts, obviously threads and sewing tools, and anything else to make your top unique.
Plus, after you get decent at making shirts, you can start taking custom orders! It will definitely take some time, but if you’re like me, you’d rather use your spare time productively rather than laying around and watching TV or something. I’m just so used to being busy, I can’t stand time being wasted so I think this is a perfect fit for me.
So in other words… COMING SOON TO PUNKWORLDVIEWS.COM; a store!! Yea!! 🙂 You may email me with further questions.
Word.
*****
About the Author
Denise Borders 39, Los Angeles. Denise founded PWV in 2008 and remains the primary manager and photographer/videographer. She is not secretly obsessed with Joey Cape.
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