October 21, 2008

do-it-yourself: the shredded tee

Finally, here it is! Sorry for the delay!

What You’ll Need:
-a t-shirt/tank top/etc. (I used a regular Hanes tee, the ones that come in a pack)
-scissors
-a seam ripper (optional, you could use a mechanical pencil or your fingers instead)
-lots of time


Cut the hem off your shirt and stretch the raw edge a bit to loosen the threads.


Using you seamripper (pencil or fingers), begin to pull at the threads running horizontal to the hem of the garment. (Note: Don't tear the threads, just pull them loose. You will see them unravel as you pull.) The first couple threads may break, but keep going until you have several threads loose. This is where you determine how wide your shredded section is going to be, so pull a long section of thread out if you want a wider panel of shredded fabric. Remember, you can always made more panels later on.

Once you have several threads pulled out you can ditch the seam ripper and just use your fingers to pull on the thread and more should rip out. Don’t worry if some threads break along the way, just keep pulling.

Continue ripping until you reach the top of the garment or the height you desire. If you notice that your shredded panel of fabric tapers in as you go higher, backtrack and find where you didn’t pull the thread all the way across and pick and pull at the spot until it comes undone and continue to the top.

Repeat and make multiple panels of shredded fabric until satisfied.
If you have any questions send me an e-mail!

ETA:
video tutorial!

158 comments:

Anonymous said...

wow! i wonder how it will hold up in the wash though...

Stace said...

hey, it looks pretty cool(:

Elisa H said...

WOW! The result is SO nice!

It seems extremly long and i am not sure i would have the patience to DIY it... but i really love it!

Chloe's Chic Conception said...

So awesome!

Adiel said...

Nice DIY!!

Dana (MODAna) said...

cool
just don't think I could rock this

laia. said...

this is insane.
good job though it looks super cool.

Kirke said...

really nice!

Anonymous said...

Do you just cut off the hem of the panel you want shredded, or the hem of the WHOLE shirt??

Mattie said...

i gave up my shredded shirt because it was taking forever but i may have to start up again.

great job camille!!!!!!!!!

Instant/Vintage said...

Great tutorial. I should have started mine at the bottom. Yours came out very nicely.

Luxe. said...

Wow that looks amazing! Thanks for the how to!

WYELIN said...

you should do a video one!

Thea said...

THAT'S SO FREAKIN' COOL! IF I EVER BECOME PATIENT I SHALL MAKE ONE. And yeees! Do video!!

Really, I LOVE your shirt.

Ashlyn said...

I love this. I don't think I have the patience for this kind of DIY, and unfortunately I don't think the weather around my parts will tolerate this either. Awesome job!

Capuccino B. said...

you are so original :D

PS: I sent you an email.

Mie said...

Thank you for the tutorial ;)

Mike said...

Looks great. I like how you chose to do the vertical slanting line angle. Nice personal touch.

xtine said...

I'm inpspired by your efforts.
it looks amazing!

arline said...

How long did it take?

I need a reference point. :)

lady coveted said...

that's what i was wondering how long it would take... i'm very impatient.

Knight Cat said...

incredible. im going to give it a try. can you post another picture of your self wearing it??



xxx

ModeJunkie said...

i think you are the queen of diy! this is perfect. :)

sarah said...

great job, looks amazing! maybe i'll give it a try, but i'm too impatient, i think.

xx

Natalie said...

That looks wicked, but I just don't think it would look like that if I were to give it a try!

Brklyngirl said...

Thats SO wickedly fab and I was just wondering to myself yesterday the best way to do this. Great post!

avputries said...

SUPERAWESOME. how about you try to show the mix and match? i cant wait. :)

Anonymous said...

thank you so much for sharing!

Maia said...

Amazing. Love it! I don't think that I'd have the patience or skill to do it myself though.

EMILIE said...

it looks gorgeous! it's asymmetrical and almost like you bought it like that.
VERY NICE!

Laurel said...

You're a damned genius, I say. I love it, bb! You did a wonderful job!

Raquel said...

Wow! Great job! How many hrs did it take?

Lady_V said...

That's pretty sweet. If I remember I'm gonna try this out one day. Thanks for the steps and pics!

Maria said...

Great tutorial! I'm definitely trying this out!

Anonymous said...

Maybe you should think about creating others and selling them!? I am pretty sure it's worth trying!!!
XXX =)

teacup lace said...

I actually second the anon above! You would probably have quite a few buyers who don't have the time or are too much of perfectionists.

Taghrid said...

youre a genius

Jenn said...

It looks amazing!!

Anonymous said...

awesome!! how many shirts did you go through to finally get it right?

Vickie Li said...

i think it will fell apart in the wash.....but looks supercool, can't wait to try

-h of candid cool said...

so cool! yours came out pretty great!

Anonymous said...

Looks great. I saw Raquel Allegra's stuff in person and loved the texture. I think I'll try this out on a rainy day.

letslivefast said...

i started this after reading your diy and half an hour later i have a small small patch done. it must have taken you forever to finish! i have a whole new respect for your accomplishment. crazyness. now i know why the real thing is so crazy expensive
how does it hold up in the wash?

D said...

i love i love i lovei love i love i lovei love i love i lovei love i love i love

Leah said...

I am so beyond excited that you posted this. I have been patiently waiting ever since you said you were going to post the tutorial. I feel in love with the original Raquel Allegra stuff after you posted it. Thanks!

M said...

yay! i've been waiting for this!
but will the thread come undone by itself?

fashionispoison said...

you did a great job :]

you should post the link to the $500 one!

KD said...

That is so cool! I wouldn't wear it myself, but I love it on you!

Brigadeiro said...

Wow! That turned out amazing! I didn't realize you'd be shredding so much of the t-shirt when you started, but now that I've seen the finished result...Love it!

Cassandra said...

and that is how you save $400.

stylemagnet said...

Fantastic! Thank you so much for this. I'm going to grab my mom's seam-ripper asap!

<3

P.S. Let us know how it holds up in the wash.

Sh said...

Tell us how it looks after washing!

runway today said...

great job!

Stompface said...

Wild diy! I want one!
The finished job looks amazing.
You are so clever Camille!

The Glossy Editor said...

impressive!

sam said...

whoa. this tee turned out so cool! the blog is so cool, too. could ya please take a look at my blog?

LADIVASOSA said...

oOOOHH SHHIIITTTT. This is totally my next DIY. Thanks for this!! You have done an amazing job!!

Nothing Elegant said...

You are so patient! It turned out great.

Rachel and Hui said...

Fantastic!

I love how your shredded panel goes diagonal. I certainly am going to try this out when I find the time.

Some of your DIY ideas make great ideas for dancers who need to make costumes on a budget, so thank you so much! :)

Hui

Val said...

SO. AMAZING.

hanako said...

i love how you always spend so much time on your diy! it always comes out looking perfect. this shirt is impressive, and amazing!

instantvintage said...

Yup - that's it right there. Great tutorial. I'm referring everyone over here.

Snowshoe said...

if only i had the patience + time. that is amazing, down right couture bling lookin'. Because I am a lazy, confused, easily distracted blogger I just realized that I don't even have you linked though I visit you constantly. blog fail. Your style is amazing for anyone, but at your age you're basically a prodigy. I know you're linked from here to blog-kingdom-come, but I feel like an r-tard for not having done it sooner. It must happen. Also, did you get the guess maeve boots from solestruck? They have made me a shoe offer and those are definitely my number one choice... but i couldn't tell from the photos below if those were the ones. long comments... for the win. ^^
xoxo,
Snowshoe

beccajanie said...

Camille - you are a DIY genius! I am AMAZED with the results. I am actually going to attempt this - since I love the originals but don't quite have the $$

girlfromnowhere said...

hi camille=] i'm an avid reader of your blog and i think you are fairly amazing! i love all your posts=]i've been looking around for this style because i am just not patient enough to do this...i found this http://www.angiehearts.net/Wear_Tear_Long_Sweater_p/ah747045.htm
that has a little of the shredding detail, i don't think i could pull off as much as you

indy said...

iLOVEit.

kristin said...

that's so lovely and delicate- half shirt, half spider web

kirstie said...

amazing! don't have the time to do it now and i'm afraid i'd go insane if i tried... but that is seriously amazing. and perfect for the upcoming summer :D

Ashton R. said...

you did an amazing job! i love these tees and am totally going to try this, thanks for the tutorial!

coralyn said...

It will take me a few sundays I'm sure but I'm so excited to give it a shot!

clouds said...

only one question:
How in the world do you take care of this delicate shirt? Is it washable? it's beautiful but feels like it might fall apart once it touches water >.<

madador said...

i will most definitely make one of these! i'm going to buy one of the extra long t-shirts to make a dress version
thanks for the tips!

velo love said...

Thank you so much for posting this!!

Alison said...

ps i linked to your post bc i talked about DIY :)

quoththeraven said...

It looks great!
I'm not sure I'd have the patience.

Amelia said...

Cool effect. It sounds kind of time-consuming, but it looks great.

pwincess bebe said...

wow, awesome.
want to try it, but i'm not not sure am i that patient to make it ;)

Sunset said...

A million people must have asked already, but how does it hold up in the wash? It seems like it'd turn to dust the moment it hits water.

But it's amazing... I can't wait to try it!!!

♥ Thyen said...

how long did it take you?

Anonymous said...

Tres AWESOME Camille! Well done and thanks for the tutorial too. The shirt looks fantastic.

Airam said...

*laughs*
You should have seen my attempt at making one of these... Basically it just looked like a sweater with a big hole in it at the bottom. Yours look fantastic, though, so perhaps I'll have to give it another go - a video would be even more help for non-crafty people such as myself ;)

urbanita said...

De-stress handicrafts!

Lou said...

Genius!!

ninacassie said...

You are an angel

intoyoureyes said...

Thanks v much! Awesome tutorial because i actually managed to shred it successfully! =)

Leah said...

this turned out so wicked!!!!! maybe one day i'll have the time/patience to try it out...i still haven't gotten to trying to diy the cutout shirt. thanksgiving break projects?? yes!!

Meagan said...

thank you, thank you so much! can't wait to try it out!

tia said...

i love it.
thanks for the tutorial.
yours looks great.

Isabel said...

In a word, Rodarte.

emma said...

its came out great!

Anonymous said...

uaaah, I loveee it. though i think it would work better with the arm holes and the umm, headhole? looking same as the hemline

wideyed said...

wooowwww.

Fashion Pariah said...

Your t shirt, looks incredible. Exactly like the real deal. The question is do i have the patience to make my own. What mix is the material as i don't think we get hanes in the uk?

xoxgoodbye said...

So awesome! I can't wait to try this! I'm going to this on an infinity scarf =) Can you please make a short video (of just a small panel)? It'd be really helpful.

Mimii's diary said...

Thanks! (k) <3

dirtydirtylaundry said...

It's so beautiful, like a ghostly shell. I'll be experimenting with this technique.

Alexandra said...

You have quite a unique eye! I love your styling!

Shen-Shen said...

My god, this is amazing. I must do this when I have a bit more time on my hands.

Nina said...

i LOVE this. you did an amazing job. thanks for showing us how! :)

style-nowhere said...

Oh, that looks ammaaaazzing. Love it! Must try myself.

syd vicious said...

That's wonderful!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for explaining. It works really well and after a while you get a lot faster with the process. Really helpful...since I got a very beautiful grey ripped shirt now.
Jones

Rumi said...

Camille you are a genius, you deserve some kind of blogging diy award at this point.

Is it just me or is the shredding process kind of fun in a sick, addicting way?

Margaret said...

That looks sooooo amazing! At first, when you would talk about it I didn't think it would turn out so well but the result is incredibly rocker.

moran said...

u work alot.very nice.love it.

kathrin@twoforfashion.de said...

How long did it take you to do that? check out my blog. xoxok

Jazzy said...

That looks dope...but also like a lot of work!

Jillian said...

looks amazing camille... you totally beat me to it


which is good cause i will be bugging you for pointers! urs LOOKS 1000x's better than mine :( poo!

Anonymous said...

amazing, amazing :)
could u post a picture of the finished tee upclose?
thank u
& really, amazing

ril said...

this is awesome. i'm starting up on my own shredded tee, and it's terribly time consuming, but for sure it will be fabulous once i'm done with it. i'm thinking there's lots of outfits just waiting to be put together when i'm done with the shredded tee.
i followed your d.i.y and i actually used an xacto knife to do the shredding which works really well and fast!

thesearchforchic said...

This is just out of-of-this-world amaaaaazing.

I love your blog dear, linking you.
XO
S

Krystal said...

rock on girlie, i love your blog.

xx
k

panda said...

Hi I made one too (in black) and it looks fab! I didn't expect it to be so easy! I'll put a photo soon on my blogg with a link to your DIY page. Well, my blogg isn't as good as yours haha, It will get better I hope!
Love!

Rachel@oneprettything.com said...

GORGEOUS! I'll be linking to this.

CARLA BLIXT said...

i think it looks SOOOO amazing!
i'm sitting here in my couch with my try to make my own shredded tee... or acually tanktop.

i think i failed on this try...

i think i will buy a black one, and start over yet again :)

you write that we should email you if we have questions, but i don't have your email :)
can you write it?


love your blog!!!love love love!!!

you are one of my favorite blogs.

love from carla!

punky said...

pretty amazing...I did this to a pair of jeans once...it took 4 months.

.alexandre said...

thank god i had this very similiar fabric at home but didnt have any idea bout what to do with it haha

it is awesome
love this blog

AARONKOK said...

ADORE THIS!
I'm going to try this out on a long shirt of mine and dip dye the bottom (well that's the plan) and if you don't mind, I will mail you my pictures, ASSUMING I'm a success story :)

Thanks for this.

Anna said...

thanks for this tutorial, i'll be trying it very soon :D even though it does look like a lot of work.

Hollie said...

So this tutorial=fabulous!!!! I started working on mine today and it does take for-freakin'-ever. The two sections I've done have taken on this crazy weird curvy look(I think I didn't get some of the rows all the way. ugggh.) So far I love it.

Anonymous said...

Someone is selling their own version of this on ebay. Not as awesome as yours but, hey I have no patience!

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150310463421

Anonymous said...

I did it myself thanks to your tutorial!! :) you did a fantastic job explaining!

-Lilly

Anna-Maria said...

This is truly great! Have to try it now!!!!! Thanks for the tutorial. :)

And I'm liking your blog too, hope that's ok. :)

sophia said...

Wow love this I am going to do it I might do it with multiple and then layer it

TrueSilver said...

thankyou so much for this tutorial! i will be sure to try it. I just looked up how to tell the difference btween knit and woven fabrics, knits are more in a braided pattern while woven are like tiny vertical and horizontel weaves.

Thanks again!

Anonymous said...

Hi! where do you get the Hanes tank top in the video?

Anonymous said...

SPLASH SOME RED AND BLACK OR PINK AND BLACK DYES AND SAY HELLO TO RODARTE. THIS DIY'S SO NIFTY!

Fishi said...

Well done!!!
such a good idea!!!
I'm gone do it as soon as i get home today!

Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Hi love your t if you do not have time to make a shredded t but would like one then email me as i make shreded t and shredded t dresses, Memoirsofaphoenix@googlemail.com :)

Anonymous said...

Hi love you t if you do not have time to make a shredded t but would like one then email me as i make shreded t and shredded t dresses, Memoirsofaphoenix@googlemail.com :)

Delicouture said...

hey, this is so awesome. thanks for doing this! but i dont have your kind of patience so i never made this through.. by the way, can we do this on pants too? those thin, grey cotton pants? that would be extremely hot..!

Lisa said...

you're so cool! love it :)

x3rockbitchx3 said...

i'll try that too :D

YouthQuaker said...

The clouds have parted. Life suddenly makes sense. I can't wait to try this!

internetgold said...

hey g, i found your tutorial on shredding about an hour and a half ago, and i'm already done with half a t-shirt. you said that one panel you did in the vid took you about 4-5 hours and i just don't understand why. i'm not here to knock you or anything, but i found that stretching the shirt horizontally and using a fingernail to just run down vertically will shred all the way down.. it can be compared to using scissors to shear through paper without actually CUTTING. i hope this made sense. if not, message me at myspace.com/barkobama and i will help you further!

PAMELATANG said...

i love the way you've taken a basic tshirt and turned it into something unique.

Sheena said...

I'm halfway through mine! I did it on a band tshirt, it's looking pretty great! Thanks for the awesome tute!

sewiknittoo said...

I love the tutorial for this shirt, I can't wait to make my own...your tutes are fabulous...I just had to add you on my blog!

walkingonsunshine said...

i did a pair of stockings using this method, they turned out really well, thank you! i'm currently working on a pair of shorts, i'll post them when i'm finished

genaxx/ said...

HI I've tried to attept this althoug with 100% cotton and it killed me. I stopped, it's just too hard. What other fabrics can u suggest me try it with. Will American Apparel shirts with 100% Sheer Jersey work?
I live in Australia so I can't get a hold of hanes..
Can't wait to hear back from you.

111 said...
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ed said...
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shekillsjuly said...

hi!

love those tees! i'm doing a blog post about shredded tees and would love to feature your tees and your blog.

can i do so already?! :)

xo,
xiao

www.shekillsjuly.wordpress.com

Anonymous said...

WASHES FINE!! I put mine in a lingerie bag and washed with the rest of my laundry...even put it in the dryer. no prob! :)

Kat said...

i cant wait to make these oh my ive never been so excited about devoting my wasted time spent doing nothing

Hilde said...

Awesome! Really nice explanation! Tried it myself, but I'm no good at it, hehe. I linked you on my blog btw :)

Anonymous said...

Can I just say yr cute as a button ;)

Anonymous said...

can you also start in the middle of a shirt?

ragil mega said...

Thanks so much for this. I have plenty of time in my hands I am so going to shred my tees.. these are too cool. xx

Anonymous said...

you're adorable. and this is amazingly cool, and i just bought some hanes t-shirt's yesterday, and.. yeah! i'm excited :)

Jewellery Gossip said...

wow...amazing...we are so trying this out, thanks x

Custom Tees said...

This is so good, but i thing this T-shirt could not be worn after a wash: )

day at a glance said...

this is the perfect semi lazy summer project. thanks for the post. i started my shirt yesterday.

hawkbrwn said...

Hi! I wanted to respond to your comment from the video on how to wash the shredded tee. You can put the tee into a pillow case, then tie the pillow case closed, and then wash it in a machine knowing it won't get snagged. Or, a garment bag works in a similar fashion. Either protects the fabric from tearing.

Thanks for making the video!

Relaby said...

this is very nice Camille c",) thanks for the tutorial

Myriam said...

i saved your post to create a shredded tee when i would have had time...now i'm workin on my tee! thanx a lot...you're great! and ur video is super!!

Vivi's Best said...

phew. my fingertips are raw, my nails are aching and all the muscles in my hand and arms are cramping up - but DEFINITELY worth it!

Will be posting pictures on my blog shortly!

Jamie said...

This really gives me a punk feeling :] I really like it :] Would love to see some coloured shredded t-shirt, the rest is all white :O