I love to go to my local thrift shop and find interesting articles of clothing. This pink and white cotton gingham shirt isn't too bad, except for the bunny rabbits embroidered on the front. It must have been an Easter Shirt.
Garments like this just scream "Craft Project!" Many of my sewing and craft projects are made from old clothes. It's much less expensive than purchasing fabric. A long sleeved shirt has about the same amount of fabric as 1/3 yard, give or take, depending on the size.
I usually try to stick with cotton or cotton blend items and I wash them before I cut them up.
Some of the items that can be made from old clothes are: Doll clothes, Yo-Yo's, Hats, picture frames, toaster cover, purse, placemat, fabric flowers, throw pillow, pot holders, the list goes on and on...

Step 1: Remove Collar

Cut the collar off of the shirt and discard.

Step 2: Remove Plackets

Cutt off and discard both sides of the front placket. Discard.

Step 3: Remove Buttons

Using a seam ripper, remove the buttons and save for another project. Every true crafter has a button jar!

Step 4: Remove Cuffs

Cut the cuffs of of the shirt and discard.

Step 5: Sleeves

Cut off both sleeves at the seams. Cut the underarm seam open.

Step 6: Front of Shirt

Cut the side seams and shoulder seams to separate the front sections from the back. I like to make seasonal pot holders and the embroidrey on this shirt would be perfect for that.

Step 7: Back of Shirt

I like to use shirts that dont have darts. If you want to use a shirt that has darts, you can carefully take out the darts with a seam ripper. If the shirt has a yoke on the upper back, cut it off.

Step 8: Fold Pieces

Fold the pieces and place in a clear gallon size ziploc bag. Keep the bags together in a box. When you get ready to work on a craft project, it is easy to choose from the different colors and patterns. Shirts take up much less space after you've cut off and discarded the parts that you won't be using.

Introduction: Deconstruct a Shirt for Crafting