Stephanie Machuca

Sarah Ibrahim

Professor Haydee Jimenez

Art 3100 – Social Engagement FFM

8 May 2019

Project Brief Objective:

We want to inform others about the dangers of pollution that results in fabric waste being

dumped in huge landfills. Bringing this awareness will help our audience become more cautious

about fast fashion and how it affects us. Making your own items from old t-shirts can help reduce

the fabric waste harming the environment, since it is one of the main apparel products being sold

and mass produced, henceforth thrown away. Upcycling can shift consumer behavior and help

people limit their spending.

Questions:

Does “hand-made” affect the quality and functionality of an item? What audience are we

reaching? How can we make others interested about being mindful of the fabric waste produced

by fast fashion (including us as consumers)?

Mission:

We thought about creating a fanny pack because the idea of carrying small necessities

(including coins) near you was brought up. When going to the laundromat, it can be a hassle to

carry so many coins in pockets or lugging around a bag. We also considered others that may find

this useful, like the homeless. The fanny pack can be made from t-shirt yarn using techniques

like crocheting, weaving, braiding, hand-stitching, and knotting.

Research: Inspiration

Design examples

Useful videos

T-shirt yarn

https://youtu.be/e-UOc9RHdAY

Single Crochet

https://youtu.be/aAxGTnVNJiE

Weave with cardboard loom

https://youtu.be/AWLIy-Um7_0

Schematics: Sketches of plan

Materials:

The materials we used are: three to four old t-shirts, a loom (preferably hand-made from

cardboard), weaving needle (or something similar in order to have a better grip of transferring

the weft yarns around the warp yarns, like a bobby pin), thread, hand-sewing needle and scissors.

Process:

Step 1: Making the yarn.

We cut the t-shirts into yarn. The bodice of the shirt is folded in half and cut into 1 inch

(about) long sections. The strips are not cut all the way, one must stop cutting about an about an

inch away before the edge. Once that is completed, the uncut part is cut diagonally towards the

next strip so that one continuous strand is made. The sleeves were cut off and saved to make

more yarn.

Step 2: Making one side of the body

Stephanie single-crocheted a 12.5 x 5.5 inch rectangle. The size can vary, depending on

personal taste.

Step 3: Making the other side of the body

Sarah wove a “2 x 2” 10.5 x 5.5 inch rectangle. Again, length and width can vary. A “2 x

2” weave is when the weft yarn goes under two warp strips and over two warp strips (repeated

until it reaches the end).

Step 4: Making the straps

Stephanie braided the two straps with three yarn strands, the lengths are 20 inches and 26

inches. Having braided straps that are sturdy enough to resist the weight of both the crocheted

and woven rectangles is important.

Step 5: Attaching everything together

Sarah hand-stitched all the pieces together. The order of stitching them together does not

matter.

Step 6: Lining and flap (optional)

Adding a lining and flap is optional. Stephanie hand-stitched a lining against the woven

rectangle because it was not sturdy enough. A removable flap was attached with knots made with

remaining t-shirt scraps.

Lining

Flap

Fanny Pack with Flap