DIY: Shredded Tee

I may be a little behind the times with this do-it-yourself project, but I am still fascinated by the trend. The shredded tee exemplifies the perfectly unraveled (literally) look that's been running the streets the last few years, and I felt the need to conquer it... or at least give it a shot. I started with a small Men's Hanes white v-neck tee from Target, cheap cheap. After cutting off the bottom hem, I slowly began pulling at the threads, creating a web-like texture to the cloth. Seams were ripping, my shredding was angling itself to a point towards the top of the shirt, and my cat was having a hay day with the threads at the bottom. But all in all, I think imperfection is key. Just don't expect to find me on Etsy selling perfectly shredded tees like Arlie from Urban Revisions any time soon... or ever for that matter.

   
Here are some photos of the shirt's slow progression. I did this in 3 rounds. The first attempt is shown in the first 3 photos. When I picked it up again, I tried to widen the triangular column and bring it up to the shoulder seam of the shirt. And last, I extended the width through to the underarm and to the edge of the sleeve. I also threw in some photos of how it looks now. I plan to still do some work, perhaps with some paneling like this if I'm feeling particularly ostentatious. We'll see. 

If anyone is feeling inclined to give it a shot, the best tutorial video I found was by Camille from Childhood Flames, and it's placed at the very end of this post. If you're like me and need your hands to be busy in order to sit still through a movie, this is the perfect project for you. Enjoy!
   

Video by childhood flames