What to do with old concert T-shirts
Categories: Just for moms, Just for dads, Fun & activities, Places to go, Life & style, That's entertainment
When I was a teenager, I spent a lot of time listening to music, and perhaps even more money on t-shirts from the concerts I attended. I've kept them faithfully over the years. In fact, they've traveled from Kentucky to New York several times and have still remained intact, tucked away somewhere safe for all this time. My husband also have quite a collection of his own that he brought to our marriage. Many of his are tucked away too.
I occasionally wear mine every once in a while, and some of his (his are cooler). For the most part, though, they sit in storage waiting for us to do something with them. Perhaps we hold on to them for nostalgic purposes. Perhaps we keep them in hopes of turning them over to our children one day--at least that's what I told myself upon recent purchases of concert t-shirts from both Police and Springsteen concerts. Maybe then my kids will think I was cool.
But, other than storing and waiting, what is to be done with all those t-shirts? Some have suggested cutting off the fronts and backs and using them to make a giant quilt. That would be very cool. I countered that notion with, hey, why stop at a quilt--you could do throw pillows, the whole nine yards. Others say to sell on e-bay or donate to charity or just use them as rags like the rest of the old t-shirts. Some say, better yet, don't buy them--they're too expensive and just sit in the closet. And that kids won't think you're any cooler for having them (and having kept them all these years).
What did you do with all your old concert t-shirts? Are they still sitting in a pile somewhere or did you come up with a clever alternative to dumping them?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
mamaloo 8-23-2008 @ 2:02PM
My husband works in the music industry. You think you have a lot of concert tees? Holy moly! Not only do we have 150L totes full of them in the basement, a box of them waiting to go on eBay, a box of them waiting to be turned into a rock quilt, but there is a mobile plastic set of drawers full of them, as are two laundry baskets waiting to be processed.
I told my husband that he should take the best tees, match them with corresponding priceless vinyl and pack those away in proper archival storage to be given to our boys when they're adults.
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c_rousseau05 8-23-2008 @ 5:56PM
I have cut the front off the t-shirts and put them in photo frames along with the ticket stub. They hang in my home spare room. I used to wear my parents old concert tees for pajamas lol!
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markycf 8-23-2008 @ 11:26PM
My family has all of our concert tees and we all wear them sometimes and sometimes we just keep them in a safe place because they have such a great memory attached.
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Heza Hekele 8-24-2008 @ 1:49AM
It would definitely depend on which concerts they were from. Trunk makes replica concert T-shirts from the 70's & 80's and sells them at over $100, somtimes closer to $200 a piece!
Most of the shirts in you collection might make good rags, but you never know what gems you might have in your cache!
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commonplaceiris 8-24-2008 @ 11:13PM
To convert it to something for a new baby (so perhaps not for your most precious shirts) there's a tutorial (and pattern) for converting a t-shirt into a newborn gown I came across via flickr:
http://thismamamakesstuff.blogspot.com/2008/08/tutorial-t-shirt-to-newborn-gown.html
I think I might well try this with some of the many many shirts I no longer wear the next time I have a newborn to sew for.
(If you aren't a sewer and think this is a great idea it looks as though you can get her to make one for you via her etsy shop)
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Kirstie 8-25-2008 @ 12:29PM
The quilt idea is always nice - I'm in the process of making myself a teeshirt quilt with a bunch of teeshirts I've accumulated over the years. It's mostly shirts from school plays, summer camps, and various activities, but I've got a few concert tees that'll go in there too because of the fond memories attached. =]
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Monica 8-27-2008 @ 9:21AM
I pay someone to convert them for me---my time and sewing skills are non existent. Now our toddler has tons of adorable shirts.
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5417422
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