As ever, I’m behind on the reviews, but this is a great tee to review, because despite it’s fairly simple appearance, it’s actually really interesting.
You probably recognise the print as being braille, we all recognise those dots, but if you’re anything like me you probably don’t read braille, so you’re just going to have to believe me when I say the text reads “feel” (just as I’m believing Blend Apparel when they tell me that). So that’s a pretty funny visual pun, though the ladies may want to be careful with the perceived invitations it offers, and of course I’d presume that actual blind people would love it.
The print is raised up off the tee too, so it is obviously a pretty thick print so that you can get that effect, but with the dots being not too huge it doesn’t make it feel weird like you’re wearing it, if there was a large black of print this thick it would probably feel like the tee was bullet-proof but you can’t really tell the difference from a regular thin print in this case. I’m just specualting here but is it also possible that a really thick print will stand the test of time better than a thin one, or does it actually make it more likely that you’ll accidentally rip off one of the dots?
The tee is no regular shirt either, as it’s made from bamboo. From what I’ve read bamboo is a much more environmentally friendly way of producing clothing, in fact everything I’ve heard about bamboo makes me wonder why it isn’t used more, anything that can be used as a construction material, food, and clothing, seems crazy to me. So, it’s delicious, but how does it wear? Well, I like it, bamboo t-shirts in general are extremely soft and this version from Blend is no exception. The fit is a little snug, but bamboo tees seem to stretch rather more favourably than a cotton tee, though that may be because bamboo tees usually have less print on them. On that subject, and this is where my lack of technical knowledge comes in, is it harder to print onto a bamboo t-shirt and that’s why bamboo prints tend to be fairly simple?
I’ve always heard that bamboo tees are anti-bacterial, and whilst I can’t think of a way to test that, there’s no reason for me not to believe the claim. I’m not really sure how it would benefit you but I assume it’s no bad thing, perhaps it stops the tee from smelling when you’ve got a bit sweaty, and combined with the comfiness of the tee this could be a great tee for going to the gym in.
T-shirts have a lifespan, they don’t last forever, they stretch, they fade, they get stained, and sometimes the tees stay the same but the owner changes size, or just changes their taste. This got me thinking, “what do you do with a tee when you don’t want to wear it anymore? (and you don’t want to give them to charity for whatever reason)” I’ve got more than 200 t-shirts in my wardrobe (and out of it, and draped on chairs, and stacked in cupboards, and hanging on racks), and they don’t all fit me now, so I thought I’d hunt around and find out what they devil I could do with all those superflous tees. As it turns out, other people have this problem too, and there are loads of tutorials out there with interesting ideas for how to recycle your t-shirts into something ‘new’.
My server has been crushed under the weight of traffic from my list posts in the past, and one way to try and alleviate the strain is to split an article into pages. This first page of 50 tutorials, projects, and videos doesn’t have any unifying theme to it, it’s just a random collection, some of which are pretty unusual ideas. The rest of the pages have been sorted into groups as they are often different takes on the same idea. Page two has 6 tutorials for turning your old tees into a rug or quilt, and 7 ideas for turning t-shirts into bags, often with the idea of using them as shoping bags, which I’m sure would get you a lot of approving looks at Trader Joe’s. The third page is for those of you that want to refresh and recondition your tees so that they’re still a t-shirt(ish), but with a bit of a customized twist to make you stand out from the crowd. Page four sees your tees becoming skirts and dresses, and I was pretty impressed with a lot of the finished articles on that page. The last page has links to books about reconditioning and recycling your t-shirts, so kind of like this list, except in book form. If I’ve missed something from the list, or you’ve had an idea but can’t find it anywhere online, feel free to share that in your comments. If you have enjoyed this list I would very much appreciate it if you could promote this article in some way, be it via tweet, stumble, delicious bookmark, digg, blog post, or envelopes stuffed with cash being posted to me.
31. This instructable isn’t about cutting your tees, but storing them, and whilst I don’t think it would be a good solution for my 200+ tee collection, it might be good for keeping a few of your favourites good-as-new.
On the second page of this article you will find 6 ways to turn your excess tees into a rug or quilt, and 7 tutorials explaining how to turn your tees into bags.
Looking at this tee you’re probably not immediately blown away, sure, it looks pretty nice, but where’s it’s zazz? Well, what if I told you that this hoodie is made from 55% hemp and 45% organic cotton… yeah, you’re right, that ain’t zazz, but at least it’s helping to save the planet!
I don’t really know how I missed International Talk Like A Pirate Day, I’m young, I should know about these things, but I missed it. Still, you could always buy this tee and wear it next year.
Costiness=£16 Available from Fair & Bare
Artefacture (who we last saw on the beach in France last year) have just launched a whole new site, new range of tees (don’t worry, the old stuff is still there), and they’re now printing solely onto organic cotton tees which were created under fair trade and sustainable conditions. Yes, you get the same great, [...]
In their own words:
The label is called Curious Tales and it combines my love of
storytelling, fashion and the environment. (I also do upcycled clothes
and they were the inspiration for the stories, I started wondering
about who had worn the clothes before and started writing about them!)
All the tees feature scribbly drawings and the start of a [...]
Okay, not that Pepsi Challenge (that post would indicate a slow news day), but rather PepsiCo’s “What’s Your Pitch?” contest. Teecycle, for those of you that are unaware, is a site that sells cool second-hand tees, and gives $1 from each sale to the River Revitalization Foundation, a Milwaukee based organisation, and the tees are [...]
I know we’ve talked about 302 Designs a few times in the past, but it’s been so long, and they’ve change so much, that it almost feels as if we’re meeting 302 Designs for the first time again.
I may not have heard much from them, but they’re actually getting seen by many more people than [...]
Are you aware of this? There are t-shirt websites where people submit their ‘designs’ and then there is a ‘competition’ in which people vote, and the winners have their design produced, gaining fame and fortune in the process? Crazy, I can’t believe no one thought of it before.
Ink Hound set themselves apart in a number [...]
![PICT2452 480x360 Feel by Blend Apparel [hands on review]](http://hideyourarms.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/PICT2452.jpg "PICT2452")
![PICT2451 480x360 Feel by Blend Apparel [hands on review]](http://hideyourarms.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/PICT2451.jpg "PICT2451")
![PICT2456 150x150 Feel by Blend Apparel [hands on review]](http://hideyourarms.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/PICT2456-150x150.jpg "PICT2456")
![PICT2451 150x150 Feel by Blend Apparel [hands on review]](http://hideyourarms.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/PICT2451-150x150.jpg "PICT2451")
![PICT2452 150x150 Feel by Blend Apparel [hands on review]](http://hideyourarms.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/PICT2452-150x150.jpg "PICT2452")
![PICT2453 150x150 Feel by Blend Apparel [hands on review]](http://hideyourarms.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/PICT2453-150x150.jpg "PICT2453")
![PICT2454 150x150 Feel by Blend Apparel [hands on review]](http://hideyourarms.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/PICT2454-150x150.jpg "PICT2454")
![PICT2455 150x150 Feel by Blend Apparel [hands on review]](http://hideyourarms.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/PICT2455-150x150.jpg "PICT2455")
22. 
