Cut-Up Couture by Koko Yamese

Sculptural Dress with Deep Collar

Tunic

Balloon Top

Blouse with Buttoned Shoulders

Draped Blouse

I ordered the book, Cut-Up Couture by Koko Yamase, from Amazon without having seen it in person at all. I just loved the concept and the photos of projects on the cover. When it arrived I jumped on it right away and started plotting. Most garments are made with Large or XLarge sweatshirts or tee shirts. I thought my DH had some but he couldn't or wouldn't come up with any to spare. I sleuthed around and found a web-site, Cheapestees.com, that sells such things cheap. I ordered a bunch which arrived quickly. 

You use one, two or three sweatshirts, cut them according to the easy to understand instructions and illustrations, sew for a few minutes, and, voila.... you have something else. Talk about re-purposing! These are fun, fun, to make. The Draped Blouse (using one men's XL sweatshirt) took me 20 minutes to make, including the cutting. The Tunic, using 2 red short sleeve T-shirts and velvet ribbon took a little bit longer. The Balloon Top uses one men's Large sweatshirt and satin ribbon. It was a bit more confusing to construct but still quick. 

My favorite is the Sculptural Dress with Deep Collar made from one Large and one XL men's sweatshirt. My DH thinks I look like an elf in this.

I also made the Blouse with Buttoned Shoulders which uses 3 long sleeve Men's Large sweatshirts. This took the longest to construct because of the 10 buttonholes. Now I have to figure out what to do with the top half of 3 large sweatshirts. It can be worn 4 or 5 different ways including a skirt and harem pants (not to be photographed on me) depending how you button it.

I also tried the Inside-Out Blouse from T-Shirt. It was thrown away within 15 minutes. Ugly on me. Maybe good on you.

For fun, easy, youthful projects try this book. There are also designs using men's dress shirts and neckties. Cute also.