Harajuku Punk Shirt

Design Your Own Harajuku Japanese Punk Shirt
by Diana Eng
Graphics designed by: Thomas Moon

From CRAFT Magazine vol 3


In college, my best friend and I used to make gothic lolita outfits to wear clubbing. We began to look at the outfits worn near the Harajuku train station and found that they were perfect for 'makers'. A lot of the Harajuku style clothing is made and designed by the people wearing it. The clothing is made through a combination of traditional and innovative sewing techniques. My friend and I had a lot of fun copying these techniques to design our own clothing.

Japan is known for its street fashion (popularized in the United States by Fruits magazine and Gwen Stefani’s entourage of Harajuku Girls). Street style is more than just a cute outfit, it’s a whole look, mentality, and way of
acting. Kogals emulate the California Valley Girl, with bleached hair, dark tans, light-colored lips, and their own slang. Gothic Lolitas dress like Victorian dolls, complete with cute poses.

Tokyo’s Harajuku district is world-famous, where young people dress up and gather by the Harajuku station to hang out with friends and hope to be photographed by passersby.

This shirt is created with some of the same techniques used by Japanese youths to personalize their street style.








Project: Sew a T-shirt and add graphics, Harajuku style.
Difficulty: Medium
Time: 4–6 Hours

What You'll Need

Shirt:
“Cut and sew” knit fabric like a T-shirt
Pattern pieces from http://craftzine.com/03/punk/
Paper and pencil
Ruler
Tape measure
Sewing machine
Scissors
Thread
Tape
Pins

Graphic Customization:
Iron-on T-shirt transfers
Iron
Corrugated cardboard about the size of a shirt
Acrylic paint
Brush
Sponge
Small piece of woven fabric
Sewing machine, scissors, and thread

1. Choose a Fabric

We are creating a “cut and sew” shirt. Cut and sew means that the garment is made out of a knit fabric that can be cut and sewn together (unlike a sweater knit, which if cut will unravel). Knit fabrics have different amounts of stretch. We need to use a fabric that has at least a 40% stretch. To see if your fabric is right for this project:

1a. Fold the cut edge of the fabric.

1b. Hold the fabric beside a ruler with 2 fingers at 0" and 2 at 10". Stretch the fabric. If the fabric stretches an extra 4" (if it becomes 14" long) then the fabric has a 40% stretch. (Don’t stretch the fabric too hard. If you do, it will not recover and go back to its original size).

2. Print Out and Assemble the Pattern

2a. Print out the 3-page pattern offered at http://craftzine.com/03/punk/

2b. Cut out the pattern from each page.



2c. Match “a” line of top to “A” line of middle; match “b” line of middle to “B” line of bottom. Then connect the pages of the pattern together with tape.

3. Size the Pattern

3a. Measure your arm, bust, waist, and shirt length. Use the formulas here to calculate any size changes. If the width needs to be increased, add to the width beside the fold line. If the arm size needs to be increased, cut the pattern at the arm line and add the increase. If the length of the shirt needs to be increased, cut the pattern at the length line and add the increase.

Arm Size Increase

Measure around your arm at the shoulder. If the measurement is 13½" or less, then do not increase the arm size and leave as is. If measurement is greater than 13" you will need to increase the arm size: divide your measurement by 2, then subtract 6½".

(arm size measurement/2) – 6½ = arm size increase
Example: Arm size measurement is 16", (16/2) – 6½" = 1½"
Arm size increase = 1½"

Width Increase

Measure around your bust (at apex) and waist (at high waist, the narrowest part). Add measurements together. If measurements are 64" or less, then do not increase width and leave as is. If measurement is greater than 64" then divide measurements by 8 and subtract 8".

[(bust + waist measurement)/ 8] – 8" = width increase
Example: Bust measurement is 38", waist measurement is 30"
[(38 + 30)/ 8] – 8" = ½"
Waist increase = ½"

Length Increase

Measure the length from your neck base to upper hip. If the length measurement is 19" or less, do not increase and leave length size as is. If the length measurement is less than (18" + arm size increase), then do not increase and leave the length size as is.

Example: Length measurement is 19", arm size increase = 3"
19" < (18" + 3")
If the length measurement is greater than 19", then subtract
(18" + arm size increase) from length measurement. If there was no arm size increase, then arm size increase is 0.


length measurement – (18" + arm size increase) = length increase
Example: Length measurement is 21", arm increase is 1½"
21 – (18" + 1½") = 1½"
Length increase = 1½"

4. Cut Out the Pattern



4a. Fold the fabric along the grain so that the uncut edges match up. Make your fold as straight as possible.

4b. Line up the pattern edge marked "fold" with the folded edge of the fabric and lay the pattern on the fabric.

Optional: Pin an X at the top and bottom of the armhole to mark it (pin on both sides of the fabric, not through it).







4c. Pin the pattern in place. Then cut out the pattern piece. This is the front.

4d. Take a second piece of fabric and repeat Steps 4a–4c for a second pattern piece (the back of your shirt). Don’t try to cut out both at once. Since the fabric is folded, cutting both pieces at the same time will not be accurate.

5. Sew Your Shirt



5a. Overlap the side seams of the front and back pieces ½" and pin them together (be sure not to pin the armhole closed on both sides!). You will be forming a tube out of the 2 pieces of fabric.

5b. Sew with a ¼" zigzag stitch (sewing with a zigzag stitch allows knit fabrics to stretch) directly in the center of the ½" overlap. You can line up the overlap with the sewing foot to make sure that the stitch stays in the center.

5c. Leave a raw edge at the neck, bottom, and armholes. Finish with a 1/8" zigzag stitch ¼" away from the edge.

6. Customize Your Graphics

Choose to use all or any of these techniques (note: you can customize any type of clothing). We are going for a distressed look.

Iron-On

6a. Choose one of the T-shirt graphics from http://craftzine.com/03/punk/ and print it out on an iron-on T-shirt transfer.

NOTE: Use light T-shirt transfers for light-colored shirts and dark T-shirt transfers for dark-colored shirts. (Dark shirt transfers have a white background.) We suggest Avery T-shirt transfers.

6b. Cut out the graphic, leaving a bit of extra transfer at the edges of the image.

6c. Follow the package instructions to iron the transfer onto the shirt. For a more distressed/worn look, iron the image for less than the recommended time, i.e., if the recommended ironing time is 3 min, try 2½ min. Test this method first to see what effect you like.

Embroidery


Using your sewing machine, freehand-stitch lines. Play with the zigzag stitch and stitch spacing. Leave loose threads.

Screen Print Effect

Stretch the shirt over a piece of corrugated cardboard (stick the cardboard inside the shirt). Splash or paint on a bit of acrylic paint. Paint with a brush, sponge, fingers, etc. Make sure to use a thin layer, because screen prints are not usually bumpy or textured. Scrape or blot off any excess paint, and let dry. Before washing the shirt, throw it in the dryer to set the paint.

NOTE: For the first wash, you may want to wash the shirt separately to make sure the colors will not bleed.


Label

Iron on a label from http://craftzine.com/03/punk/ or paint your own label onto a separate piece of woven fabric. Leave a fabric edge, or stitch the edge for a patch effect. It’s all about placement, so attach it to a unique spot.


These graphic customization techniques can also be used to personalize your own jeans, pants, skirts, button-down shirts, sweaters, jackets, and hoodies. So take a look at your wardrobe and see what needs to be modified — Harajuku style.









Let us know how the project turned out by using the comment link!

Diana Eng is a fashion designer who designs with technology. Known as the “fashion nerd” from Project Runway Season 2, Diana’s interest n sewing began at an early age, when she created stuffed animals with her grandmother.

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