# The poor quality of T shirts today, and how to fix them



## Rusty O'Toole (Feb 1, 2012)

40 years ago if you bought a good T shirt it would last until the neckband began to fray and by that time you could demote it to cleaning rags.

In the last 10 years or so the neck bands have gotten a lot flimsier. Now 2 or 3 washings and they start to sag and look like hell. It doesn't matter if you buy $5 Walmart Ts or the $25 jobs from Marks.

I got tired of throwing away perfectly good shirts. So I got some elastic cord and made a curved needle 20cm long out of coat hanger wire. I tape the cord onto the needle and thread it through the neck band, and tie the ends together. Now the neck band keeps its shape. I saved a lot of Ts this way, and now I do the new ones the same way before they get baggy and out of shape.

I'm sure I will save hundreds of dollars this way. With the satisfaction of beating the T shirt makers low trick.


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## Zipper (Nov 18, 2015)

The best t-shirts are the Costco brand if you like white grey or black.

They last for years and years and are a good price.

My Kirkland Signature are 100% combed cotton made in Cambodia.


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## Rusty O'Toole (Feb 1, 2012)

I've heard good things about a lot of Costco products. Unfortunately the nearest one is 50 miles from here.


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## AltaRed (Jun 8, 2009)

Buy collared golf shirts instead for a few dollars more. They have broader application to wearing to more places and don't suffer collar sag. I've not bought true Tees in years.


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## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

Rusty O'Toole said:


> In the last 10 years or so the neck bands have gotten a lot flimsier. Now 2 or 3 washings and they start to sag and look like hell. It doesn't matter if you buy $5 Walmart Ts or the $25 jobs from Marks.


Wow, two or three washings, that's bad. Whether I buy mine from Walmart or Costco I get wayyyyyy more washings than that. Who knows, maybe I'm not so picky about the necks. The Costco T's do seem to last longer than the thinner Walmart ones.


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## Rusty O'Toole (Feb 1, 2012)

I wear them once then into the laundry, and they get washed in hot water with 1/2 cup of bleach. A mix of fabric softener and colloidal silver in the rinse water. This never seems to do any harm except to the neck band.


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

Rusty O'Toole said:


> 40 years ago if you bought a good T shirt it would last until the neckband began to fray and by that time you could demote it to cleaning rags.
> 
> In the last 10 years or so the neck bands have gotten a lot flimsier. Now 2 or 3 washings and they start to sag and look like hell. It doesn't matter if you buy $5 Walmart Ts or the $25 jobs from Marks.
> 
> I got tired of throwing away perfectly good shirts. So I got some elastic cord and made a curved needle 20cm long out of coat hanger wire. I tape the cord onto the needle and thread it through the neck band, and tie the ends together. Now the neck band keeps its shape. I saved a lot of Ts this way, and now I do the new ones the same way before they get baggy and out of shape.




that's a good idea, but there are darning needles with big eyes that can thread an elastic thread, which would be a good invisible application for reinforcing the elasticity & crispness of a tee shirt neckband.

there are elasticized threads for sale, for example at walmart or amazon online. Sewing accessories/sewing notions. These threads are roughy 3-4 times the thickness of ordinary thread, but never as wide or as bulky as even the narrowest of elasticized tapes that can be purchased (an ultra narrow elastic tape could be 1 mm in diameter; but an elastic thread will be a third of that).

Rusty if i lived near you i'd give you one of the extra darning needles from the treasure trove of sewing supplies that i inherited from the great-great-great-grandmothers. Who knows how many generations back. It includes things like button & buckle collections made of hand-carved ivory, ebony, jet, mother-of-pearl from the 1890s. Every female ancestor including my own mother was an expert seamstress. i am not, myself, but predictably have several cousins & nieces in the professional fashion business. It's in the blood.

i understand how garments are constructed though. If i lived near you, twist my arm & i'd gladly elasticize the neckbands of half-a-dozen brand-new tee shirts for you. 


PS here's a white shirring elastic sold online for CAD $29.34. It's 800 metres, enough for 800 tee shirts, or 400 if one did a better job & sewed 2 rows.

Rusty do u think we could have a tiny cmf forum microbusiness reinforcing tee shirt neckbands? startup costs are low, only $29.34 plus taxes plus a couple inherited darning needles ...

.


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## OptsyEagle (Nov 29, 2009)

So you are telling me that we are not getting quality work out of those children that are being chained to all the sewing machines around the world. Now I am really against slave labour practices. It was bad before but this is now unacceptable.


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## Longtimeago (Aug 8, 2018)

I haven't bought a cotton t-shirt since around 2001. Wicking t-shirts are just so much better in my opinion. Nowadays, most of mine are from Columbia. https://www.columbiasportswear.ca/e...=spr19&prid=visnav&crid=shirts-image&start=11

You mention 40 years ago Rusty O'Toole. Wicking t-shirts haven't been around that long yet but since they were introduced, that wet, clammy, smelly cotton t-shirt has become old news, time to update your t-shirts, not put elastic in the neckband.


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

OptsyEagle said:


> So you are telling me that we are not getting quality work out of those children that are being chained to all the sewing machines around the world. Now I am really against slave labour practices. It was bad before but this is now unacceptable.



slave labour it is

kids & grandkids of cmffers right here in canada could be put to work pronto

a stitch in time saves nine


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## Prairie Guy (Oct 30, 2018)

Longtimeago said:


> I haven't bought a cotton t-shirt since around 2001. Wicking t-shirts are just so much better in my opinion. Nowadays, most of mine are from Columbia. https://www.columbiasportswear.ca/e...=spr19&prid=visnav&crid=shirts-image&start=11
> 
> You mention 40 years ago Rusty O'Toole. Wicking t-shirts haven't been around that long yet but since they were introduced, that wet, clammy, smelly cotton t-shirt has become old news, time to update your t-shirts, not put elastic in the neckband.


I used to buy cheap cotton T's, then started going to outlet malls and buying quality wicking/Dri-fit T-shirts and golf shirts at a fraction of the price. Once you've worn a light wicking T-shirt you'll never want to wear cotton again.

I wash all my shirts in cold water on gentle and hang them to dry


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## Rusty O'Toole (Feb 1, 2012)

Humble thanks for the tips. I have some curved needles but they were too small, that is where I got the idea.


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## Rusty O'Toole (Feb 1, 2012)

If you can make a business of hand sharpening pencils why not hand reinforced T shirts?
http://www.artisanalpencilsharpening.com/index.html


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## twa2w (Mar 5, 2016)

Rusty O'Toole said:


> I wear them once then into the laundry, and they get washed in hot water with 1/2 cup of bleach. A mix of fabric softener and colloidal silver in the rinse water. This never seems to do any harm except to the neck band.


Uh, no wonder your shirts don't last. Clothing comes with washing instructions. Most T-Shirts have either a no-bleach or no-clorine bleach symbol as well as wash in cool temperatures and dry on low heat. Often no iron or iron below a certain temperature.

The reason I assume is the elastic material now used in the collars is broken down by bleach and high temperatures. I am not sure the effect of colloidal silver on fabrics and elastins. I assume you are doing this for odor control?

Cheers
J


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## Prairie Guy (Oct 30, 2018)

Rusty O'Toole said:


> I wear them once then into the laundry, and they get washed in hot water with 1/2 cup of bleach. A mix of fabric softener and colloidal silver in the rinse water. This never seems to do any harm except to the neck band.


I wash my shirts in cold water on gentle and hang to dry. That seems to keep them looking good the longest. 

The only shirts that go in the dryer are old ones that have been relegated to working in the garage/lawn care duties.


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## Rusty O'Toole (Feb 1, 2012)

I use colloidal silver in all my laundry to keep it fresh. That is another thing, in recent years I noticed if I put clean clothes away in a dresser drawer after a few weeks they developed an odor. That never happened 20 years ago. It doesn't seem to matter what detergent I use, even Tide which is what I used for years. So I started adding the colloidal silver. It doens't cost much since I make my own, a few pennies a gallon. I use it around the house for cleaning, disinfecting, washing fresh fruit lettuce etc.


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## Zipper (Nov 18, 2015)

Throw in a washer cleaner tab every month or so.

There is usually some residual water left after each load in modern washers that can harbour bacteria.

Once a month in an empty cycle will keep the odour away.


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## OptsyEagle (Nov 29, 2009)

Of course we all want our shirts to last but as for the look, I suspect I might be asking a heck of a lot from a shirt, to make me look good, at my age. 

That said, I tend to prefer buying the cheap ones and when they wear out quickly, as they usually do, I just buy another one. Probably still a better deal then moving up in price for quality. It would vary of course. 

I was very disappointed when Molson's stopped putting in a free T-shirt with a 24 case of beer. After a few months of that promotion I was getting quite the wardrobe. lol.


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## Rusty O'Toole (Feb 1, 2012)

Zipper said:


> Throw in a washer cleaner tab every month or so.
> 
> There is usually some residual water left after each load in modern washers that can harbour bacteria.
> 
> Once a month in an empty cycle will keep the odour away.


Wish I could do that but circumstances force me to use laundromats. That is another thing, they don't have hot water anymore, on the hot setting you get warm water. Also the modern 'efficient' front loading machines are no good and don't do half as good a job as the old top loaders. This could be part of the problem of clothes never getting completely clean. Just 'good enough' and then only if they aren't very dirty to begin with. I don't know what you are supposed to do if you are a garage mechanic or do manual labor.


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## Rusty O'Toole (Feb 1, 2012)

OptsyEagle said:


> Of course we all want our shirts to last but as for the look, I suspect I might be asking a heck of a lot from a shirt, to make me look good, at my age.
> 
> That said, I tend to prefer buying the cheap ones and when they wear out quickly, as they usually do, I just buy another one. Probably still a better deal then moving up in price for quality. It would vary of course.
> 
> I was very disappointed when Molson's stopped putting in a free T-shirt with a 24 case of beer. After a few months of that promotion I was getting quite the wardrobe. lol.


To me T shirts are underwear. I have long ago given up on being a stud muffin but would prefer not to look like a tramp or refugee from a rummage sale.


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