Do you have a t-shirt you absolutely adore, but just doesn't fit you properly? You know the story; it's too big, it's not a feminine cut, but you still want to wear it every day. I was faced with this problem when my friend Martha from
Sunday Afternoon Housewife gave us a pair of her Indie Loves Indy
silk-screened t-shirts as going away gifts. These shirts are great to show our Indy pride, but the cut didn't suit me in the hot Austin weather. It was too heavy & covered too much to keep me cool. After scouring the internet for ideas, I came up with this super-easy shirt reconstruction plan. I'm sure you've seen it before, or it's printed in some book, but I'm still going to share it with you.
Step 1: Grab your favorite t-shirt. Make sure that it's a shirt that is at least a little too big, too small won't work!
Step 2: Cut off the arms, following the seam. Cut around the neckline, as I've marked here. You may cut straight across or a bit diagonally, both work and both are cute. Make sure that you're cutting through the front and back of the shirt. You may cut off the bottom hem as well, if you wish. I pretty much only do this if a shirt is too long.
Step 3: You're almost done already! Stretch out the arms, collar, and bottom (if you cut it) so it kinda curls up a bit and doesn't look freshly cut. Next, cut off the hems of both sleeves.
Step 4: Take the hems you cut off the sleeves and cut in half. You will have 4 short pieces of fabric. Take a piece and tie 2 or 3 knots near the collar on your front strap. Repeat this again on the front, and then on the back of both straps. Done!
How easy was that? Now you can salvage any shirt that might be just a little to big for you with a pair of scissors and 15 minutes!
