From T-shirt to Tank Top by Shannon Craig

I stumbled across a photo tutorial for this project on Pinterest, my favorite spot for DIY inspiration. I was a little daunted to do a project without any verbal instructions, but the images were pretty clear and it turned out well.

Now, I’m a short girl with a small frame, so standard crewneck t-shirts almost never fit me well. Over the years I’ve accumulated a ton from extracurricular activities, colleges and freebies, but they usually get wasted as pajama shirts. That’s why I was thrilled to find an easy way (with minimal sewing) to revamp the style of the typical t-shirt, as well as give it a better fit.

Before you start, one thing you should know is that the scissors you use matter. I didn’t have fabric scissors available, but they would be ideal. Otherwise, just make sure your scissors are large and sharp, or all the cutting gets time consuming. After that, the steps are simple:

• 1.     Cut the neck off of your t-shirt. After that’s done you can easily pencil in a guide of where you want the neckline of your new tank to be—then cut that piece as well.
• 2.     Next you want to cut off your sleeves. Don’t discard these, you’ll use them later!
• 3.     Draw a line (and cut) from each shoulder down to the bottom of the armhole. Where you do this depends on the desired width of your straps.
• 4.     Cut along the seam of one sleeve until it’s a single flat piece, and cut down the middle so you get a rectangle a few inches in width.
• 5.     The hard work’s done! Fold and pin your rectangle in thirds lengthwise. This is what you’ll wrap around the back of your straps to form a racer back. Sew the piece shut around the straps and cut off the excess.

Voila! A unique and cute tank where you once had a baggy t-shirt. 

Shannon Craig in her new, homemade tank top! 

Like I said, I more or less stuck with these steps and I love the way it turned out. Also, if you try it on afterward and don’t like your neckline, it’s super simple to trim that down a little farther.