Want an easy wardrobe make-over project, one that’s also quick to make, looks good, and is suitable even for the novice sewer? An upcycled tank top is a quick and easy sewing project to make from any old T-shirt. Because you’ll be cutting into the T-shirt and re-sewing the side seams, it’s suitable for any T-shirt that’s a little (or a lot) large on you; you can even cut down an adult’s T-shirt into a child’s tank top. It’s a good project for shirts that have stains or tears on the sleeves or near the bottom hem, or for making over long-sleeved shirts into summer wear. Here’s how:
Iron the clean, dry T-shirt that you want to make over into a tank top, using the hot iron to help you futz any misaligned seams back into alignment (twisted side seams can be a big issue with some T-shirts that have been cut on the bias to drape better, but ironing will fix them right up). Choose from your own wardrobe a slim-fitting T-shirt or tank top to use as a pattern, and also iron it well.
Fold each shirt exactly in half, taking care that the neckline is perfectly symmetrical on each shirt. Line your well-fitting shirt up on top of the old T-shirt, taking care that the center and top are perfectly aligned. Fold the sleeves up on your well-fitting shirt, to extend the line made from the bottom hem of that shirt up to the shoulder. Use chalk to outline a cutting line that’s approximately 1/2″ away from the shirt to include a seam allowance. Next »
Using chalk, re-draw the sleeve line into a curve that reflects the shoulder width that you’d like for your tank top. For instance, in the photo above, I cut my daughter’s shirt with a big sleeve opening and a wide shoulder, more of a sleeveless T-shirt than a tank top, to mimic the cut of her softball uniform shirt. However, if I’d cut a smaller sleeve opening with a narrower shoulder, it would have looked like a conventional tank top.
Cut out the tank top along the chalk lines. Note that although you will not be hemming or otherwise finishing the bottom hem or the sleeves of your tank top, you’ve still cut it with some seam allowance; this is because the jersey knit fabric will not fray, but will naturally roll under a bit. The extra fabric that you’re allowing it will allow it to roll under naturally and still maintain exactly the length and width that you designed.
Flip the shirt inside out and re-align and pin the side seams, using an iron if necessary to keep the cut edges of the fabric laying flat.
Using a stitch that’s good for jersey knit, sew both side seams, leaving the sleeves and bottom hem unsewn. The tank top is now ready to wear as-is, although you could also bind the sleeves and bottom hem with jersey knit bias tape, or add lace, ruffles, or any other upcycled embellishments to the garment.
