It's no secret that I have a love-hate relationship with Pinterest.
I love how many ideas I gather, I hate that my home never reflects that I have seen these ideas.
I love the inspirational, motivational quotes, I hate that I can never remember them at the right time.
I love the gorgeous food I see, I hate that if I ate them all I'd not fit my pinterest-altered jeans anymore.
However sometimes I get the urge to try something on Pinterest and probably my most successful attempt was this altered T-shirt I tried a year ago after seeing a very cool pin. I spent a hasty 30 minutes using the only sewing tool I really know how to use (my scissors) to create a fab new singlet top with a t-shirt..
Many good things start with a hasty decision to avoid cooking dinner, right?
Talking of t-shirts I would never have worn - recently I entered a 19-strong team into Relay for Life, a fundraising event for the Cancer Society. We recieved a t-shirt as part of the registration, and although it was a gorgeous colour, my favourite even, it was HUGE. It was also forecast to be baking hot and I didn't feel like walking my goal distance of 42km in anything but the coolest attire.
And so I gathered my t-shirt, found my old pin and I got chopping.
(and I need to add in here for anyone that doesn't know me so well, I do not sew. I'm kinda crafty, I make great tassel necklaces here in New Zealand, I have a sewing machine to sew on my scrapbook pages. I don't have the patience to sew, so the fact that I find this t-shirt alteration easy speaks volumes.)
I cut the sleeves off, and then cut straight across, just below the neck/collar.
And then I folded the top inch over on the front and I sewed across the top to create a place to thread my strap. Repeat for the back. Check out the fact that I matched the thread colour to the fabric, getting all professional-like about it now.
I also cut the arm-bands off while I had the scissors out. I want to save them to use as straps.
After I had cut the arm-bands off, I snipped each one once, to open them up longways.
(note in this picture, I did nothing to hem anything, anywhere. I left it all raw. I'm fine with it rolling and even fraying a little, although it'll roll before it frays. I don't mind rustic.)
I threaded each one through the shirt, one through the front, and one through the back. I used a skewer to push it through the space I had created.
At this point I used the sewing machine again, sewing the bands together at each side to create one big loop. This part really is pure genius. Who would have thought chopping a t-shirt apart could be so easy. Because when you are all done sewing, this is the result:
And there we have it. Awesomeness in just 30 minutes. No swearing, no cursing, just cut, fold and sew.
I had learned from my last experience and I was careful about the logo printing on the t-shirt - especially important this time as we had the team sponsor MotivateMe on the back.
So there we have it again. Pinterest success.
And so I entered my Relay for Life with the coolest t-shirt. But the BEST thing? I knew I was going to spend a good 7-8 hours walking my goal 42km over the course of the weekend. That meant kJ burnt off. That meant I could browse Pinterest and maybe even partake in the trialling of some of those yummy food recipes. Did I tell you how much I love that website?
Good luck with your t-shirt restyling.
Laters.
and I'll bet it was the best looking Relay T-shirt on the park! Well done Nic and congrats on your 42kms.
Posted by: Jo Baker | March 11, 2013 at 08:42 PM
Your re-styled T-Shirt works perfectly and congratulations for your 42kms walk. Good old pinterest to the rescue again
Posted by: Kim Russell | March 11, 2013 at 08:54 PM
Great work Nic, thanks for sharing again with us. Love it!!
Posted by: Nadine 'Alfie" Vallance | March 11, 2013 at 09:09 PM
So awesome! Thanks for this, Nic... I will definitely keep it on file for the next time I'm stuck with an ugly old race T. ;)
Posted by: Barb | March 12, 2013 at 02:42 AM
This is SO awesome!!!! Thanks for the tutorial! I'm a Relayer in Beaverton, Oregon, USA and I love, LOVE, LOVE this!! I'm gonna turn a couple of our previous year's Relay shirts into these for my 6-year old who loves wearing this type of style shirt in the summer!
Thanks for sharing!!!
~ Kathy
Posted by: Kathy C. | March 14, 2013 at 04:49 AM
Where do the straps for the shirt come from?
Posted by: Sara | March 17, 2013 at 08:58 AM
Did it. Love it.
Thanks for the easy instructions!!
Posted by: Shawnna | March 23, 2013 at 06:59 AM
Amazing!!! Thanks for sharing!
Posted by: Amy | March 27, 2013 at 03:37 PM
The strap threaded through is longer than the sleeve bands. You had to add something more to it. How did you make it long enough
Posted by: sherry floyd | April 10, 2013 at 02:26 AM
So fun...love your sense of humor, too!
Posted by: Monika Wright | April 12, 2013 at 01:05 AM
I did this! And I blogged about it! http://janiefromscratch.blogspot.com/2013/04/race-t-shirt-redux.html What a cute and easy idea, thanks for sharing!!
Posted by: Janiefromscratch.blogspot.com | April 19, 2013 at 03:06 PM
I made this last weekend, and love it but instead of using the part of the sleeves like you did, I cut the bottom off and used that for straps. Very cute and love it!
Posted by: Joy | April 28, 2013 at 12:48 PM
Saw your pix on Pinterest, and 20 minutes later, I was wearing my own! Thanks for saving an old favorite tshirt of mine from the bottom of the drawer!
Posted by: JenS | May 03, 2013 at 07:22 AM
Love this idea n I'm sure to use it this idea for the summer month. Thx for sharing this idea n bless ya
Posted by: joan hardesty | May 11, 2013 at 12:41 AM
I made this today and it turned out great! I didn't have enough fabric at the top to fold over due to high placement of the design on the shirt. So rather than fold the top over, I cut off the bottom of the t-shirt and sewed that along the top edge as the "tube" through which I fed the straps. My sleeve edges worked great as straps, and instead of sewing them they were long enough for me to tie the ends together on each shoulder. Thanks for the excellent tip!
Posted by: carri | May 16, 2013 at 09:52 AM
I am so pleased with how my shirt turned out. Someone gave me a cute T-shirt from Hawaii but I would rather have it as a tank so I appreciate
you posting this!
Posted by: Mary | May 19, 2013 at 10:24 AM
Love this tutorial. I used it to make a cute sundress out of one of my fiancee's t-shirts.
Posted by: tammy cooj | May 28, 2013 at 04:35 AM
Thanks so much for sharing this! I have a ton of t-shirts that I never wear. I am going to re-purpose them for the gym. Genius!
Posted by: Carrie Record | May 31, 2013 at 07:41 AM
Brilliant!!! Its hot hot hot here and I was thinking of buying more tanks. Now I can save money and reuse my t-shirts!!! Thank you!!
Posted by: J-me | June 05, 2013 at 01:25 AM
So, I came across your post on turning normal ordinary t-shirt to summer wear tank top. I first thought of using the t-shirts as a rage usually what do with the old t-shirt after couple of wears. Until I came across your post on making a t-shirt I had around but it wasn't too old to turn it into a rage. I thought this was a great idea when I exercise or just plainly can use it for P.J's. So, to make it short I just got done making one but only differences is I made it by hand instead of using a sewing machine. Thank you for sharing this great idea of making t-shirt. Now, I just can't wait to make more with other ordinary t-shirts I have. The website below is not a blog but a website whenever you might have time to visit.
Posted by: Yoon C. | June 05, 2013 at 09:29 AM