How to Make Vintage Tank Tops out of Old T-Shirts
Summer tank tops in low supply? Dislike the baggy sleeves on your new t-shirt? Why not change fave t-shirt into a shell top instead? Looking for something vintage to wear under your vintage cocktail dresses? Follow these simple instructions to turn any t-shirt into a tank top.
You are going to need the following supplies:
- T-shirt
- Pair of scissors
- Tailors chalk or a fabric crayon
- Needle and thread or sewing machine
- Sewing pins
- Iron
Remove the sleeves. The first thing you need to do to turn a t-shirt into a tank top is to cut off the sleeves. You need to turn your t-shirt inside out before doing this. The seams must be visible for reference later. Cut off both sleeves at the inside edge of the seam using a sharp pair of scissors and your seams as a cutting guide. You cant ensure a straight cut when you cut the sleeve off while its laying flat. So dont cut your sleeve through a double layer, cut around the whole sleeve in the single layer. (continued below...)
Take some of the length off of the shirt. Typically, the tank top style is considerably shorter than t-shirts. In addition to cutting off the sleeves of the t-shirt, youll also need to trim away a bit of the bottom of your t-shirt in order to make it look more like a tank top.
Mark a 2" cut line using your ruler or measuring tape and your chalk line around the entire bottom of your shirt. You can take it out more if you need it. Measure the new length first by holding up the shirt to your chest before you make any cuts. Again, in a single layer cut your fabric/cloth working your way around with the entire bottom.
Cut along the sewed lines. To resemble a tank top cut off the sleeves and the bottom of your t-shirt. You can stop at this stage if you are satisfied with the grunge look. You should really sew a seam into the arms and bottom of your new tank top, however, if you desire to avoid fraying. This can be achieved by hand stitching, or with a sewing machine. Dont worry, for a simple task like this, the sewing machine is easy to use.
The first thing to do is to roll the cuff of your tank top up, at minimum, 1/2 of an inch. Use your ruler and any chalk to accomplish an even hem all the way around your tops sleeves. Using your iron, flatten your sleeve in order to keep your hem from shifting. Make use of pins to keep your fold intact. Repeat this with both sleeves, and the bottom of the tank top.
Your seam needs to have a tight stitch even if you are sewing by hand or, with a machine a simple straight stitch will do the job! There should be no gaps between where the thread goes down into the fabric and comes up again to make a new stitch. Your hem will last longer with a tighter stitch.