DIY TANK WITH SHOULDER FRINGE

Get out your scissors and get ready to alter a boxy men’s t-shirt and turn it into a cool and fun DIY Tank Top with Shoulder Fringe.

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TOOLS & MATERIALS:

• 1 T-Shirt that’s big on you
• Scissors
• Beads
• Jewel-it glue
• Needle & thread
• Tape measure
• Pins
• Sewing machine

step 1
Try your t-shirt on and decide how long you want it to be.

You will be using what you cut off from the bottom to make the fringe at the shoulders, so you’ll want to cut off at least 6 inches.

step 2
Lay your t-shirt out flat, measure and cut off bottom.

step 3
Cut off your sleeves and measure in at least 1.5 inches in on the shoulder seam from where the sleeve was.

Draw a slightly curving line from that point down to the bottom of the armhole.

Cut along this line for both sides.

step 4
Measure and mark where you want your neckline to be.

I measured out about 1.5 inches from the neckband and drew a curved line around to the opposite side of the neck.

I kept the back of the neckline higher than the front.

Cut the neck out.

TIP: Put your shirt on and double check your armholes and neckline. At this point I needed to cut my armholes in a little more.

step 5
Turn your shirt inside out and try it on again.

Measure the bottom of your armholes and pin the sides to bring it in, unless you want the sides to be very open.

Pin from the bottom of the armhole at an angle down toward the bottom of the t-shirt.

Use your sewing machine to sew a seam where you pinned.

Trim off any excess fabric.

step 6
Go back to the piece of fabric you cut off the bottom of your t-shirt.

Cut off the bottom seam.

Measure ¾ to 1 inch wide strips and cut. I just eyeballed mine, they don’t have to be perfect for this.

step 7
Take each strip and with your fingers close to the center of the strip and about 2 inches apart, pull in opposite directions. This will thin the center of your strip and curl it a bit. You don’t want to hold the ends when you do this otherwise the ends will curl too.

step 8
I counted out 5 strips for each shoulder.

Line them up across the shoulder of your t-shirt and pin them in place.

Use your sewing machine to sew them to the shoulders of your t-shirt.

Take 3 more strips and lay them on top of the first 5.

I used a needle and thread to sew these, that way the stitches were not so visible.

Sew the 3 strips on top of the first 5 on the shoulders.

Do this for both sides.

step 9
Using your Aleenes Jewel-it glue, put your glue across the shoulder seams.

Drop your beads onto the glue.

Let your glue dry.
The shoulder detail with just a little bit of fringe and some beads is cute and fun without being too sweet.

There’s really something so satisfying about altering a big boxy t-shirt into something cute and more fashionable. This summer (at least here in NY) has been so hot, the thought of wearing anything with sleeves is just not appealing. This is a really simple way to alter a men’s t-shirt (and get rid of those sleeves) and make it your own.

Leave me a comment and let me know how you altered your t-shirt.