DIY Reconstructed T Shirt

At the last minute (the day before the game), my husband and I got tickets to see a Los Angeles Clipper basketball playoff game!  I was so excited, and one of the first things I thought about was, “what am I going to wear?” Before my husband left for work the morning of the game, he kissed me good bye and said “here, thought you might want to wear this tonight at the game.” Half asleep, one eye opened, I grunted, “ OK.”

After a few stretches and yawns, I rubbed my eyes and grabbed the T shirt sitting next to me.  To my horror right before my eyes was a men’s extra-large faded Clippers T-shirt.  On the back it said, Filipino Hoops and Heritage Night 2011.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about representing my peeps, but this shirt was not the way to do it.

Being me, I grabbed my scissors and went downstairs.  Here is how I made my DIY Reconstructed T Shirt.

 

The beauty about changing a T-shirt is that there is no wrong way of doing it.  There are SO many possibilities.  I recommended cutting little by little and trying it on as you go.  I first cut the bottom, sleeves, and neck line.  Because the shirt was so large, I decided to make it off the shoulder.

 

Next, I used the remaining bottom portion of the T shirt to cut two 2 inch wide strips.  I simply tugged and stretched the two stripes to create a rope or string.

 

I cut a slit at the center of the neck line and cut two small holes on each side. I cut my rope into the desired length and I threaded each one into the holes tying a knot at each end.

 

For the back I folded it in half and cut varied length slits down the back.  Lastly, I tugged and stretched each slit and the arm holes.

Changing up an old T shirt is an inexpensive way to update and recycle an old shirt.  Consider cutting large shirts into tank tops to wear at the beach or pool.  Don’t forget about the T shirt remnants!  They can be used for ties or bows.  You can also use more than one T shirt in contrasting colors for the embellishments.

Moral of my story: Upcycle your T-shirt before you decide to give or throw it away!