T-shirt to Tank

Ok, I realize that tons of people have already posted about the no sew t-shirt to tank, but I'm posting anyway.  I tried it today and figure that I should share my insight (I actually did a very minor amount of sewing).

I have tons (and tons) of t-shirts that I don't wear but can't bring myself to get rid of.  I don't like to wear t-shirts to the gym.  I prefer tanks so I decided to try this viral diy project..  I chose an old "United States Olympic Snowboarding Team" shirt (No, I was not on the Olympic snowboarding team.  We don't have much - or any - snow in South Florida).  I don't have a before picture because I got a little scissor happy and forgot to take one...



I began by cutting off the sleeves, collar and the seam on the bottom of the t-shirt.  Then I used a racerback tank that I like to create a basic pattern for cutting the front and back.  To do this, I placed the tank (flat) underneath a sheet of paper and traced it.  My pattern didn't fit perfectly because the openings where the t-shirt sleeves were was much larger than the openings on my tank, but it did help me to make the initial cuts.  From there, I cut a little more to even everything out.

To create the tied look in the back, I wrapped the seam that I cut from the bottom of the t-shirt around the back.  I started my wrap by sewing a quick stick stitch to hold the beginning piece in place.  I wrapped the seam down and back up and then stitched the end.

At this point the shirt was a little too long and awkward looking.  I decided that I wanted it to be shorter on the sides, longer on the front and longest in the back (with a rounded pattern).  To do this, I put the shirt on and pinned the height for the front and sides (you could also pin the back, but I didn't).  I folded the shirt in half (like shown below) and cut the front piece and the back piece in a rounded pattern (folding it in half this way will cause the 2 sides of the front to match and the two sides of the back to match so that the shirt doesn't look uneven).

Fold this way to cut the bottom of the shirt.

And it's done!  I'm thinking about sewing in a few places for reinforcement, but first, I'm going to wear it to the gym!