T-Shirt Reconstruction DIY

I got this pretty darn cool 30 seconds to mars T-Shirt from my amazing Brazilian friend Samira back in CT. I never wore it though due to it being kinda big on me. Now  I had some time on my hands and I decided to reconstruct this T-Shirt to make it more custom and fitting. This t-shirt refashion tutorial obviously will work with any oversized shirt you own. Just make sure it’s made from a stretchy material. Mine was 100% cotton.

If your’re interested in refashion one yourself I worte down a tutorial and took some pics so you can easily do it yourself as well!

Thinking about this would be a great addition for an festival or concert fan. This would look super cute at Coachella and would still be cool enough for Rock am Ring (a german rock music festival).

How to refashion a T-Shirt

So let’s get started. You’ll need:

  • Old baggy T-Shirt
  • Fabric Scissors
  • Tailors Chalk

T-Shirt Reconstruction DIY

Step 1
Draw a curve running one inch off the collar and cut it off using the fabric scissors.
T-Shirt Reconstruction

Step 2
Fold the back of the shirt in half. I used a folder to mark the stripes evenly.
Cut even strips about an inch wide from the top to the bottom. Gradually get wider towards the bottom. Pull the stripes individually to form string.
T-shirt reconstruction

Step 3
Use a pillow or two to stuff in the Shirt. This will make braiding easier. You could also use cardboard or a (if you have one and if you do I’m pretty jealous) mannequin. The top strand goes over the bottom and you pull the bottom strand through and continue like this with all the strings. You could also twist the strand before pulling the next one trough to create a different pattern. You can do this as often as you want to create a unique pattern. The last strand has to get cut in half and knotted on each side to secure the braids.

While cutting I cut trough a couple of strands by mistake. But that’s not a big deal just knot them back together and in the end you just cut off the excess fabric from the knot.
T-shirt reconstruction

T-shirt reconstruction

Step 4
Cut off the sleeves and youré basically done. You will have a tank top. I didn’t like the look of it so I twisted the sleeves and now I like mine way better but that’s up to you.
sleeves

I would love to see how yours turn out. Leave a comment with a link to your results 🙂 If you’re T-Shirt is not pretty enough anymore try to turn it into T-Shirt Yarn!

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