For the game against Camden Fairview I borrowed my future sister in law's beautiful cute shirt, which obviously wasn't an option to wear the next consecutive day (for clear reasons that it's just tacky and I'll admit I was going to try and pull it off but I'm pretty sure Baby Dotson did a drooling number on it).
So what am I supposed to do? I am the coach's wife, I can't just show up in any old outfit (that may have worked through the season but it just won't cut it in the semi-playoffs)!!!
I began researching "no-sew" fitted t-shirts and didn't like all the fringe exposed on the sides or how tacky they made the necklines. I just wanted a simple way (no sewing involved) to hem up the sides to narrow them in.......
Hence the DIY project came into action.
This project took maybe about an hour total (but once you do it once I have a feeling it wouldn't take that long in the future) and cost me an old t-shirt = FREE.
I went through Daddy Dotson's closet and selected this one (out of seriously like 100)!!!
See "L" -----> that's just not going to work
Flipped my shirt inside out
Cut off the bottom so the edges would roll up
When I cut the sides I wanted to make sure it would have a "girly" fit so I kinda cheated in on the waist
Did this to both sides
Then I cut fringe on each side and the bottom part of the arm
I double knotted each piece (it probably would have taken less time to sew it)
This was my end result
First side
Front.....see much more "fitted"
Second side
Obviously it's not hemmed so there will be some gaps (hence the white spot) but I think it looks cute with an undershirt on anyways.
Linked up with
82 comments:
What an awesome idea!!! Turned out way cute :)
What a good idea. Now that is something I could do - if only I didn't NEED the large size.
Impressive! I'm a t-shirt junkie and have way too many that need a girly touch.
-stopped by from the nester party!
Looks great! I will have to try that!
this is a fantastic idea!
i now see a lot of ugly oversized t-shirts becoming my favs this summer!
This is a fabulous idea! I have loads of T-shirts that I was going to give away since they are a bit too large, but now I think I will try to make them a bit more fitted! And while it may have been faster to sew the sides, the end result is super cute! Thanks for sharing!!!!
SO cute! I'm just wondering if I would be able to do that many double knots!!
Over from The Nesters.
I love your idea - saw this on Pinterest! I clicked over and found your cute, little blog! Very sweet! It WOULD take less time to sew it on a machine, but if you didn't have a machine it's certainly do-able and darling, too! I'm with you - no ugly shirts!
Becky B.
www.organizingmadefun.com
Organizing Made Fun
Very cute!
LOVE this idea!!! Anything, even double knots is better than me finding my sewing machine, setting it up, trying to change the thread color ... the list goes on and on! GREAT JOB!!!
Oh my goodness. We totally used to do this in high school, but with much bigger cuts and without turning it inside out to do the knots. This looks SO much better! Thank you!
BTW, found you on pinterest as well! Cute blog!
This is awesome! I love the look of the ties. Found you through Pinterest :)
Too cute! My daughter has just recently lost a lot of weight and has a gigantic stack of ladies large and extra large tee shirts. I bet we could do this with them, as well. Just wouldn't need to cut as much out.
You're brilliant! :-)
Saw this on Pinterest as well! Love this idea!
Wow! I love this idea!!! I am seriously going to find an old tshirt of my bfs right now to try :) thank you for sharing this!!!
This makes me so happy. I was a major tomboy growing up, so I have tons of shirts that are just HUGE, but I really don't want to get rid of them. I'm saved!
great idea, but your font is KILLING me. insanely hard to read.
Wow, I love this idea!! I'm gonna do this project tonight. I have tons of t-shirts that are too big and this will make them look so cute and I can wear them in public!!! :)
Saw this idea on pinterest! Great way to downsize a T. Was wondering what you do when you wash it? Do all the knots come out?
Saw this idea on Pinterest. Great idea for an oversized T. One question - how do you wash it? Do the knows come untied?
What an awesome idea!!! I'm definately going to try it.
Awesome! Wish I knew about this when I was in college!
I've lost almost 40 lbs so this is going to be a great way to re-utilize some of my favorite shirts! Thanks a million!!!
I saw this on Pinterest also. Super cute! I have a few shirts that I may try this one.
I'm Pinterest guest. This is a great idea and I only wish I had been clever enough in high school to realize this... our camp shirts would have been so much cuter! :)
This was a great idea and I love how it looks. I think I'd rather do this than sew it even if it does take more time. Good job!
Thanks for sharing, I love no-sew ideas! I saw you on Pinterest too- thanks again.
Oh my goodness. I LOVE this shirt. I want one just like it.
You should come over to my blog (www.oopsicraftmypants.net) on Tuesday for my "tute"-in Tuesday blog party. I pick one tutorial from those who linked up and post about it/try it out myself. I SO want to try this tutorial out...So, please? :)
cute!! I also saw it on pinterest, but funny thing is my family is from Huntsville...if you live in Huntsville, AL! :) small world. I think I may try this on an old shirt, too bad I don't sew though, I have a feeling tying the fringe is quite time consuming
I am totally late on commenting on this, but I came across this on Pinterest. My husband is also a football coach and we (the other wives) we're just complaining about the t-shirts! I am going to try this out and show it off this weekend! Thanks!!!
love the idea, looks fab. found you on pinterest, but your font is horribly hard on eyes. it's like reading through superbly bad glasses.
I love this! Where I work, they ordered my shirts two sizes too big and I feel like I'm wearing a bag. And I hate sewing, so this is awesome!
i think that is way cooler tied in knots!
Awesomeness,my grandma sends me shirts way too big, which are comfy, but white so I can't wear them to sleep in.Yay.
Can you say brilliant?! Thank you for sharing this. I can't wait to start stealing some of my boyfriends too-big-for-me t-shirts :)
Awesome idea - inside out so the fringe is not showing!
Question: How did you determine how much to cut from the side and the shape? Did you have a template or did you just eyeball it?
Thanks!
I am so going to try this! The only thing that I'm wondering (since I'm still new to sewing/making clothes) is how to know where to make the initial cuts. You must have measured your waist?
This is fantastic! Thanks so much for sharing :)
Awesome! I just was given a L shirt that the teachers are wearing next week for homecoming...and, like you, that size just won't work for me! I'm going to try your method! :)
This is an awesome/clever idea! We have seaSon ticket to the Utah football games, and there are NO Utah Pac 12 girls shirts, just the usual girl sport tees. Now I can buy I guys shirt and do this........I can't wait to make one. <3 it
saw this on pinterest ... love it! I have a few old t-shirts of my own I may do this with! I used to wear t-shirts that were way too big ... back in the day ... and I'm glad I haven't gotten rid of them! I'll get to wear them again (and not just for cleaning the house)!
VERY cute!! I'm totally doing this to an old T-shirt!
I found you on via Pintrest..love this idea! I'm working on one now, do you have any suggestions to make the sleeves a little more "girly"? Thanks!!
Love the idea. Hate the font. I skipped most of what you wrote & just look at the pictures cuz it actually hurt my eyes.
A couple of pics are missing. Not sure how you made the fringe. I lost a ton of weight and would love to refashion some of my school Tshirts!
I like that it looks gathered doing that way. But I would sew a small seam in it after I tie them to keep from having in holes showing and to hopefully keep the gathered look. I don't like to wear layers. :) I will have to try that soon.
This is so awesome! I just have one question: what did you do with the extra pieces after you tied the knots? Did you tuck them into the shirt or cut them off? I can't tell...
Very cute! It didn't turn out looking much more feminime. I like it.
Love it! I've got a couple of shirts that need this attention right now! Can't wait to try.
found you through Pinterest, too. Just wondering how this holds up in the wash.
This is awesome! Being as tiny as i am most of the shirts i have are too big and my highschool shirt is a medium which is huge on me and i have been trying to figure out what to do with it. I was sick and tired of tying it backwith a ponytail
Super cute, I'm hoping it will work if I cut more fabric away from the back on each side... I think that would give me some cute maternity tees from my hubby's XL shirts.
Awesome! what a cool idea! whether you sew it or fringe it, great, easy remake... love it!!! thanks so much for sharing this!!!! and thanks for the great photos... it makes it so much easier!
CathyB pbprojecthope at yahoo dotcom
palmbreezeliving dot blogspot dotcom
Nice shirt idea. BTW, you are the Dotsons, not the Dotson's (plural = add an "s". Posessive = "'s"). Also, there is no "s" in Anyway.
found you on pinterest. Just tried this with a way too large shirt today-super easy and now it's a very cute shirt-even my hubby thought so! Took me about 30-40 mins altogether. do you have to hand-wash? could you do a picture of how you did the sleeves though?
Love this! Such a great idea, after I cut the bottom off of the shirt, I used it as a headband to complete my outfit :) Great idea esp when you don't have a sewing maching like myself!
This is an absolutely awesome idea! We recently went to a local hockey game and received promotional T-shirts. They were all XL, so I am drowning in mine. Thanks to your idea it now fits me flatteringly! I do have a sewing machine, but I thought the tied sides looked unique and added interest to the design. Thank you so much for sharing your awesome idea!
Awesome! my brothers keep sending me college shirts that are large sizes, so now I can support my brothers, but still have a nice fitted top! I'm going to go do this rightthisverysecond! :)
Thanks so much for sharing your secret - and with photos and step by step too! This is just what I was looking to do!
Very clever! You could have sewn the seam after knotting the fringe to hold it all together in the wash!
I'm planning to start this in... like a minute! They only had XLs left after our school musical and I'm more of a M. I'm wondering about the sleeves though.... Help?
My girls do this with their basketball camp shirts but they tie them on the out side. I think yours looks more finished. Good job.
Very cute! Now I have a way to wear my boyfriend's old t-shirts:)
Thanks!
Thanks so much for sharing this! I have a bunch of sports shirts I hate wearing cuz they're so huge and I don't know anything about sewing, so this a great solution for me!
I am also a coachs wife and I totally understand the big t-shirts! I will have to do this. I am also losing weight and a lot of my t-shirts are way to big now. Thanks to herbalife!
Love this! What a great idea! Time to steal some of the Husband's shirts he doesn't wear anymore but I love! ;D
Can you wash it or do the knots come out??
Love the idea, can't stand the font. Maybe it's my browser (Chrome). But please consider changing the font so we can all read and enjoy your blog. It is otherwise, quite nice :)
After you knot it do you cut them or tuck them in?
It looks beautiful! thank you so much :)
What's the matter with you? You knew what she meant, didn't you? I can understand little things like that bugging you, but it makes you look like a snob. I'm a stickler about spelling but come on!
I love this idea but I think I like the idea of the fringe on the outside of the shirt!
Great idea...I'm always looking for ideas on how to make the big shirts look girly and cute! Love this one.
my boyfriend is in the army and he has a lot of shirts that are to big for me and i was looking for a cute way to make his shirts fit me and i love this idea :)
my boyfriend is in the army and before he went to basic he got me a couple of shirts that say army and other army stuff but they where way to big and i was looking for a cute way make the shirts fit i love this idea.
My MANY t-shirts would like to thank you! I've recently lost weight and can't stand wearing my shirts really big so now they will have a purpose. Found you on Pinterest, thank you for sharing!
This is awesome! Thanks for the tutorial! But I was wondering, how do you keep the fringe from sticking out of your t-shirt??
My husband races and i have the same problem with the shirts im suppose to wear. I have been looking for a way to make them cute! Thanks
I did this with one of my favorite t-shirts that was a man's XL. I love the final look but a warning must be issued. Make sure you leave room for a generous seam allowance. I cut my knot things way to short and it took forever to tie. I also hurt my fingers quite a bit. Other than that, I love this! The look is so cute! Happy Upcycling!
So cute!! How does it hold up through the wash?
I JUST tried this on a cute shirt a family member had given me that was quite a bit too big and I haven't been able to wear...worked great! Next step will be to see how it washes and then do the half dozen other shirts that need a better shape.
P.S. This is GREAT for big busted girls that want a flattering fit without a lot of harsh stretch over the bust, don't tie off so much up top and take in more once you move down lower. I will be sure to buy my shirts purposely large to accommodate my bust area if washing turns out well, then I can doctor them all up just for me without having to wear stretched out logos or too big tees...happy dance!
Post a Comment