T-shirt Recon: Basic Tank Top

Ever since I fixed my prehistoric sewing machine, I literally felt hooked to sewing. I have made bags, dresses and costumes, and reconstructed a completely new wardrobe. My personal and ultimate favourite is turning old pieces into new tops.

Before I had my machine fixed, I had, like, heaps of super sized shirts, a treasure cove worth discovering. Unaware of what I could do with them then, I gave the lot to my dad and brother. Well, that was a thousand light years ago. Now, I am cherishing every piece of super sized shirts that I own (not forgetting those given by my aunt of course).

I have been reconstructing many shirts recently that a friend of mine asked how I made them. So, this post is dedicated to the lovely Ms. Maya the Bee. Hope you’ll enjoy this project as much as I have.

Step 1:
Get a piece of shirt that you have not worn in a long time. Alternatively, perhaps that new piece of clothing, sitting at the same spot in your wardrobe ever since you got it - that you do not like wearing because of the style.

Step 2:
Turn it inside out like this. Now, wasn’t that easy?

Step 3:
Fold it in half like this. Before continuing to Step 4, make sure you have aligned the edges and smoothen out the creases. This is to ensure that it wouldn’t turn out funny once you cut it. You have been warned.

Step 4:
Get your favourite piece of tank top, fold it in half and align the folded edge with your shirt. You may pin down the tank top onto your shirt before you begin with the cutting process. You don’t need to turn your tank top inside out by the way.

Step 5:
Get a pair of scissors. No, not the one you use to cut papers.

Step 6:
Now we shall snip away! Well, for beginners, I recommend cutting about 1 inch away from the edges of your tank top for seam allowance. This is so you will have more room for mistakes. Once you get used to t-shirt recon, you can minimize your seam allowance to 1/2 inch or 3/8 inch (I used 3/8 inch for my part). Oh and if your shirt is non-stretchable I would recommend a wider seam allowance (no less than 1 inch) so you would not have a problem fitting into your new top.

Step 7:
If you’ve manage to cut the seam allowance without accidentally cutting your tank top, I congratulate you for a job well done. However, if you have snipped out a chunk of the tank top, stop everything and never attempt this again!

Just pulling your leg there but seriously, you should be very careful with scissors. They have minds of their own.

I know that cutting through thick layers of fabric could be tiring. So now, take a short break to flex your fingers before you continue with the armhole. It’s really all up to you whether you’d want to cut the armhole exactly the same as your tank top or to have a different design.

I made mine a little wider.

I made the shoulder about 2 inches wide.

Step 8:
You’re almost complete. Now off to sewing the sides! If you want your result to be neat, you should really pin down the edges so that the fabric wouldn’t move about while you sew.

Since I made 3/8 inch seam allowance, I’m also sewing about 3/8 inch from the edge, like so. Most sewing machines have 1 inch measurement just by the needle hole like mine does. I tried taking a picture but it came out blurry because my phone camera doesn’t do close ups.

But if you’re new to t-shirt recon and you’ve made a 1 inch seam allowance, I suggest you sew about 1/2 inch or 3/4 inch from the edges and try it on to see if it fits you comfortably.

Step 9:
If your machine has those 20 over fancy stitch styles, I recommend using the zigzag stitches to reinforce the seam at about 1/8 inch away from the first stitching. But if your machine is ancient like mine, sew a size 15 stitch at about the same distance, between your first stitch and the edges (refer to picture). This reinforcement is necessary to avoid popped seams and fraying of edges.

When you’re done, you can cut away those fabric leftovers leaving about 1/4 inch fabric.

Step 10:
You could sew the sides of the armholes by folding 3/8 inch inwards and sew about 1/8 inch away from the edges. However, if you prefer cargo style, you could skip the armhole. It would fray a little but that makes it look cool.

This whole process took me about 30 minutes because I wanted to make the armholes look neater than my previous recon. But if you leave the armholes as it is, the process only takes about 15 minutes’ tops.

And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for, the showing off admiring of your new top!

Next project on my list – jeans recon!

Until the next time, have a happy ever after from me.