Mod a Cute Halter from a Crew Neck T Shirt

My guy gifted me this hand-painted T shirt from recent travels with the inherent challenge - that I make it wearable. Follow these instructions and you can turn any ill-fitting souvenir T into a cute slouchy halter top you'll wear all summer. You'll need thread, a sewing machine with at least zig-zag, an overlock is better, 1/4 yard of contrasting knit fabric or another T shirt of complimentary color, a large safety pin, the usual scissors and pins, and a dress form or warm body to fit.

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Step 1: Getting Started

Lay the T shirt flat on your work surface with the body aligned as straight as you can, with the design you like best facing front.

sarahsmiles1228 says: Dec 13, 2010. 3:22 PM

I have seen other halters from ts but I like how you added another t for contrast. I think that I would just cut from the arm pit to the collar instead of 4 inches from the collar, but otherwise it looks good. I don't know if this helps, but it looks like she uses a zig zag stitch, which works best with t-shirt material.

Ninzerbean says: Jun 11, 2009. 8:32 PM

By "ill fitting" do you mean "large"? I just spent 2 hours of ruining an ill fitting t-shirt, which was not large at all - just ill fitting - too tight a neck. Please, for the sake of those who have not tried this, show more steps on how to pin such stretchy fabric as a t-shirt, (could the paint on your shirt have something to do with it seeming to look a lot more stiff than a reg. t-shirt? What did you do with the 3 or so inches of fabric next to the collar and how have you tied in the gussets to the side seams - not how you pinned them but how you sewed them. The way you show them pinned in the photo bears no resemblance to how they need to be sewn. You are obviously a very good sewer but for those like me who are not intuitive you could show more. Using a variety of zig zag stitches did not keep my shirt stretchy but made it less stretchy. Thank you for a great idea.

Icypink222 says: May 17, 2009. 1:07 PM

i like the idea..but somehow i find it very hard with ur instructions(maybe cus im onlyin middle school) but can u make a video about this?

secretlifeofabionerd says: Mar 13, 2009. 2:28 PM

I love cute little tops from t-shirt...it's always so comfortable affordable and syling!! love it ..great work!

karylnewman (author) in reply to secretlifeofabionerdMar 14, 2009. 4:29 AM

Thanks secret! Me too.

itsybrittc says: May 7, 2008. 5:20 PM

I think I did a relatively successful job with this one. Thanks for the great instructable. I don't have that handy dandy machine to serge the edges... I did a lot of hemming but all in all I think I ended up with a pretty cute shirt thanks again