Introduction: How to Resize an Oversized T-shirt Without Sewing

For this size large t-shirt, I cut up the sides so it becomes a fitted t-shirt with scrunches on the sides and added a snowflake cut out on the back! I drew 2 snowflake designs that will work with a t-shirt cut out to help guide you guys.

Click to download and print the snowflake template!

Watch the video tutorial for more detailed instructions

Step 1: Measure How Fitted You Want the T-shirt

While wearing the t-shirt, you need to check how many inches you want to cut on each side. Measure 3 spots: bust, waist and hips. You can mark the 3 spots with pins. I’m using the kind that come attached to the brand tags when you buy new clothes – I always save those!

Add an extra inch to what you measured to make sure the t-shirt doesn’t come out overly tight. Once you tie the tabs tightly, it will scrunch the shirt, making it tighter than you expect.

Step 2: Cut Tabs on Each Side – 1/2 Inch Wide

Now we’re going to start cutting tabs 1/2 inch wide up the side of the shirt. Use a rule to guide a straight line from one pin to the next. When you get to the sleeve, cut it off and continue cutting a few more tabs to make a smaller arm hole. Then you need to cut all the loops in half so they separate into a top and bottom tab.

If you have seams along both sides of the t-shirt, the tabs will come apart with a tug. But mine does not, so I need to cut the loops sideways to separate the tabs.

Then I measured how deep I made the cuts: 4 inches at my waist, 2.5 inches at my hips and 3 inches at my bust. I copied these measurements for the other side of the t-shirt. And again I cut off the sleeve and then cut the loops in half.  Now the front and the back of the t-shirt is detached.

Step 3: Tie Tabs Together

Lightly double knot each tab along both sides of the t-shirt. Once you’re done, try on the shirt to make sure it fits properly. Be very careful you’re using the right corresponding tabs because you don’t want to skip over a tab on one side and make it uneven. If this happens, you’ll have to untie the knots and redo it until you find the missing tab.

If you are wearing the shirt and it’s good to go, you can start double knotting everything very tightly. Do it as tight as you can because you don’t want them to undo later on. As you do this, you can take a pair of scissors and snip off the ends – removing the tassels.

You can choose to remove the tassels or leave them intact! 

Step 4: Cut Out Snowflakes Using Template

Once you’ve printed out the template, fold it in half by lining up the two snowflakes. I folded the paper template in half because I’m folding the fabric I’m about to cut in half as well. So instead of cutting a full circle in the middle, I’m just cutting a half circle. This helps keep things symmetrical.  I just used the template as a reference point and cut out the shapes freehand. You can make the snowflake bigger or smaller if you’d like and have one big, one small or do a few more. But basically, just take your time and cut out the shape by folding the t-shirt fabric in half on the spot you want to cut.

Click to download and print the snowflake template!