T is for t-shirt and tank

I have a number of t-shirts laying around that I don't really wear very often, except to bed as pajamas. Many of them are too big for me, and while I would have gotten rid of them in my annual wintertime closet purge, I kept them because I was pregnant, and big t-shirts are comfortable when you're pregnant.

Well, Baby Girl is almost six months old, so that means I'm no longer pregnant, and I'm swimming in these t-shirts. Also, I'm kind of unwilling to part with some of them. I mean, not everyone has a Peachtree Road Race commemorative t-shirt, and my two are the only proof that I did actually finish the race. Twice. So, that means it's time to get crafty. I found this tutorial on Pinterest, and decided to turn my t-shirts into tank tops.

The process was pretty simple. Step 1: cut off the sleeves on the inside of the seam, cut across just below the neck, cut off the bottom seam, and cut off a strip about an inch wide. What we're left with is a t-shirt without a neck, sleeves or a bottom.

Step 2: fold over the new top of the t-shirt, and pin.

Step 3: sew a straight line across each side, maybe about a half inch in. This was kind of a fail on my part, since I'm working with a semi-ancient sewing machine. This Singer belonged to Paul's grandmother, and it's a tank. It took what seemed like forever to load up the bobbin, and the thread kept breaking over some rusty parts. Between you and me, I'm wondering if it's worth cleaning it up, or if I should just bite the bullet and get a new one.

Step 4: thread the strip from the bottom through the new tubes, creating straps. I cut the bottom strip once, making it a long strap, and tied it over one shoulder. Fancy, huh?

Here is the finished product. A word of warning: be prepared to be possibly blinded. I am the whitest white girl in all the land. My skin apologizes to your eyes.

All things considered, I think it came out fairly well. The only thing I truly don't like about it is that I can't wear a bra with it. Well, I could, but it would look rather silly. It's definitely an "around the house" kind of tank top. The point is, I will probably turn a few more t-shirts into tanks. When I do, I'll most likely take more care in cutting straight lines and using the Singer properly.