Change Men's T-Shirts Into Casual Tops

Fun shirts to wear with jeans or shorts are easy to make from men's T-shirts or undershirts. These shirts come in a variety of colors and when trimmed, are inexpensive fashion-right tops. You can purchase a package of three men's undershirts for much less than the price of one woman's top or blouse. There are many ways you can decorate and trim these undershirts, and today I'll give you a couple of examples.

For a blouson style you will need an undershirt one or two sizes larger than you would normally buy, 3 yards of cording and one yard wide double fold bias tape.

Before beginning, open up the wide double fold bias tape and press it flat. Pin the bias tape over the shoulder seams from the neck down the middle of the sleeves, turning the tape under 1/4" at each end. Stitch each side of the bias tape and down the center (by pressing the double fold bias tape, there will still be the slight center mark that makes sewing down the center very easy). Cut 4 cords the measurement of the tape casing plus 2". Insert the cords in the casings and tack the cords at the neck edge. Make a knot at the cord ends. Pull the cording to form shirring at the shoulder and tie the cording in a bow. Determine the length of the blouson, or leave the undershirt the length it is. Make two machine button holes 1/2 inch on either side of the center front at the hemline. For the casing, press up 1" and stitch. Run cording through the bottom casing, knot the ends and tie the cord in a bow. You can add additional decorations, appliques, etc to the front of the t-shirt as you desire.

To make a decorator tank top from a man's t-shirt, use a t-shirt in the size you normally wear and one package of rick rack, in your choice of color.

Pin and stitch the rick rck around the neckline and armholes of the t-shirt, and you'll have a tank top that's ready to wear.