T-shirts Old blouses Long-sleeved shirts
Use sharp scissors to cut many strips into the sleeves, cutting straight up to the shoulder seam and stopping. When you are done, the sleeves should look like fringe hanging from the shirt. This helps the shirt lose its curve around the shoulder seam so that it lays flatter and allows for a straighter cut.
Avoid cutting into the shoulder seam, because that will cause fraying and may cause the shirt to unravel later. Pull the strips tight as you cut, which will help make a clean, straight cut.
Take your scissors carefully along the edge at the shoulder seam, trimming up anything that needs to be cleaned up. Your shirt is now sleeveless but still has the seams intact in order to help the shirt last longer. When the seams are cut off, the shirt tends to come apart quickly.
The way this method differs from Method 1 is that in the first method, the shirt still came out to the edge of your shoulder and simply had the sleeves removed. In this method, we are removing both the sleeves and the neckline to make a tank. Men’s style t-shirts are a good option, because they tend to be looser-fitting than women’s t-shirts.
Stay within ¼ inch of the seam. The cut doesn’t have to be perfectly “straight,” especially if you’re going for more of a grunge look. This means that the cut doesn’t have to maintain the exact same distance from the seam all the way around the neckline. Pull the shirt tight while you cut to avoid bunching and to make cutting easier.
Start at the armpit and cut with a slight curve up toward the middle of the distance between the neck and the sleeve. You want to leave a good width for the strap of the tank, which should be about an inch-and-a-half or more. Pull the sleeves tight while you cut to avoid bunching and to make the cutting easier.
Fold your new edge to the inside of the shirt ¼ inch and press. Then, fold it in again another ¼ inch and press again. Use your sewing machine and its presser foot, also known as a rolled hem foot, to sew the folds down for the hem. [1] X Research source Repeat on all edges, including both new armholes and the neckline. Hemming is not necessary if you want your tank to have a grunge look.
Loose-fitting t-shirts are the best open for this style, especially if they are a bit big. The idea of this shirt is to have a baggy, open shirt in which to do strenuous activity, like weight lifting or manual labor. This is the easiest method of making a sleeveless shirt, because it only requires two simple cuts.
This also ensures that you do not cut the side of the shirt completely open.
When you get up to the sleeve at the shoulder, you should have about an inch of fabric still attached to the sleeve as it is cut off. This allows for more fabric to be attached to the neckline, creating a muscle tee. Pull the shirt tight as you cut to help keep a mostly straight cut. The new edges of the shirt will likely curl in on themselves a bit, but the cut should still be as straight as you can make it.
Fold your new edge to the inside of the shirt ¼ inch and press. Then, fold it in again another ¼ inch and press again. Use your sewing machine and its presser foot, also known as a rolled hem foot, to sew the folds down for the hem. [2] X Research source Repeat on the other armhole.
Almost any pattern of sleeved shirt will work for this. Be sure that you are buying a pattern for the style of shirt you want (e. g. men’s, women’s, baby’s, child’s, et cetera). Buy enough fabric to make the entire shirt so that you can avoid sewing scraps together.
Use a pencil to make your new markings. How much you shorten the width is up to you, but keep in mind that you will lose an additional 3/8 inch when you finish the seam on the sleeveless arm hole. Try to make about the same new angle and curve on both sleeves so that they look the same. You may want to curve the front of the shirt a bit more than the back, simply for aesthetics.
Carefully cut along your new lines, keeping your new curves as much as possible. Prepare your pattern to trace onto the fabric.
Washable pens Tracing wheel and dressmaker’s carbon Hera marker Chalk pencil Tailor’s chalk Tailor’s tacks
Measure your armholes and then add 3-4 inches to account for sewing. The fabric strips should be about an inch wide. These strips are also known as “binding. ”
Fold one edge of the binding ¼ inch over the non-patterned side, and then press it flat. Repeat with the second strip of binding.
Leave at least an inch of excess fabric hanging before inserting the first pin at the side seam. Put the unfolded edge of the binding along the edge of the armhole, so that the folded edge is closer to the breast of the shirt. The right sides of the shirt and the binding should be together, meaning that the patterned side of the binding should be against the patterned side of the shirt, which should be right side out. Continue to pin the binding all the way around the armhole.
Repeat this on the binding of the other armhole. This is where you will sew the two ends together so that they will meet along the side seam.
Sew the bias tape, with the patterned sides touching, at the marks you made on the fabric. Trim any excess fabric off after sewing (remember that you left at least an inch before pinning). Press open the small bit of fabric left after sewing and trimming and pin it to the armhole at the side seam.
A sewing machine is recommended for this process, as it will be faster and straighter.
Flip the shirt inside out after doing this. Fold the binding again along the ¼ inch edge that you made previously, and then fold it again along the seam. Pin all the way around the armhole, with the binding folded in twice around it.
Repeat the process on the other armhole. Press the new seam around the armhole one more time to give it a crisp edge, and you are done.
