Turn That Ratty Old Shirt Into A Sassy One

There's no shame in having a ratty old t-shirt around. Shame only comes into the picture when you're not using that shirt (tisk tisk) or if you're planning to throw it out (double tisk tisk). Since I've been re:purposing a bag of clothes from my closet, this old bleached-up shirt was born to be a craft project of mine. So I helped this shirt become what it was meant to be: a cute vest with ties.

Alright, lets take a step back. I'm not trying to imply here that a ratty and stained shirt can't serve a purpose on its own. It most certainly can. Especially if you're a painter. Or if you do landscaping. Or anything else dirty on a regular basis. The green dilemma presents itself when you have shirts like this one lying around that aren't getting any use. Not only are they creating clutter, which isn't any good, but they're not living up to their full potential if you'd wear the shirt more if it were altered. And alterations are easy to make, even if you've only got a pair of scissors handy.

If you want to turn your old shirt into a cute vest with ties, follow these simple instructions:

1. Take an old shirt and cut off the sleeves.








2. Cut off the collar and create a deep half-circle neckline.








3. Cut a rectangle of fabric out from the shirt, directly down the middle. The tighter you want the vest to eventually be, the wider this section cut out should be. Cut holes down each side of the vest, directly across from each other.








4. Use the fabric you've already cut out to cut strands of fabric. Use these strands of fabric to tie your holes together all the way down the vest.









Enjoy! There are so many things we can do with an old t-shirt which help us to avoid unnecessary waste and prevent unnecessary consumption simultaneously. Before you buy your next new shirt, make sure you ask yourself what you're doing with your old shirts.

* Photos courtesy of Elizabeth Seward