How to Make a Knotted Tank Top From a T-Shirt

Inspiration comes in all forms. This morning’s inspiration for my latest recon (reconstructed) t-shirt came from dirty laundry when I discovered that all (at last count I had 6) of my black tank tops were dirty. Hey, what can I say I’m a single mom. It’s just not the weekend if I’m not in a black tank top. So I pulled a t-shirt out of my recon pile and got to work. This is a super easy recon project (Great for a first-timer!) and no sewing is involved.

What you will need:
• A t-shirt (A slightly fitted one will work best for this project.)
• A pair of sharp scissors.

1. Get started. The first thing I usually do to a t-shirt is cut the bottom hem off. This helps to give the shirt the unfinished look that I like. It also helps to turn your average unflattering and boxy t-shirt into something a lot girlier.
2. Next turn the shirt inside out. Cut under the collar. You can also remove the tag if there is one.
3. Now cut out the sleeves. I turned the shirt inside out so I could see the seam better and cut right under it.
4. Next cut the seam at the top of the shoulders. Now cut that section of the shirt into 3 tabs about an inch down. Remember when cutting that you’re going to stretch the fabric and you can always cut more. You can’t uncut something if you go too deep.
5. Next stretch the tabs. The best way I’ve found to do this is to start at the base of the section and move outward.
6. Now you should have 6 tabs on each side of the shirt. Start on the left side (it doesn’t matter which side you pick). We’ll number the tabs from right to left on that side. The ones on the front half of the shirt will be the front tabs and the ones on the back of the shirt will be the back tabs. Tie the front 1 tab to the back 2 tabs. Tie the front 2 tabs to the back 3 tabs. Now tie front 3 tabs to back one tab. You may wish to do double knots. Now do the same for the right side.
7. After trying the shirt on you may wish to cut the collar more or even the back. I liked the neckline on mine the way it was because it looked different from a traditional tank. You can also try tying the tabs differently or even doing a different number of cuts. Have fun and make it your own!