From T-Shirt to Tunic

I repurposed another one of my Twilight t-shirts for my daughter. I already posted the t-shirt to tank top tutorial. If you want…check it out here. This time I wanted to try something a bit different. I wanted to incorporate my new obsession…Elastic Thread. My life had no meaning before. My life is now complete! I swear, you add a little elastic thread to a project and it takes it from great to FABULOUS. I have to warn all of you…there will be lots of elastic thread tutorials coming.


What you’ll need: Old t-shirt, sewing machine, elastic thread, regular coordinating all-purpose thread, scissors, coordinating ribbon.

Step 1: Lay out t-shirt on your cutting table and cut off the sleeves, just inside the seam at the armpit. Do this for both sleeves.

Step 2: Cut around the neck, just inside the seam. You don’t necessarily have to do this. If you’d prefer your tunic to have the t-shirt neckline.

Step 3: Mark the back of the shirt where you’ll want your (elastic). I ended up doing it to the bottom of rib cage. Using sewing machine (with elastic thread wound on bobbin), sew lines across the back. I did ( ) rows and they were ¼ - ½” apart. Make sure to lock your stitch at the beginning and the end. This will help hold your elastic in place.

Step 4: Fold and pin neck line ¼”. Sew using elastic. This will make neck line ruffly.

Step 5: Repeat step 4 on arm holes. I left the arm hole open so my daughter could wear a tank underneath, but if you want you can add a side seam to close up the arm hole a bit.

Step 6: Cut ribbon into two-4” strips. Use fray check on the ends to keep from unraveling. Then tie over shoulder seam. This will create a gather effect.

Your daughter will love this cute and comfy tunic!

(Copyright Information: This pattern, including text and images, is copyrighted to Heidi Cogdill, Hip Chicks Craft Too. No part of this pattern can be copied, shared, distributed or sold. All rights reserved. No commercial use of this pattern is allowed (which means you cannot sell the finished product).