T-shirt refashion

In my drawer are a few Lands End long-sleeve t-shirts that I’ve had absolutely forever. I can’t wear them anywhere but at home, because of the little stains, holes, and tears. I’d been wanting to make some “half gloves” from a tutorial on Stitch Lounge, so I decided to see what I could come up with for the rest of one of my workhorse shirts.

I cut off the sleeves, and made the “half-glove” arm-warmers. Then I cut off the sides and neckline of the t-shirt (including the stains under the arms–bleah.) I added strips of funky fabric to the sides, and then made some double-fold bias tape for the armholes and neckline. The point of the neckline in front caused me a bit of worry, but I sewed that thing flat…

I’d love to report that I did this all very scientifically with measurements and all, but in truth I grabbed another t-shirt from a drawer and used it as a rough guide. I also must be truthful and say I screwed up the hemline of the shirt by (arrgh) cutting the first fabric strip even with the existing hem, forgetting about adding 5/8 to turn under. So I’ll have to put bias tape over that, too.

I’m very pleased with how it came out. Not that I can wear it any time soon, as it is currently 5 degrees F here in upstate New York. I have lots of t-shirts that I can convert this way. Next time I’ll make the armhole binding thinner, and I’ll have a better hemline. I think I need to make the top of the arm-warmer smaller, too. It won’t matter if I’m wearing it under something, but I don’t want them to slide down my arm when I’m wearing them with the t-shirt.