What to do with an old shirt...

Have you ever looked in your closet or drawer and realized that you had WAY too many t-shirts? I have...way too many times. This last week I decided to recycle one of my shirts.

Lately I have been wearing my shirts more often because I have been working out more. One problem I have with shirts is that the sleeves bug me and get in the way. One solution is to wear tank tops, but in an effort to save some money I decided to make this shirt into a tank top of sorts. This requires no sewing, but you could of course polish the edges by making a seam with a sewing machine.

Here's your how to on making the tank top...

1. Take your shirt and lay it out flat (No picture, just imagine a shirt on a table)

2. Starting directly under the seam in the arm pit make a curved cut up and towards the neckline.

3. The result is a shirt that covers my sports bra(a must), but also gives me the ease of movement. 

finished product!



Now, in an effort to never waste my scraps :) I decided to use the sleeves to make a headband. Truth is I loved the color of this shirt too much to waste the material! Here's the how-to to make the headband (btw cloth headbands like these sell for about $1 in stores)

1. Lay your sleeve out on the table

2. Cut the seams off of the sleeve

3. Roll the raw edges underneath and put it on! The material will naturally roll under and stay together.

Now if you REALLY had a shirt you wanted to be rid of but love the color too much, you could also make an infinity scarf out of it (This I do not have any pics of, sorry! I'm a busy momma and don't have the time to stop sometimes...that's my story). I'm seeing these everywhere and really all you need is a good jersey material.

1. Lay your shirt out flat

2. Take your scissors and cut horizontally across the bottom. Make the strips at least 4 inches wide because they will curl up. Make as many as you want.

3. Layer them one on top of the other around your neck. You could even do multiple colors if you wanted.

The hem of the sleeve can also become a collar for the dog, as my oldest saw the need for :)

And of course you could always use it for a rag like my husband does, but these options are a little more fun!

So, there ya go! Easy things you could do with an old shirt. Reduce, Re-Use, Recycle, AND save yourself a little cash :)  

**Also, since shirts have two sleeves and I only have the need for one headband, I have an extra headband! So if for some reason you want this extra, just let me know! If no one claims it, it may become part of our dress-up bag :)