I first discovered the concept of reconstructing or refashioning t-shirts when I came across a copy of “Generation T”. I was fascinated by the idea of taking apart a t-shirt and reconstructing it into something completely new and fabulous. Oh the fabulous things a woman can do with a pair of scissors and a box of safety pins!

I have a collection of short and long sleeve t-shirts with great graphics and (sob) crew necklines. I love a little T with jeans to kick around in but I’m so over the crew neck. This is my first crew neck recon – so please look on it kindly.

I was so excited to take over this T that I forgot to take a before picture. Sorry! But if you need a before pic you can gaze on this:

crew neck T that looks nothing like my T

The first thing I did was lay the shirt out on a table and pin it together along the shoulders and upper body so that when I cut into it everything will line up front to back. Then I stretched a length of masking tape from under the right arm to just under the neckline on the left side of the shirt and cut along the shirt through both front and back just above the masking tape line. Done! Ran into the bathroom to try on my new t-shirt in front of my full length mirror. If I could show you the sad picture of me modeling my new off-shoulder T as it falls off me, you’d shed a few tears also. But alas, I didn’t snap that pic. What I did do though was to cut four thin strips from the sleeve I had cut off and sew three of them to the right shoulder (front and back) and one to the left shoulder (front and back) so that I had spaghetti straps to hold my top up.

right shoulder

left shoulder

My top now stays up! Happy days are here again!

I didn’t like how the neckline of the T though so I folded it under and stitched two lines using yellow thread.

Kinda reminds me of the yellow brick road from the Wizard of Oz.

I was still not liking this little T so I grabbed my seam ripper and took out the stitching on the one sleeve and the bottom hem. Then did a lettuce edge using yellow thread.

Lovin the yellow and denim blue together.

I love the deconstructed look of the sleeve and bottom hem.

Done!