Another Recycled T-shirt Post

A few months ago I found an extra large men's Superman t-shirt at Goodwill. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it, but I snatched it up because Tate has been on a superhero kick lately. I really wanted to make a homemade gift for him for his birthday. I began to wonder if I could make an adult t-shirt into a child's size. The best information I could find was on this blog post. She has a before, during and after picture, but I like more step-by-step visuals. I also wasn't sure how to adjust the collar.

 Michael always manages to get holes in the armpits of his t-shirts. He continues to wear them until I steal them for repurposing. I'm a scavenger (or thief, if you ask certain family members) and since I have figured out how to alter them to a child's size, his holey t-shirt collection is now in serious danger!

 Tate wears a 5T or youth extra small t-shirt. I decided to go a little larger (youth small), so he could wear them longer. The first step is to line the t-shirts up, small on top and large on bottom. If you want precision, you could certainly pin them together before you start cutting.

 I cut the bottom off first.

 If you cut the bottom of your large t-shirt just below the outer-most stitch, you will have a pre-made bias tape for the bottom of your shirt! A nifty trick I learned here.

 Using your small shirt as a pattern, cut around the outside edge, leaving a seam allowance. I forgot to take a picture when doing the sleeves. I started to worry it wasn't going to work was really anxious to start sewing, so I finished one shirt and then forgot to photograph a step when I started back up with the second shirt. I think you can see what I did in the next picture.

 I followed the seam on the body of the t-shirt, including notching out for the sleeves. I matched the seamed edges of the two t-shirts together and cut the sleeve to the size I needed. I should have cut the collar here, but I was too nervous. I couldn't find any tutorials on how to make a neckline smaller and I really didn't want to chance messing it up.

 Now, it's time to start sewing! Sew up the sides of the t-shirt and the bottom of the sleeves, where the white lines indicate.

 Then sew the pre-made binding/ bias tape along the bottom to finish the edge. I used a zig-zag stitch, mainly for decorative purposes.

The sleeves can be a little tricky. This is the only part of the project I pinned before sewing. The right sides need to go together. I line up the seams that I made on the side of the shirt and the bottom of the sleeve, sewed them on.

Viola... two recycled adult t-shirts into birthday presents! He loved that one came from Daddy's closet and of course, Superman! (Superman trivia: he was raised in Kansas. I know this fact, but I've never seen his movies or read his comics.)

 As you can see, the necklines are pretty big.

I guess I'm going to have to practice using those t-shirts from Michael's drawers!