Your standard issue souvenir shirt, labeled as unisex, is pretty much for boys. Don’t fight me on this. The boxy cut and thick collar of a boys tee is fine for romping around, but if you are saving some favorite boy shirts for the baby girl you are expecting, you may come to find you are reluctant to dress her in them. Shirts for little girls simply have more shape to them– more charm than a unisex tshirt.
I am in the one-of-each club, with an older boy and younger girl. I have now mastered the subtle alterations required to turn a boy’s tshirt into a girl’s tshirt.
Thrift store lovers, this will allow you to turn that toddler-sized “I left my heart in San Francisco” you scored for $1.00 into something even more stylish.
Ready to perform a sex change operation on a tshirt? Here’s my tutorial.
What you need: “unisex” tshirt, elastic thread, sewing machine, beginner sewing skills
Starting with a basic toddler’s tshirt, handed down to us from Heather’s son Milo.
Cut off the neck line and trim the hem off the sleeves. Turn the sleeves under and sew. Your shirt is already more feminine. If you are exhausted at this point, you can quit now.
If you are still feeling strong, proceed with loading the elastic thread you purchased at the fabric store onto a bobbin. You have to wind it by hand. The thread coming from the bobbin up through the bottom of your machine will be the elastic stuff, while the one coming through the needle from the top of your machine will be your regular thread.
Now you will sew a lines around the middle of the shirt to create a gathering effect. Simply sew straight ahead and complete a circle around the shirt. You don’t need to do anything else to make it gather. The elastic thread takes care of that for you, and the effect is even more dramatic after the shirt’s first washing.
Now sew two more rows, evenly spaced to the best of your ability below the first one.
That’s it. You’re done.
If you try this for yourself, please post links to your pictures!
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OMG! I was just looking for a new way to transform a shirt. We have Volley For A Cure at our local high school this week. I ordered my daughter a shirt (adult small) but she is only 3. So i wanted to spice up the shirt so it was a little dress on her. Thanks! The timing is perfect!
Love it!! I have a 3 year old boy and I *hope* to have a girl someday, so this is going in my faves file for later.
Great idea! And what an awesome tutorial, thank you for making it so easy and user-friendly.
Super cute! I pretty much always cut the necks off of unisex shirts that I buy for myself: can’t stand anything against my collarbone & neck!
That looks fantastic (and super-easy). I think I might try it on one of my own T-shirts, since I don’t have a daughter to sew for!
Very cool attitude by the model in the photos too.
Whitney – have you tried this on your own shirts? There are a couple of my hubby’s I’m coveting….
Ooh, post a picture when you do. Either share the link here or in our flickr pool “rookiemoms”
I did it!
http://hearthspace.blogspot.com/2009/10/t-shirt-redo.html
That is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen! Great job! I’m gonna try this!
Awesomeness! I was just doing a google search to find ideas for turning my old t-shirts into dresses/tunics for my daughters – and came across your post. I’m going to have to bring the side seams in, but this will be such an easy way to give the shirt a little more definition. Rock on, Whitney!
I did this only a *little* different… I bought a woman’s small t & skipped down to just sewing around the middle and I’m in love with the results!
Now, if I can get my little princess to let me take a photo, I’ll be blogging about it soon!
Love this idea! My 15-month old girl still does not have very much hair. Her aunt (my little sister) is a high school athlete, and I sport Bristol in team t-shirts for games and everyone thinks she is a boy! This seems like the perfect solution! All I need now is access to a sewing machine!
never knew I could load elastic, thanks this opens up a world of possibilities! Also this is a perfect fit I have an older son and younger daughter!
Thank you so much for this tutorial. I’m about to start a tie dye project with my six kids and I wanted a way to make the boys t-shirts more girlie and this will be perfect. I couldn’t find a tutorial for it and thanks to you now I can!
It’s only recently that I’ve even realised that there is a difference between boys/mens and girls/womens tees….I know I must walk round with my eyes shut. I always just assumed it was my terrible figure that made tees look awful on me and not that it was cut for a man. Now I know different and have been taking some tentative steps into the world of upcycling. I’m loving the buzz I get from taking something plain and making it into a work of art !!!
That totally makes sense for me if it’s for, say, an 11 year old who really wants stylish clothes, or when they’re old enough for figures to have different shapes, but toddler girls and boys can happily both wear normal ol’ beatles t-shirts without the girl having to be more stylish or tailored.
This is awesome! I can’t wait to do this for my daughter. I have the daughter, the t-shirt, the regular thread and the sewing machine. Where can I get elastic thread?