T-shirt upcycle... and the dangers of "Pinterest"

I have discovered Pinterest, and my life may never be the same again.

Pinterest is a website that helps you to save, categorize, and share links to helpful sites on the web.  It's kind of like bookmarking (basically it is bookmarking) but with pretty pictures to show you what you saved.  And then your friends can see what you're looking at, and you can steal ideas from them.

My favorite categories of things to search for are home decor, activities for the kids, and stuff I could sew if I had the time and energy to do so.  I did try out one of the projects so far- turning t-shirts into tank tops.

I LOVE this idea.  I have piles and piles of t-shirts and rarely wear any of them.  I started with just one.  And then another.  And then I changed the ribbon for a third... by night's end I had created 5 new tops to run in- tops that were formally banished to the back of the closet.

 Here are the instructions:

1.  Pick out a t-shirt.   Cut off the sleeves, shoulders, collar, and about 2-inches off the bottom.  The bottom should be cut twice- cut off the hem and discard, and then cut an additional inch and keep for the straps.

 2.  Sew the front and back of the top.  Fold each over and sew about a 3/4-inch pocket.

3.   Run the piece from the bottom of the shirt through, and tie at the side.

 4.  That's it.  Don't bother hemming the bottom, or the sleeves, just leave it. 

 After the first shirt I started experimenting.  I tried different colors, using grosgrain ribbon instead of t-shirt material for the straps, and cutting different lengths at the bottom.

 And then I tried something completely different, and tied it at the back with a piece of leftover material after cutting the neck and sleeves off. 

The possibilities are endless. 

And I apparently have a sunburn on the back of my arms.  Who knew?