Boy's Dress Shirt to Cute Summer Top

 This is the story of a sad, lonely, unloved boy's dress shirt.  It was sitting on a rack in the local Salvation Army until my sister and I rescued it on 1/2 off day.  (I didn't know it was 1/2 off day, I just got lucky.)  Anyway, we turned this boring old shirt into a super cute new one!  Ta-dah!

Sadly, I neglected to take pictures of the process, so hopefully I can describe it in a way that makes sense.  This is how I made it.

1.  Cut off the sleeves.  Save them.  You will need the fabric later.
2. Cut the top of the shirt off just under the collar. 
3.  Hem around what is left of the arm holes.  It should be kinda U shaped. 
4.  Fold over a 1/4 inch or so of the fabric along the top, back and front, and sew it.
5.  Then turn this over about a inch and a half or so and sew again.  Basically, you're creating a tube along the top to put the drawstrings through.  Look this up online if you don't understand.  It's just like creating a casing for elastic.
6.  Cut strips from the sleeves and with right sides together, sew them into tubes.  I can't make this part super clear, because it was kind of hit and miss for me.  You may have to sew multiple strips together to get it long enough.
7.  Turn the drawstrings right-side-out and thread them through the casing in the shirt.  A safety pin makes this easier. 
8.  You're done!  Tie the strings together in knots or bows at the shoulders and wear proudly!

You could make a woman's tank top the same way.  Just start with a men's shirt that fits you a little loosely.  Another idea is to make the shoulder straps out of a contrasting fabric.  I think this would look super cute if you also sewed on some pockets in the same contrasting fabric.  Be creative.

Doesn't she look cute?  I love how she rolled up her skinny black pants at the bottom.  A little bit Audrey Hepburn-esque.  Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this refashion.  Maybe you feel a little inspired to go find some men's shirts to cut up?   I have a few more men's shirts that I want to do something with, so you may be seeing some more refashions around here soon.  Thanks for reading!

Niki