Cut Out + Keep

Fringed Tank Top

Take a regular ill-fitting tank and turn it into a belly shirt with fringe

https://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/fringed-tank-top • Posted by Ivette N.

So, I had this red tank top that didn't fit me well. I absolutely hate short shirts unless they're belly shirts or cropped shirts, that's it. I always liked fringe and wanted a belly shirt, so I made this one about a year ago.

You will need

Project Budget
Cheap

Time

1 h 00

Difficulty

Pretty Easy
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Description

So, I had this red tank top that didn't fit me well. I absolutely hate short shirts unless they're belly shirts or cropped shirts, that's it. I always liked fringe and wanted a belly shirt, so I made this one about a year ago.

Instructions

  1. Small 1

    So here's my tank top originally.

  2. Measure the bottom seam of shirt. Kind of helps when you cut from the other shirt or from the material you're using. Once you figure out the length, measure on the unwanted shirt/material & cut out your piece(s). (Unfortunately for me, my unwanted shirt was too small width wise, so I had to cut them out in large squares.)

  3. Small 2

    Start pinning the material to the inside hem of the shirt, like so. <- This is the inside of the pin, flipped out.

  4. Small picture455

    The other side of it.

  5. Small 4

    Make sure it's pinned in far enough inside that you will have space to sew it twice: Once along the BOTTOM of the hem & once along the TOP of the material. It's better for it to be secure so if you have to wash it, it won't rip out, PLUS when you start pulling fringe, it needs to stay in place. Once pinned, you should have a large front square of material popping out from underneath. Or if your shirt was too small, it'll look like this:

  6. Small 5

    SEW. Sew along the edge of the material and then to the top of the material. Remember, security is your best friend. Here's what my inside hem looked like: Yeah, it's sort of ugly.

  7. Small 6

    At least the outside hem looks nice :)

  8. Time to CUT THE 'FRINGE.' I tried to stay about half an inch per strip. Just take into consideration that if you're adding beads or rings, the strips have to be small enough to fit the holes of the beads. Mine were STILL too big, so I used a threader to get the material through. Essentially, it's up to you on the amount of fringe you want and thickness. Too thin, it'll break, too thick, it won't roll. Half inch minimum I believe.

  9. Start to pull the fringe enough to have them roll into a small tube basically. You have to pull hard enough for them to roll (which will also lengthen them), but not so hard that they'll rip on you (like I did).

  10. Our fringe strips actually look like fringe now. You may also notice that depending on how high to cut to the material, you have very tiny triangles along your hem. It's alright though, they're pretty ;D

  11. OPTIONAL: Now you can start adding beads and rings. This is all customizable & up to you. Me, I used orange beads, wooden beads, gold rings, & knots as my decorations. Just remember that no matter what you put on, you HAVE to knot underneath it to keep it from moving. Washing machines have the power to obliterate anything that isn't fastened well.

  12. Small 7

    In this end, this is how my fringe looked: Now you're pretty much done... unless you're like me and think your shirt STILL looks boring. In that case...

  13. Small 8

    OPTIONAL: Cut out a strip of material from your unwanted shirt/material, grab the center of the top of the shirt & bottom of the shirt, pinch together, & tie that strip around to form a butterfly gather (cut the excess strip of course.) NOW I'm done :) And it looks like this:

  14. Small 9

    I know it looks like a sack or something, but it looks pretty on. (Refer to my main photos.) And that's it! Thanks for reading :)