Turn a tired preppy standard into a warm-weather must have!

Materials:
-Old Polo shirt
-Scissors
-Pins
-Sewing machine

1. Remove the arms & collar from your shirt, setting them aside for later use.

2. Cut off the top two inches of the shirt – you’ll want to keep a few buttons, but leave at least 1.5” above the top button.

3. Pin together the edges of your shirt and sew down the edges. Try this on and adjust the fit – you may have to take off several inches of fabric based on how big your polo is. If you have another tank or tube top that fits you well, match the size up to the polo and sew accordingly.

4. Hem the top and bottom edges of your shirt. Fold the edges over (1/2 to 1 inch) and pin in place; then sew around using your sewing machine (or needle and thread, for the ambitious). Be careful around the buttons in the front; it’s harder for the machine to sew through the thicker fabric, and you could catch a button in the process.

5. Once you’ve finished hemming the edges, your shirt should resemble a tube top without elastic in the top.

6. Now comes time to add decoration! Take your collar that you removed earlier and trim off the edges so that you are just left with a piece of knitted fabric. Fold the collar in half and cut up in the middle so you have two pieces of collar.

7. Arrange the collars on the top of your tube top to figure out how long you want your flaps to be. Cut accordingly.

8. Sew the collar pieces onto the top of your shirt. Make sure to keep the original (uncut) edge toward the center, and the edge (that you snipped in half) toward the seam of your shirt. You’ll want to sew rather close to the edge of the collar piece to make sure the knitted fabric of the collar doesn’t run.

9. To make straps, cut two 2-inch strips from the discarded sleeves. You’ll want these strips to be the same length. Cut down the seam of the strip so that you have one long strip instead of a loop.

10. Fold the strip in half (lengthwise) and sew the two edges together to create a tube. Turn your tube inside out, and repeat to make another strap. (Hint: Using a safety pin on the end of the tube helps guide it through the reversal process.)

11. Attach your straps by sewing them onto the shirt. If you’d like to create a tank top, sew them at an equal spot on the back of the shirt as well. If not, just attach the two strips and tie behind the neck.








Stay crafty! PD




Kristen Pumphrey is a crafter/writer/small-business owner (pommesfrites.etsy.com) who loves to reclaim, reuse, and repurpose. See more projects and inspirations at pommes-frites.blogspot.com.