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DIY Fashion Blog: Workout Racerback Tank Top

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at CMU chapter.

About the Project:

Have too many unflattering T-shirts and don’t know what to do with them? No problem! The following project is one of many different and easy ways to turn your old T-shirts into a workout tank top. Wear it during your workouts between classes and exams!

Materials Needed:

  • Old T-shirt (make sure it’s your normal size, nothing smaller or larger!)
  • Scissors

Step-By-Step:

1) Lay your T-shirt flat on a level surface. This way, your cutting won’t be jagged or uneven. Cut around the seams of the crew neck collar and the bottom hem of the shirt. For the sleeves, roughly estimate how large you want your straps to be, and start cutting from there. Be sure to cut down straight ¾ of the way, and then curve into the end of the sleeve. This will prevent it from taking a weird shape when you wear it.

2) Flip the shirt over and starting from the straps cut a deep “V” down the middle. This makes the shirt more flexible when you make the racerback part.

3) Here comes the fun part: set the shirt aside and take the shirt’s bottom hem that you cut off in Step 1. Snip away the threaded seam. Take the fabric-only part that you cut off and stretch it out as much as possible.

4) Take the stretched out fabric and tie one end about 2 inches above the bottom of the “V” in the back. (Sorry about the picture quality!)

5) Begin wrapping the fabric around the straps. When finished, double knot the end and cut off any extra fabric.

6) Optional: If you want to make your tank top hi-low, fold the shirt to match up the sides and lay it flat. Starting from the front, cut straight about 4 or 5 inches above the bottom of the shirt. When you reach the side folds of the shirt, start angling the scissors downward and finish cutting.

7) And there you have it! Have fun wearing your revamped shirt to the gym or even out and about. Wearing a sports bra or a camisole underneath makes it look even cuter. You’ll be sure to get lots of compliments!

Laura Stiles is a Creative Writing, Professional Writing double major at Carnegie Mellon University who will be graduating in May 2014. In addition to being Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Carnegie Mellon chapter of HerCampus.com, she is Co-Prose Editor of The Oakland Review, Carnegie Mellon’s literary-arts journal, a manuscript reader for Carnegie Mellon University Press, and has copy-edited for Carnegie Mellon’s newspaper, The Tartan. She was also Communications and Arts Management Intern at The Hillman Center for Performing Arts in summer 2012, and is ecstatic to be studying abroad in Sheffield, England in spring 2013. In her free time, she enjoys singing along to music on long car rides, spontaneously kicking off her shoes to explore lakes and creeks, and curling up with a soft blanket and a captivating book. She was also recently pleasantly surprised to discover that she has a taste for sushi.