Large T-Shirt to Fitted Tee Tutorial

I have these two t-shirts that I love.  They're soft, comfortable, and have good worn (and sentimental) designs on them.  But, I never wear them for anything other than around the house because they are large men's t-shirts and look completely shapeless on me. Then I found this great tutorial on YouTube for how to make a big t-shirt a fitted shirt!  - T-Shirt Surgery: How to Make a Shirt Fit

So, while I was staying with my mom at her camper this summer (she lives & travels in an RV), I asked her to help me try it out.  So yes...we broke out the sewing machine next to the campfire.  Strange, I know, but it gave us a project to work on!

First, a before & after look at the t-shirt we did.  Oh yeah, I know you love those electric blue fingernails. :)  

So, here's how it's done. 

1. Start with a t-shirt you love that's just too big
   
   
2. Turn the shirt inside out and lay a shirt that DOES fit you on top of it, lining up the collars so that you can be sure it is centered over your large t-shirt.
   
   
3. Trace the shirt that DOES fit you onto the large t-shirt.  Turn both shirts inside out so that you don't mark on the front of the shirts.  I used a sharpie, but you'd be better off to use a washable marker, chalk or a fabric pen.  When you do the sleeves, try to make your line parallel to the top shoulder.
   
   
    
4. Next, fold the large t-shirt in half to make sure that the armpit marks line up.  Mine did match up, but if yours don't, you can just re-mark them to match.
   
   
   
   
    
5. I went ahead and pinned the front and back of the shirt together, so that it didn't slip while we were sewing.
   
   
    
6. Sew along your traced lines.  Or, in my case, have your MOM sew along the traced lines. :)
   
   
    
7. Try on your shirt (inside out) to see how it fits.  Mine was still a little big, so we sewed it up again about a 1/4" more on each side.  Then it looked like this:
   
   
    
8. If you like the fit, then you can trim off the excess fabric.
   
   
   
   
    
9. Turn the shirt right-side out and try it on.   You can leave it as is, with longer sleeves, or you can cut & hem them - which is what I decided to do.
   
    
    
10. While I was wearing the shirt, I marked with a pin the length I wanted the sleeves to be.  Then I took it off, turned it inside out again and drew a line.  Okay, two lines, because I remembered that I wanted to angle the sleeve a little bit.  Then I cut about 5/8" past the line (to allow for a hem).
    
    
    
    Try it on and make sure it looks the way you want it to look.
    
    
     
11. Fold the shirt in half and cut the other sleeve to match.
    
    
     
12. Hem both sleeves.
    
    
     
13. You're done! Try it on & love the new look - preferably with cute jeans...not gym shorts and bright blue fingernails. :) But hey...we don't all do our crafting while looking our best, right?
    
    
     

Thanks to brianagayle for the video tutorial & tips! I'll be using this technique often I think. :)

No time to make your own? I love these tees (and no sewing machine required):