How to Cut Cute Bows on the Side of a Big T-Shirt

Create cute bows with just a few snips.

Adding cute bows to the side of a T-shirt can add spice to a dull garment or provide a more suitable shape to a design you already love. The T-shirt has been a popular fashion staple for decades, allowing wearers to display funny or serious slogans, advertise for local businesses or show support for favorite schools, sports teams or bands. Too often, though, oversized but otherwise great T-shirts meet unfortunate, unwearable fates at the back of closets or the bottom of dresser drawers. Recover those long-lost T-shirts and use this simple, nifty trick to unlock their hidden potential.

Things You'll Need

• Oversized T-shirt
• Ruler
• Fabric scissors

Instructions

Transform Your Shirt

1. Put on the T-shirt. Grasp even amounts of fabric on both sides until the shirt feels as snug as you would like. Let one side go but hold the other in place.

2. Determine how deep you will cut the side of the shirt. Use a ruler to measure the length from the snug fabric against your skin to the end of the excess bunched fabric.

3. Take off the shirt.

4. Use fabric scissors to cut the right side of the shirt open. Begin at the bottom, cutting slowly and evenly along the side seam. Cut all the way to the sleeve opening. Repeat with the left side. When you are finished with this step the front and back of the shirt should only be attached at the neck and shoulders.

5. Lay the shirt out smoothly on a flat surface. Line up the sides of the shirt, with the back lying under the front as it would in its normal pre-cut state.

6. Cut horizontal strips into the sides of the shirt from the bottom to the end of the sleeves. Use your previous measurement to determine the depth of the cut. Each strip should be about two inches wide. Depending on the size and length of your shirt, you should end with approximately 10 to 15 identical strips on each side.

7. Tie the strips together to create bows. Start with the end of one of the sleeves and work your way down the shirt. Tie each set of strips together into a loose double knot.

8. Put on the shirt. You may need to make minor adjustments to create a form-fitting look. If the shirt is too tight, loosen the bows slightly where needed or cut deeper strips and pull the knots tighter in areas that are still too baggy.

9. Trim off extra fabric if necessary. If you prefer small bows, shorten the ends of the strips by cutting them with the scissors.