How to Make My T-Shirt That Is Too Big Smaller Without a Sewing Machine

Turn a bulky T-shirt into a fitted peasant shirt with a little ribbon.

If you don’t own a sewing machine, tailoring your clothes can be a difficult if not impossible process. Luckily, if you are trying to make a T-shirt smaller, you have some creative options. For T-shirts that are too long, a round of hemming tape will secure your hem — no stitching required. For women or girls, the artful addition of ribbon or yarn can take a T-shirt from bulky to sexy.

Things You'll Need

• Pins
• Iron
• Hemming Tape
• Scissors
• Tailor’s chalk
• Ruler
• Ribbon
• Upholstery needle

Instructions

No-Sew Hemming

1. Put on your shirt.

2. Fold up the hem to the desired length and pin the fabric in place. If you have an assistant, she can pin the rest of the shirt while you are still wearing it. If not, take off the shirt and hang it on a dress form or hanger to finish pinning the hem.

3. Iron the hem flat.

4. Remove the pins and try the shirt on to be certain the hem is the desired length.

5. Turn the shirt inside out and lay it on your ironing board.

6. Uncoil approximately 2 feet of hemming tape.

7. Insert the hemming tape into the crease of the folded hem. The hem must be tall enough to cover the tape completely or the tape will stick to the iron.

8. Iron only 3 to 4 inches of hemming tape at a time, working all the way around the hem. Iron carefully, avoiding wrinkling the tape or the fabric.

9. Allow the hemming tape to cool before cutting off the excess fabric.

Ribbon Ruching

1. Put on the shirt.

2. Mark a light line across the shirt just below the breasts with tailor’s chalk.

3. Take off the shirt and lay it on a work surface.

4. Lay a ruler along the line and draw a straight line across the shirt using the first line as a guide for placement. Make a small tick mark every inch along the line.

5. Align the 1/2-inch mark of the ruler across the horizontal line at the tick marks you made in the previous step and draw a vertical line exactly 1 inch tall. Do this for all of the tick marks.

6. Measure the distance from one side of the shirt to the other and cut two pieces of ribbon to match that length.

7. Tie a knot at the end of one ribbon and thread the opposite end through an upholstery needle.

8. Thread the needle through the shirt from the inside out at the top of the horizontal line on the far left.

9. Pass the needle back into the shirt at the top of the second horizontal line and back out of the shirt at the top of the third horizontal line. Continue sewing over and under in this pattern down the length of the shirt.

10. Repeat steps 7 through 9 for the second ribbon, working at the bottom of the horizontal lines.

11. Put on the shirt and push the shirt up the ribbon to create the rushing. Tie the ribbons together to hold the shirt in place.

Tips & Warnings

• Draw multiple horizontal lines spaced at least 2 inches apart down the length of the shirt for a tight rather than flared fit.

Resources

• Deranged Designs: No Sew DIY