How to Make a Bathing Suit Out of a T-Shirt
- 1). Cut the bottom hem off of your old T-shirt, just above the stitching. Discard this piece or save it for another project.
- 2). Lay the T-shirt flat on a table and cut horizontally across the shirt, 9 inches above where you removed the hem. You now have a large loop of T-shirt fabric. Cut this loop vertically so it becomes a flat rectangle.
- 3). Cut off the hem of one sleeve of the T-shirt and discard it or save it for another project. Measure in from this cut edge approximately 3 inches and cut off a tube from the sleeve at this point. Cut vertically through the tube to make it a rectangle.
- 4). Position your smaller rectangle underneath your longer one. The smaller one should be vertically oriented and the longer one horizontal, so that the ends of the smaller one peek out above and below the longer one. Grab these ends and bring them to the front of the longer rectangle, tying a knot twice. This will create the bandeau front of your bikini top.
- 5). Cut the side seams of an old pair of underwear so you can lay it flat in one piece. Use this as your pattern and place it on top of the remaining body of your T-shirt; cut out this shape going through both layers of the shirt, leaving an extra half inch on all sides.
- 6). Position the two pieces of your bathing suit bottom together with the right sides facing one another. Sew around the entire perimeter, leaving an unsewn seam about 4 inches long along one short side. Turn the bathing suit bottom right side out through this hole and then stitch it closed.
- 7). Cut four strips of fabric from the rest of your T-shirt scraps. The strips should measure 1 inch wide by 6 inches long. Sew one short end of each strip to each corner of your bathing suit bottom.
- 8). Try on your bathing suit. Put on the top with the knotted tie centered over your chest. Bring the ends of the long rectangle behind your back and tie them in a knot. Put on the bottoms and tie them at your hips on both sides.