Criss Cross Cover Up

Modeling her Criss Cross Coverup

Last week I made DIY t-shirt re-fashions as gifts for my brother-in-law, sister-in-law, and my niece.  I didn't want to post them here for fear of ruining the surprise, but I liked several of them enough to warrant a tutorial.  

So, today I decided to make a swim suit cover up for Sissy.  This re-fashion is a variation on the No Sew, Criss Cross t-shirt from the amazing blog WobiSobi.  The original instructions can be found here.  

For Sissy's cover up, I started with a women's size medium v-neck t-shirt from Target.  The only other tools you need are a pair of scissors and chalk or a washable marker.  Well, unless you make this a "little sewing required" DIY, but we'll get to that in a moment.

1.  Lay the t-shirt out flat, and mark where you will cut off the sleeves with chalk or washable marker.  Cut along the lines to remove sleeves.  (If you are using a crew neck shirt or plan to use the no sew method, you will need to cut around the neckline too.  If so, see the original tutorial.  Confusing I know, it will make more sense in a minute, I promise).

2.Turn the shirt over and mark a line down the center of the back.  Cut along the line taking care not to cut the front of the t-shirt.

3.  Trim off a triangle of fabric from the edge of the collar, to the center cut, to a point roughly even with the bottom of the arm holes. 

It will look like this.  Notice that the shirt isn't perfectly symetrical right now.  Don't worry, you can trim things up as needed later on.
 

4.  Cut open the seams at each corner.  Trim the seam off of both sides, so both sides are clean.   


You will be left with a top that looks something like this.  

5.  Lay the shirt on its front, cross the back straps and line them up with the front straps.  The original tutorial says to tie the straps together to create the shoulder seam.  I tried this and ended up with this cute little top on the right.






















 Here is the cover up on Sissy.  I thought it was cute, but very short and a little high at the neck line.

 

6.  So, I decided to sew the straps together so I wouldn't lose any length.  Pin the straps together inside out and sew them together.  Trim the seam allowance to 1/4 of an inch.

 

 7.  Cut two small rectangles of fabric from the sleeve you cut off earlier.  Mine were about 1/2 inch by 3 inches.  Gently stretch the fabric until it curls as shown in the picture below.

 

8.  Gather the straps at the seam, tucking the sides under, and tie with the fabric curls.

9.  Try it on your cutie!

I also made this sweet little ankle bracelet to match.  Maybe I'll do a tutorial for that later in the week!

In the meantime, enjoy the Criss Cross Cover Up.  Let me know if you make one!

Happy summer!