Cutwork Tee Shirt (DIY)

Every Saturday, most of the merchandise at ARC Thrift Stores is half off -- HALF OFF!

This is a great day to buy, well, pretty much everything, but especially basics.  

I like to stock up on plain tank tops and tee shirts, like this gray top, aaaaaand the internet just so happens to have dozens of t-shirt make-over projects  (I'm looking at you, Pinterest).

I fell in love with this gorgeous Cutwork Tee over at Free People's website.  

Most intricate cutwork clothing is mass produced, with a laser doing the detail work, but I wanted to experiment with cutting the design out by hand.  Here's what to do:

Find yourself a cotton shirt.  Knit t-shirt fabric will not fray like other materials. 

Turn your shirt inside out, then insert a piece of cardboard between the layers.

Before drawing any designs, use two strips of shipping tape to make a deep 'v'

This will become the border of your design.

Use a ball point pen to sketch a design.  I chose teardrops.  

Be sure to keep about half an inch of fabric between each shape you plan to cut out.  

If the remaining fabric is too thin, it will stretch and tear apart, and that would be very sad.

Start sketching the teardrop shapes at the neckline and work your way down.  

Draw the shapes right up to your tape edge.  

Now, its time to cut the teardrops out.  To keep the edges clean, I recommend cutting a hole in the middle of each drop and then cutting outward and around the edge.

In the center of the shape, fold the fabric and cut a small notch. 

Carefully cut out all of the teardrops. 

Snip.  Snip.  Snip

Here's what my shirt looks like.  

When you are finished, turn it right-side-out and wear over a contrasting tank top.