Here's yet another way to spice up your t-shirts when you get a little bored with the plainness of them all. I did this a few weeks ago to two of my plain tees. I'm threatening to do this on all of the t-shirts I own. Seriously. Watch out! This little ruching technique takes literally 2 minutes; the perfect way to jazz up an outfit on your way out the door. Here we go: Cut the collar off: only cut a little around the back & cut more around the front to make a deeper neckline. Don’t go too deep because the elastic thread will pull it lower. Toss excess collar aside. Find the center of the front collar. Measure down 6-10 inches (depending on bust size), marking a line with your magic pen. HAND wind your bobbin with elastic thread. Thread your machine with matching thread on top. Sew along your line. Don’t backstitch. Turn your tee inside out and pull on the elastic thread until your shirt is as rouched as you’d like. Using a seam ripper, pull the front thread through to the back & tie a square knot with the two threads. Trim loose ends after securing the thread in place with a square knot. Dab the front of your shirt with water and a Q-tip to erase the magic marker line. FINI! Click the button below to download the printer-friendly PDF version.

This tutorial is free for personal use and should not be distributed without my consent. If you would like to use this tutorial commercially, please email me. Thanks!