Diy Cross Back Shirt

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  Step 1

  f necessary, remove your collar. This shirt had a really pretty, structured collar and I cut it off, right along the seam, and saved it for another project.

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  Step 2

  Next, fold your shirt in half lengthwise by the shoulder seams. Don't just fold it in half, otherwise you'll cut out your front side during the next step.

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  Step 3

  Cut a V shape from, with the point at the bottom and the V at your shoulders. You can get as close to your shoulders as you dare, depending on how much skin you want showing. My V was about 13 inches, it's a good idea to measure on your back to see where you want the lowest point to hit.

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  Step 4

  Open your shirt back up and this is what your back should look like.

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  Step 5

  Pin your hem all around. You have two options. For a more professional look, fold over once, pin and iron. Then fold a second time and pin. If you don't really mind short cuts, just fold once and pin. The former option hides the fray and makes it look really nice.

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  Step 6

  Here it is hemmed! At this point you should iron. I didn't iron the stinking shirt until the end of the project. Also, I put a small tack at the point of the V to keep it in place. If yours turns out to be too U-ish and it bugs you, you can fold it into a point and tack as well.

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  Step 7

  Next you'll work on the cross. There are a few different options here, you can use the fabric from your V cut out OR you can use ribbons, lace, contrasting material... whatever you want. If you use material as opposed to lace or ribbons, you'll need to create tubes.

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  Step 8

  The big problem here was the venting on the back of the shirt. I made the tubes kind of ugly, but I just made sure to put the ugly side facing in :) Start by cutting your fabric in half. Then fold each piece in half with the right sides facing inward and the wrong sides facing out and pin. Sew a straight line down and then flip the tubes right side out by pushing the fabric back through one of the two open ends. Iron them down so they're flat straps

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  Step 9

  Here's where I really messed up. Attaching the straps is going to be very personal. What I recommend is tacking them in place and trying the shirt on before you sew them down. I had to remove them 3 or 4 times because I was too confident that I would like the placement. The shorter the strips, the more closed and tight your back will be, this creates a cleaner line that won't shift around as much when you move. Also, think about where you want them to start- you can start them way down by the bottom of the V or higher up on the back like the original pin + my version.
  Using a mannequin would be easiest, unless you can get a friend to help you.
  Either way, with the shirt inside out, pin your straps in place, remembering that they should be on an angle like in the photos above. Use a temporary tack in addition to pins to hold the straps in place while you sew them down. You can also use a no-sew adhesive.
  Once the straps are permanently in place, cut off the extra tails and you're good to go!

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  Step 10

  Voila! I originally took pictures of it outside. They turned out really well- but the shirt was a wrinkled mess!! I couldn't handle it, and literally stopped writing this blog halfway through to iron and rephotograph it.

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