This fall was an amazing Season for Penn State with regards to football and what is one of the main things that every Penn State student associates with football?? Tailgating, of course!! With tailgating comes taking cute pictures, hanging out with friends, and, best of all, eating a ridiculous amount of buffalo chicken dip. Something essential to every tailgate (for girls at least) is finding that perfect Penn State outfit that looks good. The problem many face is that most stores Downtown just sell plain t-shirts and if they do happen to sell any kind of stylish Penn State apparel, it is completely out of a broke college student’s budget. In this passion blog, I am going to teach you about different ways to make just any plain t shirt into a stylish tailgating shirt, perfect for a Saturday night game.
Turning your T-shirt into a Halter Top
- Start by cutting off the sleeves of the t-shirt in a fashion so that just the neckline is left. I would recommend using a pencil line to mark where you will be cutting to ensure that it is even on both sides of the shirt
- Now cut out the back of the shirt so that there are about 3-4 inches of fabric left on the bottom attached to the shirt
- Cut that 3-4 inch strip at the bottom of the shirt in half (again I would recommend using a pencil to mark right down the middle where you will be cutting; make sure to only cut the back side and not the front). When you put on the shirt, you will just tie the two ends together so that the shirt fits snugly around your waist
- By now the shirt is about done! The last potential step would be cutting the neckline portion of the shirt in half so that it can be tied around your neck if it does not fit correctly in that area
Over-sized Off-the-shoulder T-Shirt Dress
- For this one, you definitely want to use an over-sized t-shirt, as it will eventually be turned into a dress. Cut out a triangle shape right below the neckline. Your basically making a V-neck, however the neckline is still there so make sure you don’t cut that part off. I would also recommend either trying it on after you cut it or marking it with a pencil to ensure that whatever you cut is even
- Now cut out the shoulders. Again, when you cut the shoulders out do not cut the neckline at all (and be careful to ensure that you don’t cut the back of the shirt by accident).
- Try the dress on and ensure that the cuts are even, fit you well, and that the length is okay. If not, cut it appropriately. If so, you’re all done!
Cropped Tee with Stylish Neckline
- This was honestly my go-to during the season. For this look, all you have to do is cut out a triangle right below the neckline (again making sure that it is even). Make sure, also, that you keep the small portion of the shirt right under your neck so that it is a triangle neckline not just a typical V neck
- Crop the shirt accordingly: just cut off as much of the bottom shirt as you want (it all depends on how cropped you want the shirt to be). This shirt is so easy and is perfect for when you’re putting together a tailgating outfit last minute
Lace Up Triangle Neckline Shirt/Tank/Sweater/Dress
- All this look requires is, again, manipulating the neckline of whatever you choose (you can make this into a Shirt (Cropped or Not), a Tank Top, a Sweater, or a Dress)
- For this look, first cut out a triangle in the neckline (again make sure not to cut the neckline out; you want to keep this for the look). Cut out small holes along either side of the triangle neckline (the amount of holes depends on how many criss-crosses you want to make with your shoelace)
- Next, thread a shoelace (color depends on what goes with your shirt) through the holes that were cut along the neckline. String it through in a kind of criss-cross pattern, ensuring that either the left or right side is on top every time it is laced.
- That is it! Make other alterations as necessary to fit your style
Tube Top
- This is probably one of the easiest tailgating shirts by far. For this look, all you have to do is cut out the bottom of the shirt (strip of fabric to fit your torso).
- Cut the back of the strip in half. Cut each half strip on the back into triangles to make it easily tie-able.
- Your done; that’s literally it. To put on the top, you just tie the two triangle shaped strips of fabric together so that it is snug around your torso.
I hope this post helps spark some ideas and get you hype for next fall (even though Saquon will not be here smh)
-Em
Emily,
Don’t be offended when I say I will never be seen wearing any of these shirts. Of course, it’s not the lack of style it’s just I don’t think any of them would look good on me. On a more serious note, I recognize all of these styles from football season. You make it sound so simple to cut a t-shirt in exactly the right places, but I have tried to cut sleeves off shirts and it is not easy. Props to anyone who can cut fabric as well as the girls at Penn State. This was another relevant, clever post on DIY projects. I am looking forward to more.
This is so creative! I don’t know if alteration to apparel are common but it’s so interesting to see how easy you can take regular apparel and make it into a nice outfit that’s perfect for tailgating. I don’t think I’ll be making changes like this but I can definitely see these tips working out for anyone looking for a good outfit for the season!
My friends and I have always been amazed by the many, many DIY outfits of game day. My one friend and I actually tried to mimic some looks when we went canning earlier this year and lets just say we failed miserably as its not as easy as we thought to cut fabric into a new design. I love reading your blog each week and look forward to learning even more creative ways to make ordinary things more interesting.
Buff chick dip is everything haha! I honestly had the same problem with my tailgating outfits – all I had was very plain or something my parents gave me as a gift because it was way beyond my budget. I really love how you can just cut (no sewing involved) printed t shirts and turn them into something unique and fashionable! I have a few oversized PSU shirts accumulated over the past semester, so I know what I’m going to do with them now!
Emily,
This is a really good idea and I will definitely be using it once football season comes back around. I remember going downtown and seeing cut shirts for $25. It looked like they just bought an $8 shirt from next door, cut it to look cute, and then jacked up the price. I bet they don’t sell many since it’s so easy to do it yourself.