Repurpose: Tanks, skirts & t-shirts ...

The heat is on in Chicago this year! And yes, I have summer clothes. But not enough of them (!) and... I kinda, sorta, hate most of what I have. So I've been thinking of ways to upcycle old skirts, stained tank tops, too-big-for me shorts.

This means I've been looking around and now I'm really inspired! The DIY empire-waste dress above is from TripOverJoy.  She added fresh fabric to an old tank.  Not sure I'm the right shape to pull of a little dress like this, but her finished product looks awesome on her! Read on for another 20 ideas for how to upcycle tank tops, skirs and shirts.

In this version, the tank is joined to an old curtain to create a cute new dress! 

This "t-skirt" repurposes an old t-shirt and an old skirt ... care of The Wildcards. For another variation, see the dress created by Mademoiselle Chaos

Hot pink skirt becomes ... a hot dress!

A variation on the TripOverJoy dress pictured above: An old T-shirt is joined to a knit-fabric skirt to create an awesome dress... tutorial care of PoldaPop Designs

Dull t-shirt becomes a much less dull top ...

Simple brown t-shirt gets some shape and a little orange pop care of Amie

Almostly annoyingly simple... so effective. Great DIY here

Your tired old tank and his (your?) old dress shirt would much prefer to be this

Baggy old t-shirt turns into ... this!

Amazingly creative refashion! Three old t-shirts = one awesome dress! Instructions at Dreams and Seams

An old grey skirt gets a sassy, halter makeover...

This cute skirt was created from an old pair of pants

This skirt, from an old t-shirt 

Men's clothing is always fair game in the world of refasioning!  Turn his old shorts into a skirt ...

Ok ... so not a tank, t-shirt or skirt. But it seemed to fit with the overall theme so well, I couldn't resist. This was a pretty dowdy formal silk shirt. Coffee and Velvet shows you how it was transformed into this!

Need a little personality with that upcycle? Big baggy T into a fitted cowl ... full DIY at Armelle

Still have old maternity shirts hanging around ... make a dress!

Maybe you just don't want to wear the shirt anymore so... make a "pochette"!  This is not a word I'm familiar with but it's used to describe the sweet little bag above. Created, of course, from an old t-shirt. Great video tutorial from Shiho Masuda

Or, make Tank Top Totes! Great tutorial from CraftyNest (via Colour Me There)

Or maybe you urgently need a new curtain in your kitchen?  This skirt-curtain is up and hanging in a few minutes!

And, finally ... there's always the "old-skirt-new-pillow" make-over!!  Love the way she used the ruffle.