DIY: Ruffled Lace Top

If you have too many old tank tops hanging up in the closet, using ruffled lace to dress them up is simple and keep you from throwing away useful clothing. Adding lace to a top gives an otherwise boring garment personality and style, in a short few hours. If you have a sewing machine, you can create a ruffle tank, perfect for showing off in the spring and summer months. Every summer I end up accumulating tanks in every color of the rainbow, so dressing them up with lace or other embellishments is a great way to renew their appearance and make use of them for the warmer months.

Here's What You'll Need:

Tank top

Ruffled lace

Fabric pen

Sewing machine

1. Pull a plain tank top out of your closet. The top itself can be any color and the lace you choose can be any color as well. For a summery top, a white lace is ideal. To keep the top from looking too overdone, choose a ruffled lace at least 3 inches wide.

2. Place the lace across the bottom of the tank, allowing it to overhang on the bottom as much as desired. Mark a line with a fabric pen on the shirt where the top of the lace is placed. Remove the lace from the shirt, then use that line as a guide to connect it directly across the entire top.

3. Draw the other lines across the top to act as a guide once you begin to secure the lace to the top. You'll want each lace layer to overlap the one below it by about an inch. The amount of lines you'll draw on will depend on the length of the tank.

4. Slide the tank onto the sewing machine. Sew the top edge of the lace on the lowest marking on the shirt, going around the entire shirt to attach. Continue to sew each piece of lace to each line all the way up the shirt. You will leave the arm straps free of lace, which will give the new shirt color. You can add any embellishments you want to the arm straps, like rosettes, buttons or bows.

Get as creative as you want when adding accessories to your top. You can find a variety of embellishments at the fabric or craft store to give your otherwise boring tank top style and personality.