Old shirts DIY projects are a great way to spice up your wardrobe on a budget. You probably already have in mind some shirts you rarely wear. If not, I guarantee you can find at least a couple of forgotten pieces in your closet. There are a variety of ways to upcycle old clothes. Today we will focus on the easiest one – a no sew DIY beaded shirt makeover. All you need is a little bit of hot glue and some cute beads. If you are missing any of these materials, below you can find links to the stuff I used.
These old shirts DIY projects took less than 30 minutes to complete. The shirts turned out really cute and are very easy to make. Two simple tips helped me along the way:
- always arrange the decoration on the shirt before starting to glue
- use only a very thin layer of glue
The first tip will help you get a better idea of how the DIY beaded shirt will look in the end. You can make any corrections before gluing.
The second tip will help you minimize the ugly glue marks on the fabric.
OK, below are the three different old shirts DIY designs I tried.
1. Rhinestones Decoration
If you are a bling and sparkles fan like me, this DIY shirt idea is a perfect fit. Start by placing rhinestones around the neckline of your shirt. The number of rhinestones should increase with every consecutive vertical column. The longest column of rhinestones should be the one in the center of the shirt.
2. Charms on a Neckline
This shirt makeover uses watch gear charms decoration. I love the different finish of the watch gear charms! Their colors and shapes really pop when combined with the top’s black fabric. Of course, any other flat charm will work, as long as you get a nice contrast between the color of the charm and the color of the fabric.
To decorate, simply place the charms in a triangular shape around the neckline of the top and glue the decoration.
3. Beaded Rows
Finally, you can upcycle an old top with a beaded row decoration. I used four rows of square flat beads arranged around the neckline. Unfortunately, I could not find these beads on Amazon. However, you can get them from Fire Mountain Gem or find something similar at Michael’s.
The same tips apply for this shirt design – set up the decoration before gluing it and use just a thin layer of the glue.
Below is the final result. The contrast between the colorful beads and the dark navy color of the top’s fabric makes the decoration stand out more.
If you are looking for more lazy DIY old clothes ideas, check our suggestion for adding ruffles to an old top.
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