We all own plenty of old comfy t-shirts that have U-shaped necklines. A wide U-neck t-shirt is elegant to wear outside and functions as both casual as well as formal wear. It is an item you can dress up or dress down depending on what you pair it with.
It is a versatile piece of clothing and almost everyone I know owns a few of these.
Through this pandemic, these wide U-necks have become a favourite style for me as they are really comfortable to wear at home. At some point you need a break from the regular crew necks after all!
All old U’s – crew necks or wide, inevitably turn into lounge wear for me, irrespective of the purpose they might have served at the time of purchase.
Why did I upcycle this T-shirt?
My sister-in-law was moving houses and I requested her to give me some clothes she was planning to donate or discard. I was in luck as she got me a few pieces I could either upcycle or wear as is.
One of the items was this worn out, wide U-neck t-shirt made up of a soft cotton fabric. It was black and something I could live in!
Old, wide U-neck t-shirt 
Wearing it and planting some basil seeds 🙂
Having said that, it was really big as it had lost shape. It had also lost the crisp, black color. It was especially faded around the neck.
I wore it around the house a few times till I felt the need for a v-neck black t-shirt I wanted to match with a newly upcycled skirt.
How did I upcycle this wide U-neck t-shirt?
The neckline on the front of the t-shirt had faded over multiple washes. I knew I wanted to do something to fix that.
Also, I needed something more flattering to match with my newly upcycled skirt. So I decided to turn it from a wide U to a deep V-neck!
I gathered the neckline from the centre down, into a deep V.
I stitched it together to give it a gathered, ruche-like finish.
The sides of the neck needed small finishing touches so the neck could sit without folding. It hardly took any time to fix that.
And voila! I went from U to wheee! I mean V-neck! Just this small mending pulled the shoulders up as well and somehow made the t-shirt more flattering! So much so, I can even wear it out now!
