I just want a vee neck.

January 20, 2013 4:24 PM

Can I get cheap tee shirts tailored so they don't choke me to death?

I have a bunch of tee shirts that I've picked up traveling but they are cheap men's shirts with crappy necklines. I see many instructional videos online but frankly, doing this myself is beyond me. I can't wear them as they are and I really love them otherwise. Is this something that a dry cleaner/tailor would do? Maybe someone does this on Etsy? I understand that this would probably cost more than I paid for them in the first place but right now they are just taking up space so I don't really care.

posted by Morrigan to clothing, beauty, & fashion (6 answers total)

Yes, a skilled tailor/seamstress/drycleaner can do this BUT a possible problem is can the existing neck band be reused? This might not be possible depending on how deep you want the vneck/neckline to be. Extra fabric can be found at the bottom hem of the tshirt if the shirts are long enough.
posted by tipsyBumblebee at 4:39 PM on January 20

Were they vnecks to begin with? The vnecks i've bought have been plenty deep to begin with. Not Double deep Vee but still more than i've needed.

It would probably be cheaper to buy actual v-necks than get another style converted.
posted by TheAdamist at 5:39 PM on January 20

Seconding TheAdamist: just buy some cheap v-necks. If the ones you have are cheap anyway, just replace them with actual v-necks. Use the old ones for rags.
posted by trip and a half at 12:51 AM on January 21

A tailor or seamstress can do this. The cost of alterations will far exceed buying new ones, but just be insistent if they try to give you this advice. As bumblebee says, the tricky part is the ribbing at the neck of the shirts. They may just fold over the neckline or take some from the bottom of the shirt, but maybe just ask for one shirt to be done, and if the way they do it works for you, then give them the rest.
posted by bluefly at 8:36 AM on January 21

Another option is to just cut out the collar. I do this on a lot if my crew-neck tees. Not every shirt does well after — shoulder seams might come undone and the fabric around the neck might curl after washing — but many do fine. It's not a particularly professional look but it is one I quite like for casual situations and it makes the shirts wearable for me so A++++ will cut again.

If you do this, the trick is to make sure your cut is even. I cut them inside out w/ sharp scissors, slowly, and making sure I'm not pulling any on the bit of shirt that I'm cutting.
posted by wemayfreeze at 10:18 AM on January 21

It's not a question of replacing the shirts--these particular tees have meaning to me.

wemayfreeze, yes, I often cut out the collars but I'm wondering if I can get a result that looks a bit more "finished."
posted by Morrigan at 12:38 PM on January 21 [1 favorite]