Lengthen T-shirts that have become too short

I have a number of T-shirts that have become too short for me to wear comfortably without showing my midriff everytime I stretch or bend down. I love some of these tees and have them stashed away in the wardrobe, hoping that someday I'll be small enough again wear them! Although I think they have shrunk in the wash. Not that I have grown! Wishful thinking?

I love my brown tee with a butterfly embroidery. After having my 3rd child, it became too short but I take it out from time to time to try it on. Another tee that is a bit too short for me is my Sunday School teacher tee. It's a tad short but I have to wear it when I'm teaching. I'm always conscious of showing my back when I bend down or sit on the floor with the kids. I have been thinking of how to salvage these tees.

Thought of adding another layer to the bottom to lengthen them but didn't know how and what fabric to use. Was inspired by Ashley at Make It and Love It who does such a beautiful job re-purposing old clothing and materials and modifying store-bought clothes. She made her daughter's plain T-shirt into a twirly dress by adding frills. But I can't add frills to my shirts, can I?

I dug into my wardrobe and found a stack of tees which I don't wear anymore and picked 2 to cut up and sew onto the 2 tees.

Found a purple tee which matches the butterfly embroidery very well. But I took a while to cut it back as it was still a nice shirt and it seemed crazy to cut up a good shirt. I took a deep breath and made the first cut. The rest was easy. Pinned and sewed the cut-out under the brown shirt.

Ta da! So happy that I can wear my favourite shirt again! Next, my teacher shirt,

Are the stripes cute? The original stripe shirt is wider so I had to do a bit of gathering before sewing it but the gathers aren't obvious. I'm going to wear it this Sunday. Will see if any of the teachers notice my longer shirt! A few of us have the same problem so maybe they'll want to modify their shirts too!

I'm inspired to think of ways to re-use old clothing! Found one idea a week ago - make french pouf from t-shirt. Oh yes, I've saved the top portions of the shirts I cut up for the next project which I'll be looking out for!