The warmer months are fast approaching, meaning it’s time to get your summer wardrobe in order, whether that’s digging out a box of baby tees and denim shorts from the back of your attic or scouring the stores for your next summer staple.

The trends are already emerging, but for those who don’t fancy rocking shorts short enough to be underwear (spotted on Chanel and Dior’s SS24 runways) or digging out your old polo shirt to embody Victoria Beckham and Miu Miu’s standout SS24 looks, there’s a more accessible trend you can even DIY: shirred shirts.

Even if you haven’t heard the term, you’d probably recognize a shirred item by the scrunched, gathered fabric and be forgiven for thinking the technique needs a professional level of skill to achieve—but it’s surprisingly easy to get the look at home, so long as you have a sewing machine handy.

Fashion and textiles design student Zara, who is studying in London, showed exactly how easy the sewing technique is to do at home in a viral TikTok, which has gained over 658,000 views and 85,000 likes since being shared to her account, @zazatextiles, on April 20.

How to DIY a Shirred Shirt

If you want to play fashion designer and create your own version of the viral top, you may be shocked at how easy the technique is—and the versatility that comes with it.

You’ll want to start with an oversized T-shirt to allow space and excess fabric for the shirring. Zara, who wears an XS, used an oversized large women’s T-shirt for this example. Using a ruler or straight edge, draw lines across the width of the T-shirt to indicate where you want the shirring to fall.

For a look like the one in the video, leave a gap slightly bigger than an inch—if you want a slightly different result, this can be achieved by either spacing the lines out more or bringing them closer together.

After marking out her lines, she began prepping her sewing machine, with the key to getting the shirred result lying in the use of elastic thread in the bobbin. Thread your machine as usual, using a normal thread in the top, and then use a straight stich along the lines you drew earlier, allowing the fabric to gather as you pass it through the machine.

The result? A stunning DIY garment that we’re sure will become a staple in your summer wardrobe. What’s more, the technique isn’t limited to exclusive use on T-shirts, and can be done to create an endless amount of shirred clothing, from shirts to dresses and whatever else you can imagine.

What Do the Comments Say?

Zara’s tutorial clearly captured the attention of the fashion girlies, with many leaving comments asking her to make a tee for them!

Others were impressed by her sewing skills, as one comment read: “THAT’S GENIUS.”

“This is soo gorgeous!!” added another.

“Ooo I’m gonna try this too,” said a third.