Lately, I have seen a lot of people making their own crop tops from shirts they get at the thrift store. It’s a good use for random t-Shirts, but unfortunately, a lot of times they don’t turn out very well. Although it might seem easy, I think it’s harder than it looks to get the look and fit exactly how you want them. I have spent a lot of time making crop tops and ruined a lot of perfectly good shirts by not cutting them right. Through practice, I have found some tips and tricks that make it way easier to turn your giant camp t-shirts into cute crop tops.
1.Choose the right type of shirt
I think larger cotton shirts are the easiest to cut into crop tops. I tend to avoid button-ups just because the buttons get in the way and prevent you from cutting the shirt to the exact length that you want it. Once you have some practice you can make whatever shirt you want into a crop top, but it’s best to start with something simple that you don’t care that much about.Â
2. Wash the shirt before you cut it.
The length of crop tops matters a lot and if you cut it and it shrinks it might end up being unwearably short. Even if it’s a shirt that you got from a thrift store, some of the clothing that ends up there has never been worn or washed. It’s always better to wash it and be sure than end up with a tiny shirt.Â
3. Find a crop top that you already own to be your template
 I think its easiest to use a crop top that you already love as your template because you can just lay the crop top on top of the long shirt and then just cut the long shirt to the exact same length as the crop top on top of it. It also helps to have a shirt on top because it keeps the line you’re cutting straight. If you don’t have a crop top with a length that you like then you can just pick another shirt, put it on, and mark on that shirt what length you think the crop top should be and then use that as a reference.
4. Get a ruler and a sharpie and make a dotted line straight across where you want to cut the shirt
This will help keep your line straight and as long as you cut above the line it won’t be visible on your crop top after its finished.Â
5. Get some sharp scissors
If your scissors are dull you won’t be able to slide through the fabric (like what you do when you’re cutting wrapping paper) and instead it will end up looking choppy and uneven. You can take a look at the best scissors I’ve ever used to make crop tops here.
These tips and tricks should help you make the best crop tops possible. Best luck crafting, collegiettes!
