(Finished product)
This short sleeve button down was going in the pile to donate but when I had the chance to touch it and get a feel for the fabric, I couldn't just let it go!
Perfect for the hot and humid summers we have here in Houston, TX I thought turning this into a crop top would be excellent since the material breathes/ hangs on the body SO WELL.
(Before I got started adjusting)
Love the idea of repurposing clothes that go to donation because I truly feel like there is so much waste going out and people are buying to replace what they donate that there is a surplus of clothing waste that is just left to sit in goodwill's or straight to the trash.
Here is what I did to up cycle this shirt!
- To start off, I tried on the shirt and marked on the bottom with fabric chalk the point where I thought the crop would be ideal.
Be sure to leave enough for seam allowance! It's better to leave it too long at first, try it on again and trim off in case you think it is still to long. - Next I hemmed the bottom but make sure you first hem with the intention of leaving the hemline wide enough to loop an elastic band through. I used about an 1 inch in width band. Second make sure you don't hem all the way around so that there is a hole big enough to loop the elastic through. Also remember that elastic constricts naturally so when you measure around the part of your body the shirt will be cropped for to leave a couple centimeters extra so you aren't going to suffocate. Looping is also so much easier if you attach a safety pin to one end while holding the other end out of the hole so that you can sew the two ends together once fully looped. Once the elastic is looped you can then close off the hemline.
- With the sleeves I didn't cut them at all but I did add elastic banding to them! Similar to the bottom, hem with enough room for the elastic, and again DON'T completely close off the hem just yet. Measure how much elastic you need to wrap around your arms, AGAIN MAKE SURE TO LEAVE A LITTLE EXTRA ELASTIC. Cannot stress this enough, and I'm telling you from my own mistake because I measured exactly what my arm width was initially and it ended up cutting off circulation to my arm lol. Needless to say I had to undo my stitching and cut another piece of elastic that was longer. Loop through and close off the hem and taaa daaaa! You are done :)
I also saved the bottom half of this shirt that I cut off to repurpose that fabric and I took off the extra buttons for any future projects!
Nothing going to waste here!
Thank you so much for reading🙏 and much love to you all!
see you with the next project :)