DIY Braided Crop-Top

That's right - it's another t-shirt re-vamp DIY project!  This time, it was inspired by the braided jumper seen on Hanneli's blog here.  As I didn't have any old jumpers to use at my disposal, I again raided my stash of American Apparel t-shirts (see my last DIY project for another way to cut up a shirt!).  Go ahead - scroll down for some instructions on how to make this braided crop top!

DIY BRAIDED CROP-TOP




Things you'll need:

A t-shirt to chop up, good fabric scissors, a sewing kit, and some permanent flexible fabric glue.

Step 1:

Mark out how short you'd like your crop-top to be and chop it!  I also decided to take the sleeves in.  Hem that puppy.  

Step 2:

Cut the part of the t-shirt you cut off into 1-inch-wide strips.  Give each of them a pull length-wise to curl the strips inwards like the piece on the right below.  Then braid the strips and secure the ends with a small stitch.

Step 3:

Place and pin your braids where you'd like them to be, then start gluing them onto the shirt.  Make sure you protect the inside of the shirt by putting a piece of cardboard inside.

Step 4:

Finish the ends of each braid neatly by cutting and folding the ends in, then stitching them to the shirt securely.  Leave the glue to dry overnight...

... et voila!

Your new crop-top with braid embellishments - you could even include beads or diamante chains into your braids for a bit more of a statement piece!  Other things you could do could be to change the position of the braids around to create other shapes like a harness or a statement neckline or sleeves. 

Don't forget to send us a picture of your takes on our DIY projects - we love seeing you try them out!

xx T