As it's summer this is another summery post. My lovely chum Ellie is the featured model this week. After a week of Mythfest shows together Ellie proposed we crop some of her old t-shirts (something I do with all of mine especially for summer!). All of these tops started the day with the standard tshirt shape - shorts sleeves, hip length and squarish.
The OMG t-shirt was a simple crop job - if you want an even line all around, and if like Ellie and I you have boobs, you're going to want to be wearing it when you cut it. Ask someone with steady hands to cut it to the level you want -do NOT try to cut it yourself while wearing it as it will inevitably be uneven!
The Life Café tshirt was also cropped, but not to show the belly but to be a longer crop for wearing with lower-rise jeans. To liven it up we cut holes in the back and added a bow tie in the centre to give a plain tshirt a slightly sexier look from behind.
Finally came a tshirt Ellie and I both own from the previous year's theatre festival - the Dublin Shakespeare Festival. We cut the sleeves off (always cut right at the seem to leave neat edges) to turn it into a tank top. We had to put a pin (or alternatively you can stitch) in the sides to fit the underarm fabric closer to the bust in the absence of the sleeves).
Then we decided to do the magnum of all t-shirt cutting techniques - fringing. This technique is super easy and transforms a plain t-shirt into a festival shirt in a few swift snips. Simply choose the length of fringing you want (we shortened the hem of the shirt as it was very long, but if you can leave the lower hem your fringing will hang a little straighter) then make a cute. The best width for the fringes is about one and a half centimetres (because the sides will curl a little). Then simply cut upwards to the same height, maintaining the same width for each fringe until you have gone all the way around. This style is also better to do while wearing the shirt so it hangs more or less evenly at the front and back.
My last piece of advice on the fringe top is if you have one, don't fold it into a drawer - always hang it or you'll have to iron the fringing every time you want to wear it - let's face it ain't nobody got time for that.
If you crop any of your shirts or have questions comment below or message me at alternativekitten10@gmail.com! Happy Summer!
