5 Super Smart Ways How to Crop a Shirt

How to crop a shirt

How to crop a shirt in the easiest way possible? Take your scissors and be creative! However, there are quite a few methods on how to make a crop top and make a brand new shirt from what you already have.

There is no better way to upgrade your old T-shirts than turn them into cute and trendy crop tops. You don’t even need to know how to work on a sewing machine. Your T-shirts can be cropped without it and still look beautiful.

You can also try cropping your sweatshirt, gym shirt, or strappy top. Let’s see how.

RELATED: How To Style An Oversized Shirt to Look Fabulous

1. Quick and Easy Cropping a T-Shirt

It would be best if you chose the shirt you want to cut and try it on. That is how you will determine where on your body is the part you want to crop. Do you know what’s the best way to determine how to cut a shirt into a crop top and where to cut it? It is to try the T-shirt with a pair of jeans that go with it and simply see where the bottoms start.

Now you will need something to mark a place where you want to cut your shirt. You can use a marker, pen, or clip. Just make sure to have this place properly marked. It doesn’t have to be a whole line across the T-shirt. A simple dot will do the job as well.

Take off the shirt and lie it down on a flat surface. You definitely shouldn’t crop a shirt while you are wearing it. You can end up shortening it wrong, and not even.

Use sewing scissors instead of regular ones. Sewing scissors are not so expensive, but they cut through the material much better than regular ones.

You cut the shirt, but make sure you are leaving one or two centimeters below the marked place. This is how you will be sure you won’t ruin your shirt. You can always cut more if you mess up. The worst thing you can do is to crop it too short.

Cotton t-shirts roll a bit, so keep that in mind as well when cutting. Always give yourself one or two centimeters more than you have marked initially.

2. Folding Over the Shirt

Cropping a T-shirt
Photo: Rachel Catherine on YouTube.com

Repeat the same steps from tutorial number one – dress a shirt, mark, and put on a clip or a dot.

Instead of cutting it straight along the marked side, you should fold your shirt in half. Then take your sewing scissors and cut it. Don’t forget to leave one or two centimeters of fabric, so you can easily cut more if you don’t like the length.

3. Sides Cut Shirt

If you ever wondered how to cut a shirt on the sides, this tutorial is the right for you. Trust us, it is so easy, yet you will end up with a brand new T-shirt.

You need to lay down the shirt on a flat surface. Then take your sewing scissors and cut the bottom band off. Don’t forget to cut away from the stitch line.

For this DIY, you will need a ruler or a tape measure. Measure about 5 inches from the bottom hem at both sides of the shirt. Make a mark with chalk.

Now you need to cut a diagonal line from the sleeves to the marked place. You can start by cutting from the corner where the shoulder meets the sleeve down to the mark.

4. Shirt Fringes on the Side

Lay your oversized T-shirt on a flat surface. You will upgrade it by making side fringes. They are trendy again, so we guarantee you will look great.

You need to measure the front of the shirt, so you know how much to cover, apropos where to cut. Once you figured that out, you need to fold the shirt in half with the front on the outside. Make sure everything is even and lined up.

When you line everything, you can start cutting. Don’t cut too much material, just to the dot you have previously marked. Start cutting strips from the bottom to the upper part of the T-shirt. Strips can be about ¾ of an inch or an inch wide.

Now you can open the shirt and turn it to the backside. You can also cut fringes on the back if you wish.

Pull and stretch fringes to add a bit of length. After doing this, you need to find the center of the strips. Don’t worry about them being the exact same size. Cut them in half. Then tie them into knots. Make sure they are nice and tight and don’t skip the strips.

5. How to crop a shirt smartly? Cut Slits on the Back

Pick a shirt you want to cut and lay it down on a flat surface. You can choose both a printed or an even shirt, but know this – you will turn it into a gorgeous and trendy item after cutting.

Grab the middle of your collar and the hem bottom and flip it onto its side. Make sure the area where you need to cut is nice and smooth. Don’t forget to line up the sleeves as well. Take the scissors and cut into the shirt.

After you cut the straps, you can pull, so they roll up a bit. You can cut how many straps you want. If you need to prolong them, turn your shirt at the back and cut!


Here we showed some of the simple and smart ways how to crop a shirt. Do you have your favorite?

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