DIY cropped tee tutorial

I (Jessica) love experimenting with my clothes. My tastes seem to change weekly, and I really enjoy trying on new trends as they come out. The one I was tempted to try last summer was a cropped tee shirt. I think they're cute and they are incredibly flattering on my body type, but last summer I wasn't quite sold. This year, I wanted to try it! But I'm also incredibly cheap and didn't want to spend money on a trend I didn't even know if I was going to like.  So I decided to make my own, and I'm sharing how I did it with you all today.

I chose a shirt I already had with sleeves that was a neutral color so I could get the most use out of it. And I think it turned out pretty cute! After altering it, this shirt is the perfect length for my torso. Because there is no way I am wearing a sports bra and calling it a "shirt" unless I'm at the gym.

For this project you'll need a regular shirt that fits you well, some pins and a sewing machine. That's it! This is seriously a 15 minute project, which is why you're seeing two different colored shirts below. I made two!

1. Take your shirt and make sure it fits you well.
2. Try it on, and mark where you want it to hit on your torso. I marked mine with a pin, while it was on me. Ouch. I recommend trying it on inside out and using a marker to make a dot! It's less painful.
3. Take off your shirt and turn it inside out. Fold the hem back up over the shirt up to the place where you marked, and pin it in place as shown.

4. Sew down your new hem using a zig-zag stitch, then cut away the access.
5. You're done! Try it on to make sure it's perfect.

The verdict on this trend: I kind of like it! I actually wore this outfit for about an hour (because here in southern Idaho it's warm enough that I could) and I felt pretty comfortable. I did however, feel like maybe I needed to be listening to the Spice Girls while wearing it, just a little bit.

The idea here is to show off my ribcage, not belly button, and that makes it a lot easier to pull off. Why is it that showing a belly button isn't appropriate but a rib cage can be? It's a mystery. And though next time I might choose a slightly longer skirt, I will probably be wearing this tee again.

~Jessica