DIY Off the Shoulder Peasant Crop Top – Thrifty Belly ep1

Welcome to Thrifty Belly Episode 1! 😀

Thrifty Belly is a new series we’re starting today where I take old clothes or thrift store finds and transform them into dance costumes.

I’ve been getting a lot of requests to do practice wear, and today we’ll take an old oversized t-shirt and transform it into this cute, off-the-shoulder peasant top, which you can wear to your dance class or even use as a costume. Let’s get started!

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To make this DIY peasant crop top, you need:

• A loose t-shirt or an oversized t-shirt – the t-shirt I used in the video was a bit small for this project. 2 sizes larger than your normal size would be perfect.
• 3m (3yd) of 3/8in (1cm) wide elastic
• Matching colour thread & regular sewing tools (Click here for my recommended sewing tools)

DIY Peasant Crop Top (Off the Shoulder top)

1. Lay your t-shirt on a flat surface, and mark a curved line at the top of the shirt from about an inch (2.5cm) from shoulder seam to the centre of the shirt.

Then from the neck line, measure 13in (33cm) down. Draw a straight line there.

Fold the shirt in half and cut along the lines.

2. This is optional, but I like to have shoulder straps for this top especially if I’m going to wear for dancing. Take the bottom part of the T-shirt, and cut out 2 strips that are 10in (25cm) long and 1 1/4in (3cm) wide. Fold each one right sides together in half, and do a straight stitch with a 1/4in (5mm) seam allowance.

Turn it inside out – I like to do this with a safety pin. Then sew it on to the top of the shirt, about 1in (2.5cm) from the original shoulder seam, 1in (2.5cm) down from the top edge. You can wear the shirt the way it is right now, and I think it’s so cute.

I also stretched the raw edges with hands. This makes the edges curl and hides the raw edges.

3. Take your elastic, wrap it around your shoulders and cut the amount that feels nice and snug. Do the same for your upper arm, and rib cage.

4. Take the elastic for the shoulders, fold it in half and mark the half point with a pin. Fold it again and mark the quarter points. Next take the top opening of the shirt, mark the shoulder points with pins. Fold the shirt in half and mark the centre points with pins. So at this point there are 4 pins on both the top of the shirt and the elastic. Match up the pins, and hold the elastic with pins about 1in (2.5cm) from the edge of the shirt.

Take it to the sewing machine, hold the next pin, stretch out the elastic and do a zigzag stitch. Once you reach the pin, hold the next pin, and stretch out. Do this all the way. I only used 4 pins, but if you’d like, you can use more pins to distribute the elastic equally.

5. Now do the same with the sleeves. Mark the quarter points on elastic, and mark quarter points on the sleeve. Match them up and place elastic at about ½ in (1cm) from the edge. Stretch out and do a zigzag stitch. Repeat for the other sleeve.

6. Finally, do the quarter marking with the bottom of the shirt and corresponding elastic. When you are ready to match up the pins, this time, place the elastic right at the edge of the shirt. Then stretch it out and do a zigzag stitch.

Now fold the elastic part towards the inside, and take it to your sewing machine again. Stretch it out and do a small straight stitch capturing the edge of the fabric and elastic.

And your peasant crop top is finished! It’s so cute to wear to dance practice, or even use as a summer daily top with high waisted shorts.

It’s so easy to make, so you can make it with your classmates for student recitals or you can layer it with a Turkish vest to make a gypsy-inspired costume. Super versatile, and once you master the steps, you’ll be able to make them in many colours and patterns in no time! And if you’re curious, this Turkish vest DIY is coming up soon.

Hope you liked this Thrifty Belly DIY, and if you did, please share this post with your dancer friends.

And don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter here to get the Turkish vest DIY and more fun dance costuming ideas. 

Also if you want to make more belly dance costumes, sign up for my free course, Belly Dance Costume Making 101 from here. 😀

Thanks for reading, and keep sparkling!

P.S. Mahin published Week 3 of Your Sparkly Wardrobe Project over on her blog. This week is about getting more mileage out of your costumes by mixing and matching different pieces you already have. It’s packed with awesome info! Check it out here! 😀

Like what you read? Want to make more costuming bits yourself?

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