Learn to Make the Cutest Crop Top From an Old Pair of Jeans

6 Materials

$10

2 Hours

Easy

Crop tops are everything and denim crop tops are even more than that! I decided to upcycle a pair of old jeans into the most gorgeous, fitted denim crop top and I am so happy with the results! If you have an old pair of jeans sitting in your closet, there is no need to throw them away. Follow my tutorial and learn how to refashion them into an amazing crop top that can be styled to suit any occasion. My easy, step-by-step guide will show you all the tips and tricks you need to turn an old pair of jeans into a DIY denim masterpiece.

Tools and materials:

Old pair of jeans
Scissors
Seam ripper
Sewing machine
Padding
Zipper

DIY crop top from jeans

Cut off the legs

I started by cutting the legs off of a wide-legged pair of old jeans.

DIY crop tops from old clothes

Next, I ripped one of the side seams of each leg, making two big square pieces of denim fabric. I love how it was so easy to get all the fabric I would need from an old pair of jeans!

Pin the fabric

Make a pattern

I then pinned the two pieces of fabric, right sides together so that I could move on to creating this awesome crop top.

DIY tight crop top

To create the perfect bodice for my crop top, I pinned the pads I would use for the actual bodice on a dress that I copied for the shape.

Cut pattern pieces

Using the dress, I cut out pattern pieces for my bodice. You just need one side pattern to cut both sides as you have already pinned the right and left sides of the fabric together.

Cut the fabric

Make the crop top

It was then time to cut out my denim pieces. I pinned all my pattern pieces to the denim and cut them out leaving some room for seam allowance. I made sure I had pieces for both sides of the front and back.

Sew the pieces

I then sewed my denim pieces together and turned the fabric the right side out. I couldn’t believe how amazing this top was looking!

Add lining

I used the same pattern to cut a lining for the top and sewed it on to the denim. The lining really helped make the top more comfortable and was useful for adding in padding later.

Press the fabric

I pressed along the stitching of the denim and the lining to get the fabrics sitting flat. I made sure to press in all the corners and crevices to get the perfect finish on my new top! I also cut off any extra little pieces of fabric.

Denim crop top DIY

Add padding

Time to add the padding! I stitched the padding in between the denim and the lining and made sure it was secure! I, of course, had measured the top to make sure the padding would sit perfectly on my body.

Add a zipper

Attach a zipper

With the padding securely in place and adding shape to the crop top, I was ready to put in my zipper. I attached one side of the zipper to an extra piece of denim fabric and then sewed it onto one side of the back of the bodice.

Sew on the zipper

I then sewed the other side of the bodice onto the remaining side of the extra denim piece and I had the perfect zipper for this amazing crop top!

Stitch around the edges

Get a great finish

Once the zipper was on there was only one thing left to do! I gave my crop top the perfect finish by stitching all the sides making sure no raw edges were visible.

DIY fitted crop top

This denim crop top is absolute dynamite! How would you style this stunning top? Let me know in the comments below!

Suggested materials:

Jeans
Scissors
Seam ripper

See all materials