Every so often, a lone potato will find it's way out of the bag, rolling away from it's family, to sigh alone in the dark recesses of your pantry.
What can you do when, months later, you discover this straggler, wrinkled and unpalatable?

Don't throw it away...

Make it into a stamp, decorate some fabric, and sew an awesome drapey crop top out of it!

This was inspired by many a trend: geometric print, cropped and asymmetrical, drapey fabric... that all comes together to create what shall henceforth be known as...

The Potato-Killer Top

Step 1: Ingredients:

This is a two-in-one instructable!

First I'll show you how to make a potato stamp, and then the shirt pattern.

You will need:

A Potato!
A Cold Unfeeling Urge to Kill Vegetables.
A Weapon (small, sharp knife)
Fabric Paint
Stretch Jersey Fabric

For the pattern:

Butcher Paper (or newspaper)
Scissors
Sharpie (if using newspaper, choose a bright color)
a t-shirt that fits you (i based my pattern off a snug-fitting one)

Also:
Thread
Pins
Sewing Machine (though can be painstakingly sewn by hand)
Preferably a needle for knit fabrics and a walking foot

Step 2: 1 Potato, 2 Potato...

Alright! Time to kill the Potato!
Release your morals and.. chop that sucker in half!

WARNING: Knifes are sharp. Don't think you are above the potato in the ability to be injured. Be careful.

You are going to cut a raised design into the potato.

I am making a triangle-shaped stamp, but you could theoretically make any design that you are dexterous enough with a knife to accomplish.

Make three slices in the shape of a triangle about half an inch deep.
Then slice away around the circumference of the potato to expose the triangle shape.

Tada! Stamp!

Step 3: Stamp Fabric

Easy part:

Dip the stamp in fabric paint (my favorite is Tulip Matte "soft" paint) so that the stamp is well coated and then press onto your fabric.

Step 4: Repeat

Over and over....

If you re-dip your stamp after every use, the shapes will be nice and dark, but if you are lazy and/or enjoy the 'distressed look', only dip every few stamps and you'll get a cool texture on the stamps with less paint.

Stamp! Again!

Experiment with patterns!

For this shirt, I stamped about a 1.5 by 1.5 foot area.

Let your fabric dry thoroughly.

Step 5: Trace Your Shirt!

Time to make the pattern!

I based this off a t-shirt, so theoretically, if you use a shirt that fits you, the finished product should fit you. Right?
Well, I am an amateur, but it worked for me!

Fold your shirt in half on your butcher paper and trace around it.

Step 6: Alter It!

I attempted to make the following steps as uncomplicated as possible, but numbers are involved....

Note: Feel free to fudge/wing any of the steps below. Want a shorter hemline? Do it! Deeper neckline, thinner sleeves? Ignore all the steps below and vaguely recreate the pattern by sight? The shirt is your oyster.

1. Extend a line 1.25 inches out from the top of the sleeve
2. Extend a line 5.5 inches out from the armpit, perpendicular to the side of the shirt.
3. Extend a line 2.75 inches out from the side of the shirt.
4. Draw a dotted line connecting all of these points, following the shape shown below.
5. Starting from the lowest part of the original neckline, create a new, boatneck shaped neckline, extending to about a half-inch away from the shoulder seam.
6. Measure 12.5 inches from the line you drew in step 2 (the armpit line). This is where the hem of the front of the shirt ends. Draw a horizontal line here to mark the hemline
7. Measure 4.5 inches from the line you drew in step 6 (front hemline). This will be the lowest part of the back of your shirt.
8. Connect points A and B below in a smooth, quarter-circle-like line.

You are done with the pattern!
You will use this pattern to make both the front and the back pieces of your shirt.

Step 7: Cut Out

Front piece:
1. Fold your fabric in half, centering the design on the fold.
2. Line up the edge of your pattern with the fold.
3. Fold your pattern along the line that you made in step 6 of step 6 (I hope THAT isn't confusing 0_o ) The front of your shirt will have a straight hem.
4. Cut it out! I didn't add any seam allowance.

Back piece:

Same steps, except this time, cut out the fabric with the pattern unfolded, so you create the shwoopy hem!

Step 8: Pin and Sew Seams

Align your pieces with the right sides facing each other and pin at the shoulder and side seams.

Now, sewing stretch fabric without a serger can be a b*tch, but if you get yourself a walking foot, you will be so much happier! You won't have the urge to go back to step 2 and kill more potatoes.

If you don't have a walking foot, just pin your fabric really well and sew carefully, without stretching.

Sew it up!

I didn't hem the neckline, armholes or bottom of the shirt, but the great thing about jersey is it looks nice anyway!