Monday, October 17, 2011

Upcycling a Dress into a Shirt

On Saturday morning, Bill wanted all the kids outside first thing to help dig up all the potatoes in our garden. (I was heading to the church for a fun-filled craft day, part of which I was teaching.)  I told the kids to put on their work clothes (i.e. not good school clothes), plus it was still a chilly morning. So Chloe comes down the stairs in her good capris, flip flops, and this super cute shirt, inside-out and backwards. She is 6, don't quite know what was going on with the shirt.  Anyway, as I was taking her back upstairs telling her EXACTLY what she should wear, I realized I never posted about her super cute shirt I made.  Did a little scan through the pictures and realized, yes, I took pictures for it and everything and never posted. So here it is, the transformation of a dress into a shirt.

 Before                                                                                                  After
Before - Chloe in her modeling pose, I guess.
This was one of Chloe's very favorite dresses, mine too, for that matter.  I was so sad as I realized it was too short to wear to church anymore.  I couldn't give it up.  It sat in her closet for a few weeks, then in my sewing pile for a few more weeks, just waiting for inspiration to strike.  Then it came as I was visiting Make it and Love it and came across this tutorial.  Perfect!!  Basically, you cut the dress off to the length you want (plus enough for a hem.)  Have your subject try on the shirt and mark where you want the waist.  Remember, as I found out the hard way, after your shirt is gathered with the elastic, it will ride up a little more so take that into consideration when marking the waist.  Then you cut a 1" strip of material from the leftover dress.  You're going to make a casing for the elastic with this strip.  Pin the strip onto where you marked the waist (on the inside of the shirt) and sew close to the edge, leaving a small 2" opening on the bottom.  Cut a piece of 1/2" elastic just a little bigger than your subjects waist, you want it to gather up, but not be tight. Pin a safety pin on one end of your elastic (great tip for threading elastic or anything else) and start feeding it through the opening.  Once it's all the way through, overlap the two ends and stitch on top of them. Work the elastic the rest of the way through and adjust all your gathers.  Have your little girl try it on and admire your crafty genius!  Then call all your friends and family and tell them how awesome you are. Oh, is that only me who does that?  It really is pretty darn simple again check out Make It and Love It if you need more detailed instructions with great pictures.  She also shows you how to make short sleeves out of long sleeves.
After - Yup, still striking a pose. 


Linking up With:
The DIY Showoff
Making the World Cuter
Sew Can Do
Sumos Sweet Stuff
Mad In Crafts
Be Colorful
Sew Chatty
Pinkapotamus
R They All Yours
Singing Three Little Birds
Bluebird Sews
Three Mango Seeds
Leafy Treetop Spot
Sweet Peas and Bumblebees
Tales from Bloggeritaville 
A Glimpse Inside 
Saved by Love 
Gluesticks 
Allie Makes 
Momnivores-Dilemma 
Yesterday on Tuesday 
Frugalicious Me 
Happy Hour Projects
The Creative Paige
Blissful and Domestic
The Crafty Nest
Finding Fabulous
Home is Where my Story Begins

This shirt was featured on:
Eat, Grow, Sew at Blue Bird SewsLeafy Treetop Spot
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13 comments:

Unknown said...

Oh goodness she is an adorable little thing and that shirt isn't too shabby either! You did a great job! Love it.

Thanks for linking up!
Clydia {threemangoseeds.blogspot.com}

Tricia said...

What a great refashion. It turned out great, I'd never have thought that it was once a dress.

I'd love it if you'd link up your project to my top-toberfest link party. Feel free to link up any other top related projects you've worked on. This is great! Thanks for sharing.

Kelly @ Vintage Fabric Studio said...

What a cute model and shirt! I think it's even cuter than the dress :) Thanks for linking up with Eat, Grow, Sew!

MaryBeth said...

So cute! Maybe I'll send you Tatiana's dresses and you could do it for me :)

Leslie said...

This is a super cute revamp! You did a great job!

Ribbonwood Cottage said...

What a cutie, and I love the transformation. It turned out so cute. I"m your newest follower too.
Blessings,
Debbie

Jaedyn said...

I love this! You did a great job, that shirt is super cute. :) Makes me want to grab my daughter's old dresses now and start altering! Thanks for sharing this, I hadn't seen that tutorial. (And I wish my daughter would pose, lol!)

Lynne said...

Great refashion! I love making clothes last longer. It made a fabulous shirt!

Pam @Threading My Way said...

Very clever and such a cute shirt.

SV said...

I love how the shirt turned out! Super cute. Your little model is a doll too :-) I'm a new follower and would love for you to come check me out too :-)

Blissful & Domestic said...

Very cute idea. I am going to try this out. Thanks so much for linking up and sharing

Be Colorful Coastal said...

I almost forgot to look at the dress turned shirt because your model was just too darn cute. She wears the clothes they will never wear her. :) She is a doll and the shirt is genius repurposing. So happy you linked this up to Motivated Monday at BeColorful.
Pam

Kelly @ Vintage Fabric Studio said...

I thought this was so cute so I'm gonna feature you tomorrow at Blue Bird Sews ;)Thanks for linking up!

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