And Week 2 of "
One Month to Win It" is over! This week the theme was "Wear Green". Whether that is interpreted as the color green, or as being eco-friendly, I accomplished both! I refashioned a former favorite shirt of mine into a dress for my little girl! The shirt was a little short , so perfect opportunity to turn it into something adorable for my dolly!
I found a dress on J Crew that I found absolutely adorable and used as my inspiration piece! By using a t-shirt of my daughters, I created a pattern to cut the shirt down to her size. The length was perfect for a dress. I guessed at where her hips were to add the drawstring waist. The t-shirt had a pocket, which added the perfect visual touch in my opinion, but the inspiration piece had a flower, so I wanted to make one. I put it on a clip so that I could either clip it to the pocket on the dress, or I could instead clip it in her hair and have a great matching barrette! The flower was made of leftover fabric from the dress and ribbon used for the drawstring!
My little girl had fun dancing it out for our modeling session.
Love the little dress and how cute and trendy it is on her...now where to find a large enough t-shirt to turn into a dress for me? :)
Quick basic T-shirt Dress Tutorial:
Supplies:
T-shirt
1" width of scrap fabric long enough to circle the waist
Ribbon
1/4-1/2" elastic (I used 1/4")
First, I used a favorite shirt of my daughters to measure what size I needed to cut the larger shirt down to.
Using the line drawn, carefully cut, starting with the arm holes. Then gradually fade down from the waist to the width you want the skirt to be. I kept the skirt on this one fairly narrow.
Next, Sew the arm holes back together.
After this, pin the sleeves back on to the shirt, matching right sides together. The sleeve is tucked in the shirt, so it is not visible in the picture below.
After this, pin up the side of the dress. I started sewing at the bottom ending at the sleeves.
Now the dress is sewn back together!
I didnt' take good pictures of the rest, so I'll just explain it. Choose where you feel the waist will be. It should be just a few inches below the natural waist so that the top will blouse a little. On the inside, cut a 1" scrap of fabric and sew it a 1/4" from each edge around the middle of the dress.
At first I just threaded the ribbon through and tied on the sides - simple! But my daughter pulled the ribbon out the first time wearing it so I had to change it :)
A better method is to thread elastic through, Mine was 1" longer than the circumference of the waist. After you thread it through, sew the elastic edges together. Next, tie two bows, and sew them to the outside edges of the dress. Tack them well so that your little one won't be able to untie them!
Now let your little dolly dance and enjoy her new dress! You can use scrap fabric and ribbon (and maybe a few crystals) to make a beautiful bow - or put it on the dress for some added bling!
Tutorial on the bow to come next week :)
