Game Day Dress

Football season is here!  Sometimes, you want something cuter to wear than a typical t-shirt, or maybe you have nothing to wear except an over-sized men's shirt.  That was my case.  I didn't want to buy a new t-shirt, so I turned my husband's into a dress.  Here's how:

Step 1: Choose an oversized t-shirt.

Step 2: Cut your desired neckline into your shirt.

Step 3: The sides of the shirt will be huge. Put it on (inside out) and pin it to fit your body.

Step 4: Sew along your pinned line.

To keep both sides even, I only sewed one side, then I folded the shirt in half and marked the other side along the sewn edge with a pencil.

Step 5: Put it on and see what you think of it so far! That's what I did anyways. I discovered a few things from this step: 1) It was WAY too short! 2) The unfinished arm holes bothered me 3) I was off to a good start.

Step 6: Finish the dress to your liking! I added bias tape around the arm holes, added a belt, lengthened the bottom with another fabric, and added ruffles around the neckline.

HOW TO MAKE BIAS TAPE: Sarai explains it WAY better than I can.

HOW TO MAKE A BELT:

1. Cut the fabric twice as thick as you want your belt. I cut two strips, because I wasn't sure how long I wanted my belt.

2. Fold the fabric in half (inside out) and sew along the long edge (leaving the ends open).

3. Pull the tubed fabric right-side-out. Cut it to your waist size. Finish the ends (fold the unfinished edge inside and sew). Sew velcro to the ends so they close securely.

(No pictures, sorry.)

HOW TO LENGTHEN A DRESS: Sarah explains it way better than I can, and she takes pictures of her projects. (I'll have to simmer down next time and actually do that.)

HOW TO MAKE RUFFLES & FLOWERS:

1. Take a strip of fabric and sew it up the middle. Adjust your machine so it does long, loose stitches.

2. Pull 1 thread tight and scrunch the fabric down the length of the thread. DONE!

3. I sewed several of these onto the neckline. I also glued 2 of these in a circle on the belt to make the flower.

Now, let me wow you with the ridiculous quantity of pictures I took of the finished project:





Finished Product!

Check out my most recent upcycle on my blog.  Hint: I gave my sandals a haircut.