Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Shirred top to dress {clothing refashion}



I have this shirt that I can't bring myself to part with. I've had it for about 5+ years now, and I've always hung onto it because I love the embroidery detailing on it, and more importantly, I had my engagement pictures taken in it.

Aw, look at young, blonde me!



Unfortunately in this case, I am a skinny girl and that carries over to my *ahem* bust area. The shirring on the top of the shirt is pretty, but I can't manage to keep it up very well :) I didn't want to throw the shirt away though, it just looked too pretty and carried too many memories, so I refashioned it into a dress for Haley. It's cool to think I wore the shirt over 5 years ago when my daughter was just a dream, and now she's running around playing in it. What a great way to repurpose a piece of cherished clothing!


Supplies:
  • Shirred top
  • Disappearing ink marker
  • Double fold bias tape
  • Scissors
  • Sewing machine and basic sewing supplies

Step 1: Size your shirt. 

Here's the shirt I started with. I put it on my daughter to figure out how much I needed to take off the sides.


I simply turned the top inside out and pinned down both sides. Then, I used my disappearing ink marker to mark the areas that I would be trimming off. Using a zig-zag stitch, I sewed along the sides of my dress on the lines I drew and cut off the excess fabric.




Step 2: Make your straps.

Next, measure your child over the shoulders to determine how long your straps would be and add 1/2 inch. For my 3-year-old, my straps were each BLANK.

Position your bias tape on the inside of your dress and stitch down using 2 separate rows of stitches. Repeat to attach the straps to the back of your dress. I decided to cross the straps so they would make an 'X' in the back.


To add more visual interest to the dress, I made an inverted box pleat


And that's how an old, loved shirt became a new dress for my daughter :)



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4 comments:

  1. What a cute transformation! And your cute model looks happy and pretty in it!

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  2. That is seriously adorable! I would love for you to share this (and any other creations) at my new linky party "Pin It and Win It Wednesday" at www.cheapcraftymama.com!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love a good upcycling, especially with an item that has real meaning to you, nice job!

    ReplyDelete
  4. very nice! nothing better then upcycling:)

    ReplyDelete

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