Last Wednesday I realized I had run out of arts and crafts material, so I decided to take a quick trip to Salvation Army (remember Wednesday is 50% off day at Salvation Army)! For only $22, I purchased 13 shirts, one of them being a super nice men's dress shirt. The shirt was massive and long enough to be a dress so I decided to turn it into just that!
Here's What You Will Need:
* Oversized Men's Dress Shirt~ $2.50 at Salvation Army (highly suggested
* Transparent Sewing Thread
* Sewing Needles
* Fabric Scissors
* Bow tie (Optional)~ $3.00 at a costume store
* Belt or Bow Sash
* Pencil
* Ruler
Approximate Cost~ $5.50
Step 1
Lay out your oversized shirt, try it on, and make sure it is long enough to be a dress (this shirt is much smaller than the actual one I used, but I unfortunately forgot to take a picture before I started on the project).
Step 2
With your fabric scissors, carefully cut the sleeves off of your shirt and set the fabric aside.
Step 3
Fold the cut fabric of the sleeves inwards and pin them down. Now sew the fabric you have just pinned to create a clean new sleeve cuff.
Step 4
Since this is a men's shirt, chances are that when you try on the shirt there is alot of excessive fabric at your waist and sides. Fix this problem by taking in the fabric at the sides. Draw a curved line (the pencil will wash out) on both sides of the shirt indicating how far in you want the waist to go. Use your ruler to make sure that the lines on the right and left of the shirt have the same measurements. Next, cut open the existing seams on the sides of your shirt. Now cut the excess fabric on the waist by following the curved line you drew with the pencil.
WARNING: do NOT cut directly on the line, but rather cut about an away from the line. This will leave enough fabric to create a new seam later.
Step 5
The newly cut fabric on the sides of the shirt should be rough. Just like you did with the sleeves, fold in the side fabric and pin them down. At this point, you can also fix the size of the sleeves. Previously, you should have cut the side seam all the way through and into the sleeve. When you are folding in the sides of your shirt, fold some of the sleeve inwards as well until you have attained the desire arm hole size. Pin the fabric down.
Step 6
Turn the shirt inside out and sew the folded fabric together at the sides of the shirt. This will create a brand new side seam and give the shirt a more fitted look and feel.
Enjoy your new dress!!
You can add a bow tie as a fun detail or wear black tulle or a pleated skirt under the dress to add length and decorative detail!!
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| Bow Tie |
