Ok kitties!
so a little while ago I posted my
Maternity (or not!) 'Pirate Top' Mens Shirt Upcycle and Tutorial and thankyou SO much for all the love you've given me there, you guys are so lovely I have no words.
Anyhow I wanted to make myself a dress version because I could see how easy it would be, and ... well... dresses are easy to wear, right?
so I did... and here it is! with a lovely new tutorial!! ...
(note I keep all my pictures on picasa... I'm not sure wether it's done something to degrade the images which hold the step-by-step tutorial - so I've converted them to PDF which
I'll get the mods to attach to this post with their brand new attachment magic!) I have attached now that I'm a magical 'tutorial contributor' (whoop whoop!)
anyhow I'll start with the finished project images and then move on to the tutorial/WIP pics!! <3
so I've got mixed feelings on the dress.. I think I went overboard on the 'flounce' and I feel a little ridiculous wearing it to be honest... but it's comfy and even if the 6 year old next door asked me if it was my pyjamas, my mother says she thinks it's lovely so there hahah!! I will still make another one for after the baby though because it will make a great nursing dress in the summer... I'll get rid of the silly ruffly neckline thing and go easy on the patterns for the next one I think...
ok the tutorial!
illustrated, step-by-step tutorial sheetsUPDATE: the instruction sheets can be downloaded by rightclicking and saving the images below OR scroll down to the bottom of the post to download the PDF attachment.
the instruction sheets don't include the silly ruffly neckline, if you're interested in that you can check out how I did it in my
pirate topYou will need:
BIG men's shirt (bigger the better)
fabric for the skirt (I don't know exact yardage but I'd make sure you've got 2m just in case... depends how long you want your skirt)
elastic
general sewing supplies (iron, pins... etc.)
here's my WIP 'highlights'
Here's the shirt I started with
I hacked it into this shape
I attached a strip of fabric along the collar line
turned, pressed, topstitched and then added another line of stitching just below that to act as a channel for the elastic. you need to create a channel for the sleeve elastic too...
for the skirt (Maternity dress) I took pictures of my front and back skirt so you can see the difference - remember that these are pictures of the fabric folded in half. because the elastic is going to pull it in under your bust you don't have to worry too much about flaring your skirt out, and because the top is a straight line the bottom hem isn't going to be a very extreme curve
(left, back skirt piece. right, front skirt piece)
so then you just have to sew the 2 skirt pieces together at the side seams, match up the skirt side seams with the shirt side seams and sew together.
add another channel for elastic at the empire line (under bust) and insert your elastic! (I actually left inserting elastic into all channels til the end...)
OOH also! I finished the hem with bias tape... I tend to do that on skirts because I find it easier.
err... cool.... any questions let me know! happy to help!!
x GS
