Super Cute Dress from a Mens XXXL Flannel Shirt

[carlygilbren]

Ugh, this shirt ALMOST made me pack away my sewing machine for good. When I saw it on the $1 rack I grabbed it up in an instant. I soon learned that taking in extra humongous shirts was not as easy as I expected. I basically had to take the whole thing apart and start from scratch. Well, maybe I'm exaggerating a little. But it was a lot of work for a newbie like me!

I started out by removing the sleeves. Then put the shirt on my dress form and figured out where the new shoulder should sit. I pinned and stitched the sleeves back on matching all seams as best I could. Then I took the trunk of the shirt in. I think it was close to four inches on either side. The sleeves got taken in by around 3 inches I believe (I just moved the button over rather than mess around with the cuff).

I hemmed the bottom to even it all out, but it was a little short for my liking so I added a "ruffle" to it for extra length. It was actually the bottom few inches of an old skirt I never wear. I made the belt out of the sides of the shirt that I cut of after taking it in. OH! And I created button holes for the first time on this belt (I was pretty chuffed when I figured that out).

And there you have it. Flannel shirt dress!

[Calabaza]

Very nicely done! It looks good on you.

[edelweiss72]

Love it! Perfect as an 'everyday' winter dress with tights and boots. I'll be on the hunt for a bargain flannel shirt now 

[Hadassah]

What an inspiration! You did a great job and I think it looks very flattering on you. I know it can be hard to reconstruct things and it can be frustrating, but I've found that if you just stick to it, you can usually overcome it and make something awesome, like this!

[Minúscula]

So cute! All these mens's shirt reckons make me want to stock up on them at the thrift store.

[Taramor]

It looks very good.

[carlygilbren]

thank you all!

[Captain Slow]

Nice job!

It is annoying when you find that you have to take the whole garment apart, but I find it helps you understand how it was constructed in the first place. Also, you start thinking of your pulled-apart garment as bits of fabric, which makes reconstructing it a bucketload easier!