Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Men's Shirt Refashion Tutorial {Dress Sewn for $6}

I made this dress in a couple of hours for just $6.
 

Talk about a lucky score!  I found a stash of enormous men's dress shirts at the Salvation Army for $2 a piece.  I grabbed four of them in this pretty, robin's egg blue color, and another four in a soft, buttery yellow.


I normally repurpose men's shirts into aprons like these (click here for details in a prior blog post):
 
 
...But decided to give dress-making a go this time.


I started by taking one shirt and narrowed the sleeves and bodice:


I picked the pocket off of a second shirt...


...Then cut it in half, just below the arms:


I baste stitched along the cut line then pulled the threads to gather it:


Then stitched closed the button placket:


I pinned the gathered shirt to the first shirt and sewed them together.

 
I topped stitched the waist, where the bodice meets the skirt:
 
 
The dress was complete.  Until I tried it on and realized it was way too short (at 5' 10" this is a very common problem for me!).  So, I took a third shirt and cut several inches off the bottom...


...And pinned it underneath the hem of the dress.  Following the hemline of the dress, I top stitched the pieces together and stitched down the button placket of the third shirt.


Dog walking on a sunny spring day was the perfect excuse for donning my new dress.  Notice Twyla's collar corsage?  Click here for the blog post on how I made it.

 

Oh, and why wear just one pearl necklace when you can pile on 7?!

 
I love it when I can elicit a big eye roll from Captain Project!

11 comments:

Nadine @ Chic with the Kool-Aid Mustache said...

Well aren't you clever! Do you ever read any of the blogs on re-fashions? I always get so inspired and I have a big ole pile of clothing items I want to re-purpose that include a few mens shirts. I only wish I had the time to actually work on all the projects I have waiting in the wings aka my hoard...lol

Becky said...

I love it!!! So cute and crafty!

Carla said...

That was impressive how you repurposed those shirts. Found you via Donna's Lavender Nest.

vintage grey said...

Super cute and love your shoes! xo Heather

LBP said...

That turned out super cute! I would never have thought of that.

I especially love the color.

Blessings

Linda

Stephanie said...

Fabulous! I simply love this dress :) I have made skirts out of men's shirts, but have the same problem as you, they're too short. I will definitely have to give this a go :) Thanks for the excellent tutorial - you look amazing.

Hugs and blessings!

P.S.- pretty shoes - are they from ModCloth? :)

Pam~ Virginia Retro said...

Oh my! You are so talented, how cute is that dress! :)

~Xo said...

Cute dress! Love it!

Michaele said...

Wow! I admire you skills and patience. You look wonderful in your creation. You are 5'10" ? Ever do any modeling?

Brenda said...

I am in love with that dress. You did a great job.

sunnyskiesandsweettea said...

What an awesome way to recycle. I love how it turned out.

Blessings,
Amy Jo