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!

Repurposed Men's Shirts into Aprons

 

I've been at it again ~ repurposing Captain Project's discarded work shirts into Retro Revival aprons.

 

 

Have you ever done this?  It's lots of fun cutting them up and mixing and matching the fabric and using the shirts parts in new and creative ways!  (Click here, here and here to see previous blog posts about this and tutorials if you want to give it a try.)

 

Here's a peek at some of the details:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So much better than tossing these frayed, hole-y and stained shirts into the trash!

Recycle a Man's Shirt into a Fabu Apron

This is my latest apron design.  I made them using two of my husband's old work shirts, girl'ing them up a bit with some lace, trim and ric rac.

In just a few steps and for a few dollars, you too can upcycle Dad's, hubby's or any man's discarded dress shirt into a fun apron for you or a friend.  With a sewing machine, thread, trim and an iron, a man's shirt (or two if you want coordinating waist/neck ties and pocket) can easily be transformed; here's how...

Begin by buttoning the shirt and cutting the front of the shirt away from the back, up the side seams, around the front of the arms, and just under the collar.

Sew alongside the buttons to permanently sew the buttons shut, all the way down to the hem of the shirt.

Next, sew trim (ric rac or some other pretty lace or embelishment) onto the front of the apron, on top of where you sewed shut the buttons or along each side:

Sew coordinating double bias tape all around your apron like this (alternatively, you can just sew a hem all the way around the apron):

Cut three 4-inch strips from the back of the shirt. These will be your ties so make sure they are long enough to fit around the waist and neck; I cut from the top to the bottom of the shirt to create these. Fold each strip in half lengthwise, and sew each closed about 1/4 inch from the edge. Turn the strips inside out and press with a hot iron, then turn the end into itself, press and sew to create a finished edge.

Sew the waist ties onto each side of the apron.

Sew one end of the neck tie to the top of the apron and attach the other end to a suspender clasp (I bought one at Joann for about a buck) so that it looks like this:

I left the orginal breast pocket in place and embellished it by adding some lace and ric rack.

Finally, cut the sleeve from the shirt (I used a coordinating shirt) for your pocket.  Hem the sides of the pocket, attach coordinating trim and then sew to the apron (or, like I did, skip the hemming and attach the pocket using coordinating double bias tape):

There you go -- pretty easy!  I gave one of them to my daughter and she donned it while making "baked potato potato salad." 

Here's her recipe:

Baked Potato Salad Serves 6-8

4 large russet potatoes

1/2 cup mayonnaise (Dukes is preferred)

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup shredded extra sharp cheddar

1/4 cup chopped chives, divided

8 strips thick cut bacon, cooked crisp and chopped

Salt and fresh cracked black pepper

Boil potatos until cooked then cut into bite sized pieces.
In a medium bowl whisk together the mayonnaise and sour cream until well mixed.  Add 3/4 of the chopped chives, salt, and pepper.  Whisk to mix and add to potatos.

Fold in the cheese and bacon.  Cover and chill for thirty minutes.  Garnish with remaining chives and enjoy!

Do you have a delicious potato salad recipe you'd like to share?  Leave it on this blog as a comment and you'll automatically be entered to win this month's FABULOUS blog giveaway (drawing 6/30):