WIMTWW: Tied Shirt Dress

Earlier this month I did a guest spot for Jenny over at Seamingly Smitten for Sew Chic Upcycle Week.  Here's the low down in case you missed it!

Hi, I'm Emily from Domestic Deadline and I'm so excited to be here for Sew Chic Upcycle Week.  I love upcycling clothes and have been trying to make myself something new each week (my version of pampering!).  A while back I made this dress:

I really like it; it's super comfy and always gets lots of compliments (makes me like it even more!).  So I've been stock piling over sized men's dress shirts but have not yet been as inspired by any of them make another one.  However, the other day I saw this tutorial and knew one of those shirts had a future...

 

Here's what you'll need:

A very large mens dress shirt

A coordinating t-shirt

Basic sewing supplies

Here is what I started with:

 Cut your t-shirt as shown below.  You can cut off a portion of a t-shirt and add arm holes, I was working with a shirt that had some bleach spots and was looking for the best section of the shirt.

You will need about 10 inches from the top of the shirt (I did 9.5 inches, but will do more like 12 next time, but I was working around the bleach spots).  In the center of the front, cut a 3 inch slit.

This next step is optional since you are working with a knit but I prefer finished edges instead of raw edges.  I serged (you could zig zag or just skip) all my edges, then folded them in and top stitched.  

Fold down and pin about an 1 1/4 inches on both the front sections and the back.  Stitch close to the raw edge, resulting in a 1 inch pocket.   Set this shirt aside for a bit.

Time to move on to your button down shirt.  We're going to cut it similar to the t-shirt; cut off the arms and straight across as high up as possible.  This picture shows the back side; this was a pretty nice shirt, so the top of the back had two layers, I cut just below those two layers.  This will become the skirt of your dress.

Next, we need to give this a nice A-line shape, normally I'd use my bias ruler but my 3 year old seems to have hidden it on me... again...  Sew the sides together, either serge or zig zag your raw edges.

 

Sew the buttons closed (or risk previously mentioned 3 year old unbuttoning your skirt when you aren't paying attention... yes, lesson learned on another dress...)  After sewing, your dress shirt should look like this:

Next, we're going to sew the two shirts together, I pinned my side seams together and matched up the centers on the front and back.  When sewing, stretch the t-shirt to be the same width as the dress shirt.

Your dress should now look similar to this:

Now it's time to top stitch.  This will be the difference between "Did you make that?" and "You MADE that?"  It's a simple step that is well worth the time.

Finally, we need to make a tie.  From the remainder of the dress shirt, piece together a strip of fabric approximately 5 inches wide by 5 feet long.  I used the double layer from the top back of my shirt and the sleeves.  Fold in half, right sides together and sew.

We're going to angle the ends of the tie.  I sewed one end on an angle before turning.

Turn your tie right side out... yes, that is a tension rod... I took it away from my son... not sure where he got it from but I'd be willing to trade for my bias ruler!  Once your tie is turned, iron it flat and iron your open end with a matching angle.  Top stitch all the way around your tie.

Feed your tie through the top pocket and you're good to go!

While I was making this I thought of several different options... how about a solid dress shirt with a fun printed t-shirt, or add a band of coordinating fabric at the end and use that fabric for the tie.  Or how about using an actual tie for the tie:

  Thanks so much for having me Jenny.  Stop by and say hi!  I'd love to see what you're upcycling!

Peace be with you,

 

I'll be linking up to some of these parties, stop by and check out the talent!

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