Kids Makes
T-shirt dress
Take three (or more) T-shirts in colours mild or wild and shape them into this fun tube dress. It couldn’t be simpler to make and it’s lots of fun to wear.
Don’t limit yourself to solid colours either, this could be your chance to make a super fan tour shirtdress featuring all the live concert shirts littering the back of your wardrobe. Or maybe a cheesy 1980s Hair Metal band shirtdress. Mall iron-on shirtdress? Community bowling league shirtdress? Really, you could make about twenty of these and no two would be alike.
MATERIALS
3 or more T-shirts (in relatively similar sizes). Don’t go by the tags, measure across from armpit to armpit with each shirt stretched flat.
Thread
Measuring tape
Rotary cutter or scissors
Straight pins and/or masking tape
Straight edge (acrylic or metal)
Sewing machine or overlocker
To make up
1. Cut the first shirt. First decide which T-shirt will be the top of the dress. Unless you are going for a frayed or antiqued look, it should probably be the shirt wit the nicest neckline (with no rips, stains or tears) or the colour you like best closest to your face. With the shirt flat on a table, cut a straight line across it below the armpit.
HANDY HINT: A rotary cutter and acrylic ruler will help you do this quickly and efficiently.
2. Measure width. Measure across the bottom of your top T-shirt and write down the width; you’ll need this figure to adjust the other T-shirts.
3. Cut other T-shirts. Cut the remaining T-shirts the say way, (you can save their tops for additional dresses or cut them up to make fabric flower accents, appliqué shapes – you name it). Keep the bottom tube portion intact.
4. Measure fabric tubes. Measure across each tube portion and compare the width to the opening at the bottom of the first piece. Ideally they should be the same as the first piece or slightly larger.
5. Adjust tube widths as needed. If a tube doesn’t measure as wide across as the piece you cut in step 1, this is not necessarily a bad thing. This is a good way to work more than three T-shirts into the design, especially if several of them are damaged or stained. Cut some sections from the tubes and then piece the sections together into a wider strip. Sew this pieced strip into a new tube the same width as the top section of the dress.
HANDY HINT If a tube is larger by 13 mm (1/2”) or more than the first shirt, turn the tubes inside out and sew a straight line down each one’s side to adjust the size.
6. Cut dress components to size. Decide how wide you want the stripes on the body of your dress to be and cut the tubes formed by the bottom half of the shirts accordingly.
7. Arrange construction of dress. This is the fun part: Rearrange the tubes until you have a stripe pattern that pleases you.
HANDY HINT: If you want to try it on before stitching and without stabbing yourself with a million pins, tack the tubes together with masking tape before slipping it over your head.
8. Pin Fabric tubes together. Pin the tubes together in the order you’ve selected.
9. Sew the tubes together. We used an overlocker to sew this dress and so it can also be worn inside out (the contrasting stitching from the overlocker stands up like a row of embroidery between each tube).
HANDY HINT: If you play your cards right, and use the bottom of a T-shirt for the bottom of the dress, you won’t even have to hem it!
10. Shape dress (optional). If the dress is a little big when you try it on, put it on inside out and pin the sides until the fit is to your liking (it helps to have a sewing buddy for this). Sew along the sides, turn the dress right side out and try it on again.
HANDY HINT: If you have a similar dress that fits you well, you can also place it on top of this one and trace its basic shape to get the curves just the way you want them.
Further information
This project has been reproduced from Alternation by Shannon Okey and Alexandra Underhill (ISBN 9781581809787). It includes 25 projects to customise your clothes by converting garments, fabric scraps and trimmings into something completely new. Alternation, priced £14.99 for the paperback version distributed by David and Charles can be ordered from their hotline on 0870 990 8222 or email: dcdirect@davidandcharles.co.uk quoting Alternation A0299.
