T-shirt Dress *Tutorial*

I’ve seen these dresses everywhere.  I have been wanting to make one for awhile now, so when I saw this cute polka dot fabric I knew I could do it.

These can be made for any size.  Adult or child.  I made one for my niece.  The shirt I used was a 3T.  To get the fabric measurements you go by the measurements of the person and of the t-shirt you use.

First I measured an inch from the arm pit of the shirt. 

Draw a line to match the dots and then cut your shirt across that line.  Hold on to your bottom piece of t-shirt.

Next cut the fabric for the skirt bottom of your dress.  My t-shirt measures 11 inches across.  Therefore I want my bottom fabric to be around 25 inches.  I just doubled the measurement and added a few inches so I could get extra pleats.  For the length I cut the fabric 24 inches.  To get that measurement, measure from under the arm to the desired length and add an inch for seams allowance.

My skirt bottom fabric piece is 25 x 24.  You will need two pieces.

Now onto the sewing.

Place your skirt bottom pieces right sides together and sew along the sides with a 1/2 inch seam allowance.

Sorry I don’t have a picture of that process.

Next I used a zigzag stitch to secure my seams.

After that you want to create your hem.
On the bottom of your skirt piece fold up 1/4 inch and iron all the way around the bottom.  Then fold over again and iron once more.

Then you want to stitch up that hem.  Stitch very close to the open end of your hem.

Next on the top of your skirt bottom, you can do a Gather stitch or you can do what I do and just “gather” it with pins.  Pin your skirt bottom to the t-shirt.  Make sure you match side seams and centers.

 

 

Now sew your skirt bottom to your t-shirt top.  Make sure if you do your “gather” stitch like me, to take out your pins before you sew over them.

When you are finished attaching your top to the bottom do the zigzag stitch like you did before.

The next step is totally optional, but I think it makes the dress look more put together.  I top stitched the front of the dress where the skirt meets the t-shirt.  I did my stitching right on top of the t-shirt.

 

This next step is another option.  Because I was making this for my 2 yr old niece, I added a fabric flower.

I cut two circles out of the polka dot fabric and one out of the t-shirt fabric.  If you do this, make sure they are all different sizes.

Stitch those pieces together.

Next place it where you want it to go on your dress and stitch it on.

Guess what???  You are finished after that step. 

If you made it through that I seriously want to congratulate you.  When I make stuff I take a lot of pictures just so I can remember how I did it.  I’m visual.  But if you tried this I hope you had fun at it and I would love to see it.

Have a blessed day!!

~Tracie