T-Shirt Refashion

 This week has been a doozy! Most of the week consisted of days that were grey, windy, sometimes rainy, while other days we had flurries. It was a good week for working on projects. Today, it is actually sunny and calm. This is a great day to inspire me and to give me the boost that I needed to sit down and compose a post. IN the spring and summer months, I stay as far away from pants as possible. I prefer skirts and dresses to shorts. I reserve shorts for nature walks and gardening. I made a group of listings on my amazon wishlist for summery dresses, all of which looked comfortable, were modest and inexpensive. The problem with the dresses was that most of them came from China, so getting the correct size was proving ot be tricky. The reviews that I read were also very inconsistent. I think that part of the confusion comes down to the fact that women have varying ideas of comfort and fit. What might be too short or too clingy for one woman, might be exactly what another woman looks for in her dresses. Ultimately, I decided to find similar styles at the thrift store. I found a nice pile of cute dresses and a skirt at Goodwill. However, there was one dress that I knew I'd never be able find a duplicate for, so I decided to make one myself.

I visited my local thrift store, where you can fill a bag full ( I mean FULL) with clothes for $3.00. It's fantastic for crafting. I think I'll post about my thrifting in another post. Otherwise, this post will be way too long.

I was able to find a collection of shirts that had similar color tones and tossed them in the bag, not knowing how I'd pull all together. I figured I would decide the design once I brought the shirts home. From the pile of shirts, I selected a black crop top, a purple long sleeve t-shirt and then a grey and purple polo shirt. 

At first glance, the two shirts with the purple were the exact purple. The lighting at the thrift store isn't spectacular. When I inspected the shirts at home, I was delighted by the subtle pattern in the purple long sleeve shirt. Ordinarily, I would pair a pattern with a strip, but in this instance they work.

I left the crop top as it was, and decided to base the rest of the dress off of that, keeping in mind the dress that inspired this dress. I cut the purple shirt one inch below the armpit. That shirt had thin strips, which made it easy to cut a straight line. Then, I cut the polo shirt to the length that I thought would be appropriate. Again, the polo shirt had a stripe, so it was super simple to cut in a straight line. I left the bottom of the polo shirt as it was, that way I'd have a clean hem line. For the sleeves, I cut the sleeves off of the purple shirt and added them to the 3/4 length sleeve of the crop top.

I matched the purple shirt to the crop top, right sides facing each other and pinned them in place. I used a zigzag stitch with a heavy duty needle and slate colored thread.

When I was finished with that, this is what the top of the dress looked like.

Next, I joined the polo shirt with the purple shirt, right sides facing, and I lined the polo shirt just under the finished hem of the purple shirt. This way the shirt would be bulky. I also, trim the excess fabric after the shirts were joined.

Finally, I added the sleeves to the drop top and cleaned up the cuffs.The shirt dress still needs to be washed and ironed before I wear, and that is okay. After all, it's still only in the 40's here. This will be a comfortable dress to wear on those days that are a little cooler, a bit less sunny. I really do like the end result, it is similar in style to the dress that I wanted and I know for certain that it will fit me. Best of all it was a lot cheaper to make than to buy.

My next sewing project will likely be a new quilt. I want to have a new, lighter in weight, quilt that will be perfect for the warmer months. Also, I want to make a quilt that will pull up more of the colors of our bedroom. I am going to get some fat quarters, today, and that will be my focus of the week. I have been wanting ot do a post on makeup palettes, but I'm still waiting on a palette that is shipping from China, so it could arrive any time this week. My fingers are crossed that it arrives soon! When it does, I'll play with it a bit and then do a post on that. Until then~ Toodahloo!