How to Make an Emo Dress

Cut off the sleeves and the neck band of the T-shirt for a simple modification.

Emo music, an emotional and lyrically expressive style inspired by the punk movement, originated in the early 1980s. In fashion, emo style includes dark eyeliner and tight jeans on both sexes. Printed cotton T-shirts are a staple of girls' emo style. A favorite T-shirt can easily and quickly be modified into a comfortable dress with the simple addition of a cotton skirt.

Things You'll Need

• T-shirt
• Tailor's chalk
• Measuring tape
• Scissors
• Cotton fabric
• Sewing machine
• Thread
• Sewing pins

Instructions

1. Place the T-shirt on the intended wearer and mark the wearer's waistline on the shirt. Cut 3 to 4 inches off the bottom off the T-shirt, depending on the initial length of the top and individual height.

2. Measure from the bottom of the T-shirt to the point where you want the hemline to fall. Add 1 inch to this measurement. The total of the two is the length measurement that you will use to in Step 3. Measure the circumference of the bottom of the T-shirt.

3. Mark the dimensions of the skirt on the cotton fabric with the measuring tape and chalk. The dimensions of the skirt panel are twice the circumference of the T-shirt for width by the determined length measurement from Step 2. With right sides facing each other, pin the short ends together.

4. Sew the short ends together to create a wide loop and remove the pins. Create a hem along one edge of the loop by pinning 1/4 inch toward the inside. Sew the hem in place and remove the pins.

5. Adjust the stitch length setting to a loose gathering stitch. Sew around the edge opposite the hem. Gather the edge by pulling the thread until the circumference of this edge is the same size as the bottom of the T-shirt. Adjust the gathers so that they fall evenly around the edge.

6. Pin the bottom edge of the shirt to the gathered edge of the skirt, right sides together. Adjust the stitch length to a 10 to 12 stitches per inch and sew the skirt to the bottom of the T-shirt. Remove the gathering thread and pins and turn the T-shirt dress right side out.

References

• The Long Thread: It's a t-shirt...it's a dress
• Emo Rawr: Emo Shirts
• Your Scene Sucks: Generic "Emo" Boy
• Fourfa: Emo History