Things You'll Need:
- Home sewing machine
- Thread
- Pins
- Scissors
- Measuring tape
- Dress form
- Muslin fabric
- Old t-shirt
- Dress fabric
- Fabric pencil or marker
- Iron and ironing board
- Zipper
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Step 1
Set up a dress form or dressmaker's dummy with your measurements. If necessary, you can make a dummy out of scrap fabric and duct tape, using the directions in the Resources section. Put an old t-shirt made from a non-stretch cotton on the dummy.
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Step 2
Pin the t-shirt to fit the dummy, taking in the sides and taking up the shoulder seams as necessary. Cut the sleeves off the shirt.
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Step 3
Mark out the center front and center back on the shirt, using a fabric pencil or marker. Also mark the placement of the bust, waist and hip.
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Step 4
Mark the dress waist position, or where you would like the skirt to attach to the bodice. Draw the neckline you would like, which should be just above the bust marking. Extend the neckline to curve under the arms and around the back. Cut along this line and the dress waistline.
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Step 5
Pin a long rectangle of muslin fabric to the dress waistline, pleating the top to fit until you have the skirt fullness you would like. Make sure that the vertical ends of the fabric meet at the center back. Cut the skirt to the desired length.
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Step 6
Cut two small rectangles of fabric and pin one end of each rectangle to the dress neckline. Tie the other ends around the neck. Make sure that you have the halter strap thickness and bow size that you like.
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Step 1
Unpin the skirt and straps. Cut the T-shirt up the center back line and remove it from the dummy.
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Step 2
Lay your bodice and skirt pattern pieces over a single layer of your dress fabric and pin them down.
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Step 3
Trace around each pattern piece with the fabric pencil, adding seam allowances. Add a seam allowance of 1/2 inch to the center back of the bodice and the center back of the skirt.
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Step 4
Add a hem allowance of 1 1/2 inches to the bottom edge of the skirt piece, and a hem allowance of 5/8 inch to the neckline. Cut along the new markings to get your skirt and bodice pieces.
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Step 5
Pin the strap pieces to a double layer of your dress fabric along the fold. Add an extra 1/2 inch to the other three sides. Cut the straps from the fabric.
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Step 1
Make the strap pieces into tubes. Pin them, right sides together, along the length and one of the short sides. Sew 1/2 inch away from the edges and trim the seam allowances. Turn the straps right side out through the open end and press them flat.
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Step 2
Attach the skirt to the bodice. Gather or pleat the top edge of the skirt, then pin it to the bottom edge of the bodice, right sides together. Sew 1/2 inch away from the edges, then press the seam open and zigag stitch the raw edges.
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Step 3
Sew the center back seam of the skirt together, 1/2 inch away from the edges, stopping 5 inches below the waistline. Press the seam open and zigzag stitch the edges.
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Step 4
Turn up the hem of the skirt 1/2 inch, then another inch, and press it flat. Sew along the fold line. Do the same to the neckline, turning it under 1/8 inch, then 1/2 inch. Sew the raw edges of the halter straps to the top of the dress along this stitching line.
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Step 5
Turn the remaining center back edges of the dress under 1/2 inch and press them flat. Pin the zipper tape under each open edge, then stitch the zipper to the dress.
