Do-It-Yourself: How to Make a T-Shirt Dress for Little Girls

Transform a T-shirt into a dress in less than an hour.

You can turn a child's-size T-shirt into an adorable dress with a little bit of extra fabric for a simple and inexpensive spring and summer outfit. Choose a solid-colored T-shirt and pair it with a bright-colored, patterned fabric for the skirt, or use a patterned or pictured T-shirt and add a solid-colored skirt. You can embellish the simple dress with a ribbon hemline or create a floral waistline with a row of small silk flowers.

Things You'll Need

• Child's-size T-shirt
• Fabric of your choice
• Sewing machine (or sewing needle)
• Thread
• Sewing pins

Instructions

1. Place a child's T-shirt on your work surface and measure the length of the shirt from the neckline to the hemline. Divide this measurement in half and add 1 inch for the length of the dress' skirt fabric. For example, if the length of the shirt equals 18 inches, the length of the dress' skirt fabric equals 10 inches.

2. Measure the width of the hemline with the T-shirt laid flat and multiply this measurement by 4 to obtain the width of the fabric for the dress' skirt. For example, if the width of the hemline equals 12 inches, the width of the dress' skirt fabric equals 48 inches.

3. Cut a rectangle from a piece of fabric according to the length and width measurements above. For example, according to the above example, cut a rectangle that measures 10 inches by 48 inches.

4. Lay the rectangle on your work surface with the good side facing downward. Make a tidy hemline. Fold over ½-inch of fabric along one long side. Use the sewing machine to sew a zigzag stitch or hand stitch a straight stitch along the folded side. Iron to make the hemline lay flat.

5. Fold the rectangle in half lengthwise with the wrong sides facing outward. Use a sewing machine to sew a zigzag stitch along the short side to shape the skirt. If sewing by hand, sew a straight stitch and backstitch both ends.

6. Sew a loose gathering stitch along the long side of the skirt that has no hemline. Insert stitches about ¾-inch apart.

7. Measure the circumference of the bottom of the T-shirt. Pull on the thread to gather the long side to the same circumference as the T-shirt's hemline plus an additional 2 inches.

8. Turn the T-shirt inside out and slide the gathered edge of the skirt over top of the shirt's hemline. Pin the skirt to the shirt, while pulling gently on the T-shirt's hemline to stretch it slightly as you work. Sew the two pieces together to make the dress.

9. Sew about ½-inch away from the edge of the fabric. Use a zigzag stitch by sewing machine or straight stitch by hand with backstitching. Move over close to the edge of the fabric and sew around the seam line again to make the edges lay flat and to provide added strength.

References

• "The Dressmaker's Technique Bible: A Complete Guide to Fashion Sewing"; Lorna Knight; 2008
• Mormon Mommy Wars: T-Shirt Dress - Easy!

Resources

• Fiber Image: Hand Sewing Stitches