Tropical T Shirt Dress

I dove in this past week and started my upcycling adventure…and let me say right at the start that upcycling is not for the faint of heart. It is important to plan out your project before you start, instead of winging it like I did. I’ve sewn basic t shirt dresses before by combining two t shirts, but this time one of the shirts was bigger than the other which posed some challenges.

If you enjoy collecting t shirts, there is a potential that you might have a couple of tropical prints you could destroy and reconstruct into this dress! If not, any two t shirts will work. Just be sure you love the color combination. I chose a yellow shirt that I really love, but just was kind of past it’s prime. It had been washed so many times that the color had faded a little bit. I love the top of the shirt because it is off the shoulder, and if you have a shirt that has an interesting top or sleeves you will want to make that the top portion of the dress.

Because I just grabbed the two shirts, cut and then sewed, I’m going to update this tutorial to explain a more precise way to do this project instead of just winging it. At one point during the upcycle, I wasn’t sure that this dress was even going to turn out. But fortunately I had a few tricks up my sleeve and it turned out really pretty!

Tropical T Shirt Dress

Gather Your Materials:

Two jersey knit tops, with long or short sleeves

Cutting mat, ruler and rotary cutter

Basic Sewing Kit

Serger or Sewing Machine (If you are using a sewing machine, sew with a narrow zig zag stitch…I normally set my sewing machine to three when sewing knits.)

And Courage to try something new…

Step One:

Choose one shirt to be the top portion of the dress, try it on and measure from the top of the shoulder down to just below the bustline. I used a measurement of twelve inches, but yours might be different. Using the rotary cutter and mat, cut a straight line at that measurement. You will be left with the top of the shirt and a bottom portion. Set the bottom portion aside.

Step Two:

Cut the second shirt just below the sleeves. Then hold it up against the bottom of the top portion and if there is excess fabric, cut the bottom portion at the sides to be the same measurement as the top. Include seam allowances on either side, then sew the bottom portion along the sides. Pin to the top with right sides together and sew with a quarter inch seam allowance.

Or do this instead:

I did mine a little different than this, because I just grabbed the two pieces and sewed them together. If the bottom portion is larger than the top, pin the two pieces with right sides together starting at the side seams. Then create improvisational pleats along the edge of whichever shirt is larger, spaced evenly apart all the way along the back. On the front, create one large pleat right in the middle. Doing this will make it so that both edges wind up the same length when sewn. Sew along the line with a quarter inch seam allowance, being sure to sew the pleats slowly to prevent them from getting warped or caught in the seam.

Step Three:

Trim off the bottom hem and then lay the dress out flat on top of your cutting mat. Carefully position the dress so that just the side seam is flat against the cutting board, and be sure the rest of the dress is out of the way. Cut out a narrow triangle shape starting at the side seam, just above where the two pieces meet going down to the bottom hem. This will form a narrow triangle. Do the same thing to the other side seam, making sure that the two triangles are roughly the same size.

Step Four:

This step is similar to adding bell bottom panels into a pair of pants. Measure the length of the triangle on each side, and then using the bottom portion leftover from the top, cut two triangles that are a little larger than the triangles you cut. (If your dress is a little snug this is a great way to add some volume in a stylish way.). Make the triangles the same size by creating one of them first, and then use the first one as a template to make the second triangle. Then flip the dress wrong side out, pin one side of the triangle insert to the opening with right sides of the fabric together and sew. Sew the other side of the triangle. Then repeat with the alternate side of the dress.

And there you go! A fabulous new dress out of two cast off t shirts! If you are wondering how to do any of these steps, there are endless resources online to meet your needs. Or if you want to tweak the project and change it up a little bit, be my guest!