Girly Shirt Dress

I'm sad to say that this is a dress I made so long ago, it no longer fits my oldest daughter. Fortunately, I did take some process photos so I will give you as much direction as I remember. In any case, I loved it and I hope you will too.

Typically, when I go to make a dress, I already have a few ideas in mind based on what I have seen on Pinterest. For this dress, I was waiting for my husband to put this shirt in the give away pile because I had seen the most adorable upcycle that is reminiscent of a 50's housewife. Of course, mine didn't turn out exactly the same as my inspiration probably used 2 shirts to make the fluffy skirt, but I'm no less pleased with my outcome.

Now to the process. This definitely is not a project for a beginning sewer as this tutorial is more of a guideline based on what I did. However, don't be too scared. If you mess up, you can always go get another shirt from Good Will for super cheap and try again.

Materials:
A men's dress shirt (the larger the better), 2 if you want a fuller skirt
Sewing machine, thread, pins, etc.
Some tulle if you want the skirt to poof out
4" ribbon for the flower belt
​Button for the middle of the flower
Belt clasp
Needle and thread
Dress or shirt that fits the child
Large paper or smaller pieces taped together

Directions:
Start by making a pattern for the bodice and sleeves using the shirt or dress that fits and large paper (If you need more direction on drafting patterns, head over to Shwin and Shwin for an in depth tutorial). Then use the bodice pattern to determine how you will cut the shirt, keeping the collar and buttons in tact. Below is how I cut up my shirt initially. I used the cuffs to make the puff sleeves. As a side note, I have seen some tutorials that keep the button strip down the front by cutting along the side. However, I wanted to make this easy so I cut right through the strip. 

Then, trim off the curved edge and cut the seams on the sides of the shirt. Cut along the seam of the remaining sleeve material and trim it to the same length as the shirt. Sew the sleeve material to each side of the shirt to create a more full skirt. Hem the bottom using a rolled hem technique.

Now to the bodice (Sorry, I don't have any process photos for this). Start out by sewing up the bodice sides then fit and sew the sleeves into place. Next, attach the skirt to the bodice. I was able to use the vertical stripes of my shirt to pleat the skirt, but you can gather it. Add in tulle by sewing it to the seam allowance of the skirt. 

Truth be told, the belt was an afterthought. I had my daughter try on the dress and she immediately asked why there wasn't any pink. I had made a dropped waist so it wasn't hard to add the belt. Anyway, basically, just measure around your child's waist where the belt will sit, then cut the ribbon leaving a bit to attach to the belt clasp. 

​For the rose, I gathered one side with a needle and thread then spiraled it and sewed it together, as in this tutorial. Then sew on a button and attach the rose to the belt. And that's it! Let me know how it went in the comments.

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