As the weather gets brighter and warmer, like many of you I'm sure, I always tend to do a bit of spring cleaning. The children's wardrobes does not escape this routine. The only trouble is that children grow up sooooo fast and we often find ourselves having to buy more stuff that fits each season! (Are you nodding in agreement yet?!) :)
So until I plant a money tree in the yard, I have resulted to customising the stuff that otherwise would be either given to charity or put in a suitcase in the garage....awaiting for the "tidy fairy" to eventually get off her behind and come and sort them out! :)
Today I'd like to share with you how to transform a cute top into a girl-y summer dress fit for the girliest of girls (yep, I have one of those...)
My Hippy, Happy Girl! :)
This tutorial is fit for total sewing beginners - So no excuses, ok?! :)
If you have any questions, just ask. I am no sewing expert and if I can, you can too!
* Firstly take a cute top
* Then measure the width of the bottom part of the top and cut 1 1/2 times that of coordinating fabric to make a skirt for the top. My first instinct here was to go for pink fabric but all I had was green and it actually looked cute too. (ex: if your top measures 30cm wide or about 19" then cut a 90cm or 36" wide rectangle) The length depends on how long you want the dress to be making sure to add an extra 4 cm for the seams - I cut mine about 25cm or 10".
* Fold one of the widest sides of your skirt piece (about 2cm or 3/4" in) and hem.
* Do a loose running stitch on the other wide side at about 2cm again or 3/4". I did by machine on a very high width and stitch length, but you could do by hand too. Pull the threads gently to gather the stitches and ruffle your skirt piece.
* Now pin the ruffled skirt to the top right sides together as shown on the photo.
* Stitch the opening side of the skirt piece and press open with an iron
* Stitch both skirt and top pieces together just below the gathered stitches
* Stitch some colourful ribbon to hide your hem stitching.
That's it! One lovely summer dress in less than 30 minutes plus, it cost the grand total of €0 which converts to just about....$0!! :)
Oh, do you want to know how to make the cute little hair-band on you see on my model's head? Then pop back on Friday for another easy, peas-y tutorial! :)
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