Regular to Maternity T-Shirt Refashion Tutorial

Please excuse the photographer's finger in the top corner there. :)

Usually I do not sew many things for myself and I am not usually all that picky when it comes to clothing. BUT, I saw these T-shirts on sale at Target in CUTE colors and I just really, really wanted them! So I splurged. On myself.  That almost NEVER happens!  Here is how I mentally justified it: Maternity T-shirts are way more expensive (I got this shirt for $5 on sale in the Women's section, but I saw similar maternity ones online at Target.com for $15).  The maternity T-shirts I already have are in dark colors (plus everything is getting too short for my belly these days). I figured I could buy XL and XXL shirts for the length and alter them.  Ready to see how I did that? Let's go!

Start out with an XL or XXL shirt. For some reason, I didn't even take the tags or sticker off until I was done. It wasn't like I was going to return it.

You need to carefully trim off the side seams from the armpit down.

Fold the shirt in half.  Using a shirt that fits well as a pattern, mark where the arm scythe should be and cut off the sleeves and down the sides gently on an angle as shown. You can see that my arm scythe is higher and narrower in the shoulders vs the original shirt.

Trim up the sleeves to fit the arm scythe, plus a little seam allowance at the bottom. This pic shows the before and after so you can get an idea...

Now, here is the part I thought was so clever... Take the back of the shirt only (the front side is pushed away at the top there) and trim the sides to make them straight. (The shirt naturally flared out quite a bit towards the bottom, which I need in the front, but I didn't want a whole lot of extra bunching in the back.)

This is what you should have so far. These are all of the pieces and the back is actually on top so that you can see the difference between the front and back.

Sew up the side seams with a serger or using a stretch stitch on your sewing machine.  If you use a serger, make sure to tuck those tails of thread in when you are finished.  Sew the bottoms of the sleeves together, too.

Just pin the sleeve to the arm and reattach using a serger or stretch stitch. I suppose, if you wanted to, you could sew the sleeve on first and then sew all the way down the side from the edge of the sleeve to the bottom of the shirt.  This is just how I did it. Whatever works.

You can leave the shirt like this if you want (see all of the extra roominess in the front), but it was still too long in the back for my liking. I need the length for the front, though, so I decided to add ruching in the sides.

Decide how high you want the ruching to go, measure from there to the bottom of the shirt, then cut a piece of 1/4" elastic half of that length.  Pin the ends in place on the side seam allowance.

Just pull the elastic tight as you sew.  The elastic should be sewn to the side seam allowance only, so you won't see the stitching on the outside of the shirt when it is finished.

TADA! That is it!!  It really didn't take me long at all- maybe a half hour, and it theoretically saved me $10. Plus, it is a custom-fit shirt that actually covers my belly! Woohoo!

Here is the other shirt I altered. I didn't add the ruching because it was already on the short side, but I might go back and add some in later. We'll see. If I feel like it.

You can't tell by the super sunny pic my 5yo took for me, but this shirt is an awesome minty aqua color. Oh, and in case you are wondering, I am 29 weeks here. Yeah. 2 1/2 months to go. Yes, there is just one baby in there.  Feel free to laugh. I am used to it.

 So, there you go! If you could snag some great thrift or clearance deals, this would be a great money-saver! It was easy and if I don't stain them up this summer (forget putting your napkin on your lap- my belly catches everything!) I will probably cut the sides open to take them in again post-baby. It would only take, like, 10 minutes. Maybe 15 if I hem the bottom to make it shorter. Yes, I am still justifying my splurging impulse buy here. :)

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Flutter Sleeve Doll Dress

When my 5yo got her own "fake American Girl doll" for her birthday, she immediately began nagging incessantly for a doll dress to match her Flutter Sleeve Sundress. Since I made them for her sisters, it was only fair, so I whipped one up as soon as I got a chance.

She loves it! Again, I took pictures this time since I didn't have a deadline and could sew in the daylight hours, so you are getting a tutorial! YAY!

I made a pattern for you (again, this is for personal, non-commercial use only and don't sell this pattern, please and thank you). You can download the pdf pattern HERE. 

For the bottom ruffle and side ties, cut two strips 2" by the width of the fabric (about 44"). Cut one of those strips in half.  The bottom ruffle will take 1 1/2 strips.  Take the remaining half strip and cut that in half. Those are your side ties.

This is all of the pieces:

Let's start out with the straps. I used a rolled hem edge on the ruffles, so if you don't have a serger, you can cut them a bit wider and do a small folded hem instead. I sewed a long, gathering stitch along the bottom edge.

To make the straps, press the fabric like you are making double-fold bias tape.  Press the long edges to the center, then press again to fold it in half.

Gather the ruffles and sandwich them into the straps with pins. I left a little extra room on the ends in this pic, but the ends of the ruffles should be about 3/8" from the edge of the strap.

Sew about 1/8" or less from each side to attach the ruffle and topstitch. It looks so professional this way!

Pin the straps to the bodice, sandwiching them between the front and back pieces and leaving 1/4" seam allowance to the corners. 

Clip the curves, flip, and press.

Attach the straps to the back pieces the same way.  The strap should be about 1" from the inside edge of the back and angled slightly as shown. (I left one of the back pieces off for the picture so that you can see the angle- they should be sandwiched when you sew it.)

Make the side ties by sewing right sides together, flipping, and pressing neatly.

I topstitched all the way around and hemmed the ends, too. I just didn't take a picture of that. Now, I skipped some pictures here, but all you have to do is pin the straps into the sides 1/2" above the bottom edge and then sew the sides together. I serged them for more stability, too.  Then, I totstitched all the way around the edge of the bodice. Sorry, I know that is a lot at once.

OK, for the skirt portion of the dress... sew the sides together and sew up the back center seam, leaving the top 2" open. Overlock or zig-zag over the raw edges.

Make a button placket to cover the opening. I am not going into detail on that part because I already did that HERE if you need help.

Then, just make your pleats using good ol' trial and error and pin the skirt to the top, right sides together.

Sew and overlock or zig-zag the raw edge and topstitch in place on the bodice about 1/8" above the skirt.

Almost done! Make the bottom ruffle by sewing the two pieces together and hemming the bottom edge.  I was playing with my new machine and made a fancy stitch here.  

Gather and sew it to the bottom edge of the skirt. Overlock or zig-zag stitch over the edge and then topstitch it in place.  

Insert a snap in the back...

...and make a little felt flower for the front.

TADA!

It made her so happy!

It makes me very happy that Grace isn't old enough to ask for a doll and matching dress for her Little Diva Dress though. I loved all those ruffles, but a doll is not worth that much effort to me.  I want to make her a matching purse instead, since she loves purses right now.

So, my 5yo wanted to take a picture of all of the dolls together...

From left to right... Twirly Lace Doll Dress, Flutter Sleeve Doll Sundress, and Boutique Peasant Doll Dress.

If you make a dress using one of these patterns, I would love to see it! If you have any questions, just send me an e-mail. :)

Here are some more doll dress patterns you might like:

Boutique Peasant Doll Dress

Twirly Lace Doll Dress

Baby Clothes Memory Bear

14" Doll Dress Pattern

Twirly Lace Doll Dress Pattern

I had some fabric left over from the girls' Easter dresses, so I decided to make matching dresses for their new American Girl dolls. They loved this!

For this dress I actually made two because I am a perfectionist like that. It really took hardly any fabric, though, and I came up with some things to make it better.

First of all, the bodice and straps are all one piece:

For the back, first I basted the ribbon loops into the back pieces...

...then sewed the straps in along the tops like so...

This was much more efficient. I whipped the second dress up in less than an hour.

Everything else in the dress construction follows the Twirly Lace Dress Tutorial found HERE.  Use a 1/4" seam allowance for the doll dress. If you would like, for your own personal, home use only, here are the patterns that I used:

18" DOLL TWIRLY LACE DRESS

Here are some more patterns and tutorials you might want to check out...

Twirly Lace Dress

Flutter Sleeve Doll Dress

Boutique Peasant Doll Dress

Baby Clothes Memory Bear