Sewing Dresses Out of Recycled Shirts

In this economy we are all having to tighten our belts and watch our spending more closely. Being on one income and that income being based on ministry donations often provides me with the challenge of using God's provision wisely. I was sharing some of the things that we have been doing to stretch our dollars with a friend and she mentioned that I should post these ideas to my blog. So, here’s the first idea for you. Having a little girl after two rambunctious little boys has been a delight! While I still wait for her hair to grow so I can braid it, I enjoy clipping in barrettes and bows and dressing her up in sweet dresses. There are challenges to this though- little girl dresses are not cheap and we don’t have anyone with a slightly older girl to take hand-me-downs from. So, taking my hobby of sewing and my desire to have more girly dresses resulted in these super cheap transformations.


Step 1: Raid your closet and take out any shirts that you haven’t worn for awhile and like the pattern. I have also been raiding my in-law’s Goodwill pile and Brad’s drawers for stock (sorry, honey!). We are going to recycle these shirts turning them into the cutest dresses.

Step 2: Find one of your daughters dresses and trace around it on the shirt using a pencil. If it is a button-down shirt, be sure to have it buttoned up and centered. Cut out the pieces. The button side will be the back of the dress while what was originally the back of the shirt will serve as the front of the dress.

Step 3: Place the right sides of the fabric together and sew along to make side seams leaving space for arm holes if you choose that type of dress. Otherwise, you can use scraps of fabric and elastic to make a little shoulder strap.

Step 4: That’s it! I am not a seamstress and am just a beginner. I love how easy this project is and how I can vary it with straps or arm holes. You can also add ruffles or lace for variety if you have that on hand.

These dresses take me less than an hour to put together from start to finish and cost me just a few cents depending on if I use elastic or ruffles. By the way you can also make pajama shorts by using old t-shirts. The boys love these since they are soft and comfortable. Have fun sewing!