T-Shirt Remodel: A Tutorial

There have been SO many t-shirt remodels on Pinterest, that I thought I’d give one a try my own way. I found the most gorgeousss colored shirt at A.C. Moore today (for less than $4!) and I knew that this would be The Shirt. I got an extra large so I could make a dress (I’m short, so it works for me, if you’re tall, you would make a long shirt, or add a layer to the edge of the shirt to make a dress). If you have some knowledge of sewing, this is pretty easy, I finished it in less than 2 hours!

Here is my remodel! (Don’t you just LOVE that colorrr!?) (If you like this t-shirt remodel, check out my other ones!!)

So, I started by putting my shirt on inside out, and marked with some chalk where my shoulders actually start (they sure don’t start halfway down my arm! lol)

Then, I marked from the top to the arm pit, and cut!

I marked, pinned, and sewed (but forgot to get a picture of that!) about 2 inches up. This is where MY armpit would be (with a little room to breath, of course!) I measured this, by simply putting the sleeve on my arm (duh).

After I sewed the sleeve smaller, I pinned it back to the original hole.

After sewing it, it was time to deal with the excess fabric from the original sleeve length. I just marked from the armpit all the way down to the bottom of the shirt (almost dress 🙂 ), sewed, and cut the excess fabric!

Almost coming together!! (You could even leave it like this if you wanted)

Next…the sleeves. I wanted to make them cute and ruched. So I put my thin elastic (that was a little bit shorter than the sleeve) at the top (where the shoulder meets the sleeve) and made a few stitches to keep it from moving. Then, I held it tight near the bottom as I sewed it down. (I didn’t go all the way to the bottom of the sleeve as you can see in the picture, as I thought it might look cute, but I did end up going back and adding some more elastic to go to the bottom.

Now, for the ruched waist. I simply pulled my elastic around where I wanted it to be ruched, and cut. You don’t want this to be tight, otherwise it will be uncomfortable. (I apologize for the awful pictures! The sister (and pup) were passed out on my bed at this point lol)

Then, I put my shirt dress 😉 back on (inside out) and marked where I wanted the elastic. When I took it off, I marked around both sides. This is my guide for the elastic, so it doesn’t go all over the place. (Again, apologize for the terrible pics!)

And there it is!! My new dress!! (Which I LOVE by the way!!) It’s so cute AND comfy (which is what I’m ALLLL about 😉 ), not to mention a PERFECT maternity shirt! It’s very flattering for a big ol’ belly! 🙂 I also added a lil’ something extra to the back!! Using the reverse applique technique (remember my post?!), I made a little heart with some fabric I picked up today that just looked perfect with this color shirt!

P.S. You could also use this same method to turn hubby’s old tees into a little dress for your little ones!! 🙂

**Have a project you made using one of my tutorials? Show it off! I, along with all my followers, would love to see it! 🙂 I’ve started a new page on my blog called “Your Pictures!”, located right next to the “About This Blog!” link at the top of my blog. Check it out for more information, and to see other fan pics!**

Until tomorrow!!