Blue Hawaii Upcyle Dress

Hawaiin style dress upcycle

Posted by tricia.foro

About

I saw this shirt and instantly thought of Ann Margaret and Elvis in Blue Hawaii, I knew I would have to buy it and transform it into a dress worthy of this vision.

Share

You Will Need (3 things)

  • A Men's Dress Shirt , Mine Was From A Thrift Store
  • 1 Sewing Machine
  • 1 Elastic

Steps (6 steps, 30 minutes)

  1. 1

    I started out with this shirt I got from my local thrift store for $2.99. It is way to big but I LOVE the fabric.
    This shirt is an extra large, I am a woman's size small. If you are bigger search for bigger shirts. There are plenty at the Goodwill for $3 and you can find 3x which is my favorite to refashion.

  2. 2

    I cut the sleeves off and picked out the seam in the collar. Save the collar.

  3. 3

    next cut the sleeves open and lay them right sides together stitching up the sides. Also now is a good time to determine how long the skirt will be and cut the top even so it is long enough for your liking.
    Cut long strips of fabric out of this scrap to make the straps. as wide and as long as you like.

  4. 4

    next we will attach the sleeves (now the top) to our skirt. right sides together sew the bottom of the sleeves to the top of the skirt. excuse my paint shop skills but thought they would help.

  5. 5

    your dress should really start to look like a dress at this point. I sewed a half in seam onto the back and inserted an elastic to take upo the slack and avoid sewing a zipper. I decided to add a detail on the top of the dress using the collar. I pinned it with the open side of collar on the inside of the dress. (see pics) then I moved the seam down to reveal more of the collar as it got closer to the middle.

  6. 6

    next attatch the straps in a spot that looks good to you. the thickness and position will depend on your liking so I skipped the steps to how I did it.
    Now you are finished. You can put on your new dress and enjoy your day.