https://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/scrappy-t-shirt-halter-dress • Posted by Tawny B.
Welcome to the grand finale of Project Upcycle for Heart and Stroke 2010. Every day (or pretty close to that) this February I've made a new creation out of recycled materials. I've put them all on sale at Tawny Bee and half the proceeds from the sale of these items will go to the Heart and Stroke Foundation. All of the listings will remain up there for 4 months - so check em out! For our final project, I am going to make a Scrappy T-Shirt Halter Dress out of this pile of t-shirts we've been collecting. Since it's the final project, I'm going to keep this one for myself. You'll see how awesome it looks on me. It'll be a nice reward for working so tirelessly all month to make all of these projects. But I will now show you how to make your own, with tons of steps and pictures.
Welcome to the grand finale of Project Upcycle for Heart and Stroke 2010. Every day (or pretty close to that) this February I've made a new creation out of recycled materials. I've put them all on sale at Tawny Bee and half the proceeds from the sale of these items will go to the Heart and Stroke Foundation. All of the listings will remain up there for 4 months - so check em out! For our final project, I am going to make a Scrappy T-Shirt Halter Dress out of this pile of t-shirts we've been collecting. Since it's the final project, I'm going to keep this one for myself. You'll see how awesome it looks on me. It'll be a nice reward for working so tirelessly all month to make all of these projects. But I will now show you how to make your own, with tons of steps and pictures.
To make the scrappy skirt: Cut a long rectangle from the bottom of one t-shirt. Make sure the rectangle goes around your waist, plus as least a few inches. Make sure the rectangle is the length you want for the skirt, or a few inches shorter (you'll add some ruffle to lengthen it).
Hem both sides of the rectangle.
Cut a bunch of strips of varying sizes, colours and lengths.
Select a long stitch on your machine and stitch across the tops of all the strips. Pull on one of the threads to make a ruffle.
Decide where you want to put all the ruffles. They can go in any order you wish. They don't even need to be in neat rows. You can put them wherever you want on the band you've already cut. Just make sure you have enough to cover the entire band (as little or as much ruffle as you like). Pin all the ruffles (except the top row) upside down so that they look nicer when stitched.
Stitch all ruffles in place.
Cut a long strip (3 inches by the width of the skirt) for the waistband. Pin along the top back and stitch close to the edge.
Flip waistband over to the right side and pin in place. Stitch close to the edge.
Wrap the skirt around yourself and mark where you want to attach the snaps, buttons, hooks and eyes or whatever you like as closures.
Attach snaps
And voila! You've got a pretty scrappy skirt! If you like you can shred the ruffles, or cut them into strips. You could also finish all the edges with a hem. If you zig zag the hem on a knit (like t-shirt) fabric, the hem will become ruffly as well. There are tons of options to make your skirt unique!
To make the Halter Top: Choose a t-shirt that you haven't cut into yet. Cut off the sleeves in a rounded fashion like the picture.
Cut top off of the front (only a few inches)
Fold back to where the sleeves were cut and cut straight across. This makes the halter backless. *If you're like me, I chose a loose fitting t-shirt. You'll have to adjust the back for fit. Leave that step until the end to get a better measurement.
Braid some long strands of leftover t-shirts together into a long rope.
Make a fold over hem at the top of the halter, leaving enough room to thread the braided rope through. Thread the rope through and tie it off at both ends.
Try the halter on and adjust the back to the correct size. I cut the excess off in the middle and re-stitched the centre back seam.
Hem around the armhole edge and back. And Ta Da! You've got a super cute Scrappy T-Shirt Halter Dress! From the front
From the back Thank you so much for following along on my Project Upcycle Adventure this past month. I've had a ton of fun and it was for a good cause! I hope you've also had fun and gathered a whole bunch of new sewing ideas!