Simple project to pass the time: Making a t-shirt dress!

Ok, since i'm so hugely pregnant and don't feel much like getting out these days, my husband and I thought it might be nice for me to do one fun project a day until baby comes. Today I decided to make matching cute t-shirt dresses for my two youngest girls. They make great play or going out dresses and are so cheap to make.

I thought I would put a tutorial up for those who feel adventurous. I am usually pretty bad about putting pictures up, but I do realize that many people, myself included, are visual. They just need to see it.

All you need is basic sewing skills for this project.

Supplies needed:

• 1 t-shirt (I payed $2.00 each for the tshirts i'm using)
• 1/2 - 1 yd of material (For my 5 yo daughter I am using 1 yd, for the 2 yo I am using 1/2 yd. I bought the material for $1.00 yd.) *If making for a bigger girl you will need to add more fabric. Up to about 2 yds.*
• Matching thread

Step 1:
Put t-shirt on your little one. Mark or measure how many inches right to the belly button. After taking it off, cut it where you marked. You can cut it a little shorter than this if you want, I like the way it falls cut a little shorter so I usually go 1 inch above the belly button.

Step 2:

Fold fabric in half, lengthwise with the selvage edges together. Selvage edges are the edges that have not been cut. *If you are making a dress for a bigger girl, fold fabric in half with the cut edges together instead of the selvage edges. Sew down the long sides.*

Step 3:
Sew sides together to form the skirt. I usally like to make a french seam here, but that's just to keep it from fraying on the inside. If you want to learn how to do a french seam, go here.

Step 4:
Mark the center front and center back of the shirt and skirt with pins.

Step 5:

The skirt will have the right sides facing eachother now. Sew a basting or gathering stitch (which is basically a very wide stitch), at the top of the skirt.

Step 6:

Pull the gathering threads to make the gather of the skirt.

Step 7:

Turn the shirt inside out and put it upside down in skirt. Match center pins of skirt and shirt together and pin. Now adjust your gathers as needed.

Step 8:

Once gathers are adjusted to fit the width of the shirt. Sew the skirt to the t-shirt. I like to go around twice. Once in a zip zag stitch. It is stronger that way. My first few I had to restitch holes because my girls play so hard.

Step 9:

Turn dress right side up now. Try the dress on your little one to see where you want your hem. Pin it and then sew. I like to do a double fold on the bottom of the skirt because it makes the dress fall better at the bottom and it keeps it from fraying. Once I have it pinned around I just take it and fold it inside itself. Then I sew it. Of course, that is just optional.

The finished product!

Optional:

I have added eyelet lace at the bottom before to add a little something. You can also take the leftover t-shirt material and make a matching scrunchie or add ruffles on a sock. I like to crochet a matching ruffle on socks to wear with it. So cute! Maybe that'll be my project for tomorrow!

It really is simple to do and can add to your little girl's wardrobe for not much money. After reading Crystal's Frugal Friday post and Jennifer's comment on my blog, I decided to add that you can make this project even more frugal by using up older t-shirts that your little girl may be outgrowing. Reusing them extends their life and saves money. Have fun!

Frugal maternity clothes!

My works for me Wednesday post is pregnancy related this week. I also thought this would make a great post for Frugal Friday's at Biblical Womanhood.

I am nearing the end of my pregnancy so it is what is consuming me at the moment. It is also the stage where you are constantly uncomfortable, and nothing fits. Yes, my body is uncomfortable this time, but I can say that my clothes are not.

I have always had to switch sizes at the end or wear the one pair of gouchos that still fit. It is not fun to have to wash and wear the same thing everyday. This time around though, I found a great tip online early on that I thought I would try.

What I did was use an old t-shirt to make my waistbands for my maternity clothes. I guess it would be something like the Bella Band that they sell, except a bit more frugal. Now of course, to make this work you do have to know how to at least operate a sewing machine, or know someone who does, but you do not have to be an expert at it.

I have actually made myself a few biased cut A-line skirts this time and used old t-shirts for the waistbands. You can find the tutorial to make the skirt here. This tutorial is not exactly maternity, but it works well as a maternity skirt.

The great thing that I found out through trial and error is that I could use just the waistband to reconstruct some of my regular wardrobe. I just cut off the bottom of an old t-shirt and stitched it over the normal waistband. I can just remove it after i'm back to my normal size.

For example, I have a demin skirt that I love to wear that no longer fits. It has a side zipper that I left down. I then took the t-shirt I had cut and pulled it to where the zipper ends and stitched it all the way around right over the top of it. There is no need to make the stitches super small. Now the skirt stays up and I can use it all the way through my pregnancy. Which is hopefully only another week or so! :-)

The great thing about the t-shirt waistband is how comfy it is. It is about as comfortable as the waistband in the gouchos I have. Another great thing is that it grows with you all the way through. No more having to buy more than one size. It has been a lifesaver here. It is easy and frugal too!

Reconstructing Clothes: Using what we have

While on my quest to save money, I came across the idea of using what you have. Since then, I have been trying to find creative ways to use what we have in our house. I have already talked about using what I have to make chemical-free cleaners, but I found something else I can reuse in our home. Old clothes!

I was given this link to a tutorial on how to remake a man's shirt into a little girls dress. It is such a cute little dress, and so easy and cheap to do. All you would need to buy is elastic and maybe some trim, if you don't have any extra fabric. I'm using eyelet for my trim. I am in the process of doing this right now for my sweet lil' mama, so hopefully tomorrow I will update this post with my pictures.

Another way we are reusing clothes is by making purses out of old jeans and then giving them as gifts for my daughter's friends.

We got the idea for my oldest daughter's 14th birthday. My 12 year old daughter wanted to give her sister a present, so she decided to make a purse out of jeans. She is as frugal as her mother, but way more creative!

We looked up a few sites online, got an idea of what to do, and an hour later we had a purse! All the little girls love her purse. Now that they are learning to embellish them with belts, charms, and flowers, the girls want to turn this into a little side job. They actually sell pretty well on ebay. I haven't checked Etsy yet.

Here is a picture of the first purse my daughter made. Not too bad!

Now, not only do I have a great, inexpensive way to make the younger girls dresses, but I have a great gift idea that I don't have to spend much on.

I know there are lots of ways to use olds clothes. In fact, my next big project is to make a denim quilt out of old jeans. I have been saving these for awhile in order to get enough. I can't wait to get started, but it'll have to keep for awhile yet.

Does anybody else have any ideas to reuse old clothes? Some of the ideas i've gotten so far is to use old t-shirts as rags. You can also use them to make a maternity band for the tops of your skirts or pants. Also, another great idea is to use old flannel shirts or blankets to make cloth babywipes.