Girl's T-Shirt Dress

We are in for a treat! I have another guest tutorial from my super talented mom! She made my daughter about 5 of these super cute (and super easy) t-shirt dresses, and I just had to get her to write this tutorial so you all can make one!

This tutorial is for these super cute t-shirt dresses I recently made for my granddaughter. I bought some t-shirts off the clearance rack (these were all $3.00 each at Kohl's) and matched each one with some cotton fabric I already had. I used the overall measurement of 17” for all the dresses I made (we measured from my granddaughter's shoulder to her knee). You can use the size of the fabric scrap as the main deciding factor for how much of the dress was t-shirt and how much was skirt, but I also let the design on the t-shirt guide me. Most of the skirts are placed 1/2 to 1 inch below the design (remember to add seam allowance before you cut the t-shirt).

Once you have the general layout in mind, use a rotary cutter to trim of the bottom of the t-shirt to the desired length. When cutting the skirt fabric, be sure to add allowance for both the seam and the hem before you cut. For the desired fullness of the skirt consider cutting your fabric so that it is 1.5 to 2 times the bottom width of the t-shirt when not stretched.

Next, I hemmed the fabric for the skirt by folding the fabric under 1/4 inch and then another 1/2". You can hem it with just a straight stitch.

I then used a gathering stitch to finish the top of the skirt.

Putting the rights sides together, I then gathered the skirt to fit the size of the t-shirt and pinned it on. Using a stretch stitch, I attached the t-shirt to the skirt. I practiced on the t-shirt scrap to ensure it would stretch enough to make it comfortable to put on a squirming one-year old!

(We actually found out the hard way that you will need more stretch than you’d think in this seam. Also, as nice as it looks, do not top stitch this seam because it will take away the stretch and make the dress near impossible to put on!)

And for a second variation on this project use a onesie instead of a t-shirt.   I figured out this variation on the second set of dresses I made that using onesies for the top of the dress allowed me to make a pair of panties that are perfectly coordinated. After you cut the onesie in half just fold down the top edge of the lower half and sew a casing (again use a stretch stitch). Next, measure a piece of elastic to fit your little one’s waist and feed it through the top of the onesie. Secure with some quick stitches over the seam and you’re all done.

I hope you all have fun with this project! They are so easy and quick and make a wonderful personalized gift without much expense.

Well there you go...another great project we can all find the time for!