The weather in North Queensland is a hot 30 degrees. And it’s only October. My daughter is learning to walk, but it’s too hot for leggings. The cutest & coolest thing for her to wear is a not-too-long dress. But despite having TONS of clothes, there isn’t a summer dress in her size. At least, not one that is up to my ‘cute’ standards. What’s the affordable way for this Stellar Mother to make a practical & cute dress?? Refashion!
I love sewing refashioned clothes for myself and my kids. Refashioning clothes is the best way to make cute & affordable clothing. And it’s super easy. And that need for a summer dress? I have the perfect refashion for my little Cate.
I bought this ‘tween’ skirt at a garage sale for 50 cents. It was in perfect condition, was super cute, made of a light cotton, but was a girl size 10.
Refashioning it was simple.
I loved the floral embroider-hem at the bottom, and there was a draw-string waist band that I didn’t need to touch. The length was perfect for my toddler-ing daughter. First, I removed the side-zipper. You can use scissors or a seam-ripper, depending on your patience and how much fabric you need to cut (use seam ripper if you don’t have room for error).
Then, turning the skirt inside out, gauge the size of the arm holes and draw little half-circle arcs where you will cut the fabric. Cut with scissors. Next, draw a diagonal line connecting the arm holes to the outside corner of the skirt. (the shape is A-frame). Using either an overlocker or a zig-zag stitch on your sewing machine, sew on the diagonal line. Cut excess fabric.
Turn the armholes under 1/4 inch or less, and stitch. Across the shoulder blades (on the back of the skirt), fold the end down 1/2 inch (or so) and stitch.
As I mentioned earlier, the waist had a faux-drawstring, so I didn’t need to hem this… but if your skirt does not have this, then you will need to fold the front down 1/2 inch and hem (the same process you did on the back). Using matching ribbon, cut 3 pieces to your desired length. You’re making bows to tie at the shoulder. TIP: my daughter pulls these bows, so I had to re-cut mine so they weren’t so long.
Turn your tween skirt – now a little girl dress! – inside out.
Thread the ribbon through the front & back and tie into pretty little bows.
Take heaps of photos!
Do you refashion?? If so, you too are a Stellar Mother!
Thank you to Casey Willets for this guest post on Refashioning!
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