Plaid Dress for Dressember

 Hello Readers. I am wearing and refashioning dresses all month to participate in the Dressember fundraiser to raise awareness about human trafficking and forced labor. Dressember estimates there are currently over 1 million victims in the US. Female and young victims are more likely to experience violence as well. It is too huge of a problem to ignore and there are ways we can all help. Go to Dressember.org to learn more. 

 

Before and after.

 

I grabbed this plaid flannel shirt at a clothes swap. This was a men's XL. That was just big enough to make a short dress. 

 

First, I cut the sleeves off and saved them for another day. I was just making up a plan as I went along.

 

I cut the shirt under the arm holes. The bottom of the shirt will be the "skirt" of my dress.

 

I cut a front/back piece with straight open sides. I was starting to get a clearer idea what I was doing. 

 

I removed the pocket from the front. I unpicked the stitches carefully so I did not rip the fabric.

 

I serged all around the edges and turned them under to stitch them down. 

 

After I stitched the edges down. I liked my open sides but I realized I needed to connect the front and back with something so I could attach the skirt all around. You can see the little pieces pinned in place here. The skirt will get sewn to the bottom of this.

 

Close up view. This is a piece of fabric folded in half. It's about 4 inches long. 

 

I serged the edges of these little waistband pieces and then stitched them to my new dress. 

 

I put the right sides together and clipped the skirt in place. I wanted the buttons in the center front and I wanted the skirt gathered evenly all the way around the dress. 

 

When I was done attaching the skirt it looked like this from the side. That little side piece is really necessary.

I love this little dress over jeans. I felt like modern Mrs. Claus. (HO HO HO!) I think I will make another dress like this when I can. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

***Year End Update- This was cozy and I added pockets a few weeks later.