The One Hour Dress – Refashion a Shirt & Skirt into a Dress

Clear out unwanted items in your wardrobe to make a Spring dress from an old business shirt and maxi dress. Not really as ambitious as it sounds when you throw a little creative wardrobe refashioning in the mix.

Shirt to dress refashion - mypoppet.com.au

I’ve had this business shirt in my wardrobe for years, it still fitted well and the fabric is beautiful quality (and was an expensive purchase) but it was a little too ‘corporate’ for my lifestyle today.

The maxi dress was a hand me down from my sister, nice fabric, but totally unflattering on. Both were on their way to the donation pile.

If you are keen to make a similar style dress for yourself and don’t have any suitable garments to refashion, take a visit to your local thrift store and see what you can find.

You could also use a flowy elastic waisted skirt in place of a maxi dress as an alternative.

Shirt to dress refashion - mypoppet.com.au

Looking for other fun ways to refashion a shirt? You may enjoy:

How to Refashion a Business Shirt into a Dress

You will need:

  • Fitted shirt
  • Long dress or skirt in lightweight fabric
  • 0.5cm (1/4″) wide elastic length = waist measurement
  • Sewing machine
  • Overlocker (serger) optional
  • General Sewing supplies
  • One Hour

Skills Required:

  • Confident beginner or intermediate sewing skills
  • Apply elastic

Shirt to dress refashion - mypoppet.com.au

How to:

1.  Cut the sleeves off your shirt about 1cm (1/2″) from the shoulder seam.

2.  Fold the edge in twice to create a rolled hem and stitch to inside of sleeve. This creates a neat finish without needing to bind or face.

3. Mark waistline and cut, leaving a seam allowance of 2cm (1″)

4. Measure length of skirt desired and cut the dress, retaining original hem. On the raw edge, use a zig zag stitch to attach elastic to inside of skirt section. Stretch the elastic as you sew.

Shirt to dress refashion - mypoppet.com.au

5.  With the top right way out and skirt inside out. pin skirt section onto top.

6. Serge or sew with a long zig zag stitch the 2 sections together.

It took me around an hour (not including photographing the steps), but take your time to get a neat finish, especially around the sleeves.

All done!

The hardest part for me was getting good photos of myself wearing the dress. I am no fashion blogger so I spent a hilarious morning with a tripod and self timer. The photo shoot took me longer than making the dress!

Shirt to dress refashion - mypoppet.com.au

Shirt to dress refashion - mypoppet.com.au

Shirt to dress refashion - mypoppet.com.au

Accessorize with a cute vintage belt, and enjoy wearing your new dress this spring.

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