The Thrifty Kid – Easy Girl’s Sundress from a Skirt

This is one of the easiest garment refashions I have ever done, it’s only just one straight cut and seam to transform a skirt into a cute sundress. Elastic shirring can be a time consuming process to do yourself, so I’ve saved time and taken advantage of the existing waistband shirring on an old skirt. In under half an hour you can transform an unwanted skirt into a pretty sundress for summer.

How to choose a garment for this project:

Style – Cotton skirt with elastic shirred waistband (no zip)
Fabric – Woven cotton
Sizing – Any size as long as length is sufficient

Garment features to keep

Bottom hem, elastic shirring, side seam.

Supplies:

– Suitable skirt
– Ribbon or woven tape for straps (optional)
– Scissors
– Sewing machine
– General sewing supplies (thread, pins etc…)

How to:

Yellow dotted line = Cut
Black dotted line = Sew
Cutting

1. Measure the child’s chest and cut excess width off skirt.

2. Sew new side seam, make sure to reinforce elastic shirring section with a double seam so elastic threads don’t slip out. Zig zag over raw fabric edges to prevent fraying.
Tip: Rather than use a ribbon for the straps I’ve reused the hem from the discarded section to make the straps.

3. If you have enough hem left on the discarded potion of your skirt you can cut very closely to seam to create narrow straps, other wise ribbon or woven tape will do.

4. Attach straps with a few stitches. You can either hand or machine sew these in place.

All done! Told you this was super easy!

If you don’t have a suitable skirt at home, keep an eye out at thrift stores for colourful skirts with elastic shirring waistbands.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this tutorial. There are plenty more refashions to come in The Thrifty Kid series so stay tuned.
x Cinti