Double T-Shirt Dress

Summer is a time of wearing cool, comfortable clothing. Tank tops, t-shirts, shorts - theyre staples of the summer wardrobe. Short dresses fit right in with the summer theme, too. If you have more t-shirts than you do summer dresses, use just two t-shirts, and youll have a new summer dress. You barely need to know how to sew at all to make the two shirts into one dress, which youll love to wear.

The two t-shirts you use dont have to match; you can make the top of the dress one color, and the bottom of the dress another shade. The best t-shirts to use are ones without plackets and buttons. Both of the t-shirts can be the same size or you can use two different sizes. For instance, if youd like the top to be fitted, but the bottom to be flared, use a much larger t-shirt for the bottom.

When you put the top t-shirt on, and tie a belt or cord tightly around your waist, you can get an idea of where to cut it off. Lay the shirt on a table, measure from the hem, up to the wrinkles youve created with the belt, to mark a straight area, all the way around the waist. Cut the shirt off in that area. Turn the shirt inside-out. Mark the front middle, the back middle, and each side. For the second t-shirt, lay it out on a table, and place it so that one side is facing you. Cut straight across the shirt, just below the underarm area, so that you cut a straight line across the shirt. If you need to shorten the skirt, cut a little more off of the just-cut area. The second shirt will now be called the skirt. Mark the front middle, the back middle, and each side. Slide the skirt inside the shirt and align their cut edges. The right side of the skirt should be facing the right side of the shirt. Pin the shirt to the skirt at the front and back middles, and the sides. Then, pin the two pieces fully together, making little pleats where needed, to fit the skirt to the shirt. Sew all the way around, staying a half-inch away from the edge, to connect the two pieces. Then, lay a piece of quarter-inch elastic over the seam, and sew it to the seamed area. Gently pull the elastic as you sew it so the waist of the dress will gather. Instead of the elastic you can just wear the dress with a belt. The double-shirt dress is made in a matter of minutes, since the top is completely finished, and the bottom already has a hem. Drag out a bunch of those old t-shirts and get busy sewing. Its going to be a t-shirt dress, kinda summer!