Recycled Winter Dress into Summer Skirt


This turtleneck dress was the cutest on S last winter, but a little too small and way too warm for this summer. I’ve sort of reached the point of ridiculousness with my inability to part with her old clothes – how many boxes of “memory clothes” do I need? So I recycled it into a jersey skirt for summer and a matching hairclip. It took about 15 minutes.

Get the full Recycled Summer Skirt tutorial after the jump…

Recycled Winter Dress into Summer Skirt

1. Chop the dress under the arms:

2. Turn it inside out.  Iron a piece of double-sided fusible tape all the way around 1/2″ or so below the top edge (this will stabilize the jersey so it’s easier to sew – if your dress is cotton you can skip the tape):

Remove the other side of the fusible tape backing and fold the edge of the fabric over it, but don’t iron it yet (it’ll stick to it anyway):

Fold the whole thing under one inch and iron in place:

3.  Sew it in place at the edge, leaving a hole at one side seam, back stitching at the beginning and end:

4.  Through the hole you left, feed a piece of 1″ no-roll elastic cut to your child’s waist measurement plus 1/2″ all the way around:

Sew it together with a zig zag stitch a few times:

Adjust the elastic so your skirt is all in place, then sew the hole closed:

You’re done with your skirt.  You can use the extra fabric for a t-shirt applique or a hair clip.  I cut off one sleeve:

Folded it up and ran it through the sewing machine a few times:

And glued a hairclip to the back with a piece of felt:

voila:

Done!

I think she likes it?

by

9 Comments

Melissa

I love it! My daughter just turned two as well and I have those boxes of clothes packed away:) I keep thinking I will make a blanket out of them someday or something….but this is an awesome idea!

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ringmaster

i have this same exact dress and i haven't got rid of it because i love the print. this is my next project for my skirt a day that i am planning next week!!!!

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Mel

we have this dress too!!! its one of my absolute favs, and now i know how to make it last even longer! ours is a size 12 months though, so it may be a little tricky… thanks again for adding to my to do list! ha ha

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Kim

This is darling!! I'm the same way – I can't seem to part with my daughter's baby dresses. This is a great option to get more use out of them! Thanks for sharing đŸ™‚

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