Sunday, August 29, 2010

Upcycling Obsession: Summer's End Toddler Dress Tutorial

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Now, the Summer's End Toddler Dress reveal and simple tutorial.


My inspirations were taken from these adorable JCrew dresses below. Just didn't want to pay the $50 price tag. $4 and a few hours is more my style.




And here it is on little Ava. I have a pretty cute model, don't ya think?


I had found this cute XL woman's skirt at Target on clearance and knew it'd be perfect as a dress for Ava. I've had it sitting in my sewing bin for months and thought it was time.
So, here's the easy tutorial. But, first of all. Just so you know. I don't explain things very well. I wasn't trained professionally so I don't know all of the technical sewing terms. So please ask questions if you're confused. Which you might already be.

This was made for a 2T-3T.
Here's how:

-measure the skirt (at the skirt's waistband) around her chest (inside out) underneath her armpits (while bribing your model with chocolate chips if she held still - -pssst. . . always works). It ended up being 21.5 inches around the chest and back.

-from there, I pinned down the skirt and made it look as symetrical as I could with the other side by just folding the dress in half and cutting off the extra material. *** don't forget to leave about 1/2 inch extra for the seam.


-with right sides together, sew down the skirt on that one side.

-I wanted the dress to go to her knees, so I just cut a few inches off and because of this ruffly fabric, I didn't even have to hem the bottom (from under the armpit to the knees, it ended up being 16 in. long). But in most cases, you'll probably have to hem it.


-Now time for the straps. Because this was a woman's XL skirt, there was some fabric leftover. The skirt had a slip like material underneath the ruffles so that's what I used to make the straps. I cut the material 3 inches x 11.5 inches (2 of them), sewed down them lengthwise making them into tubes and turning them right side out.

-I then tried the dress on her and determined where the strapes would go, pinned it, and sewed them to the dress.

You're done!


Hope it wasn't too complicated. I was really just doing it as I went.


I also glued fabric roses that I'd made from extra pieces of the fabric onto an elastic headband. Now that I see these pictures, it does seem a bit too big for her head, but oh well.


To take the pictures, I had to bribe her by taking her across the street to feed the fish in the lake. Works every time.
Hope you like it!

I'll be sharing this upcycle and tutorial with some of these link parties at the bottom of this page. So, check them out!!!

34 comments:

  1. So frilly and girly. I LOVE IT!!! I LOVE that you made a pretty rose headband with the scraps. I don't think it's to big, they are perfect!!!

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  2. So cute! Thanks for sharing.

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  3. This is adorable. I love that fabric:)

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  4. I found you on skip to my lou, this is too cute, i'm gonna have to make matching ones for my girls! Like today!!!

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  5. It is adorable. I think it turned out great!

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  6. Adorable and I don't think the flowers are too big. The whole thing looks great!

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  7. I absolutely adore this knock off version! I tried to knock that very same dress off a few months ago, with no success. The layers got too heavy. This is the perfect solution. I love it!

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  8. So cute. Now I have an excuse to go to Target and check out the clearance racks =)

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  9. Seriously cannot get enough of how cute this is!!! Love it! I'm happy to be your newest follower of your delightful blog and would love to have you as a friend at Frou Frou Decor! I would also like to invite you to link up to my party every Friday @ Fabulous Friday Finds! Hope to see you there!!
    Hugs,
    ~Terrell @ Frou Frou Decor~

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  10. THAT is adorable. i LOVE it! i wonder if i could find one that would be long enough for a dress for my daughter who wears a 7....

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  11. Very, very cute. I need to be better at scouring the clearance rack, usually I'm only looking for me ;).

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  12. Beautiful dress! I admired the inspiration dresses in JCrew too! I love the headband. I don't think it's too big at all. Nice work!

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  13. This is adorable! I so wish I had a little gal to make it for!!! But for now I admire from afar!

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  14. I saw this a couple days ago and had it on my "to feature" list. I'm glad you linked it up because it fit right into a post! So lovely! I wish my daughter had one of these! I'm highlighting this at somedaycrafts.blogspot.com. Grab my "featured" button.

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  15. What a clever use of the sale items!!
    I really love the headband.
    i have to bbribe my DD3 to have her pics taken with my creations too!
    Have a great week,
    Hugs
    C

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  16. I love it! what a sweet dress for a sweet little girl! thank you for sharing this

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  17. That dress is beautiful, and so is your little girl! Thanks for linking up to the Mad Skills party!

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  18. That's a GORGEOUS dress. If I had a little girl to put that on I so would. hahaha Thanks for sharing.

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  19. AWW!!! Thank you oh so much for linking up your creation at my Fabulous Friday Finds party!! It's such a sweet addition! I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
    ~Terrell @ Frou Frou Decor~

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  20. That's amazing! I love what you did with this.

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  21. Sooo cute, I love everything about this dress! Awesome remake!

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  22. Lovely! I hope I find a skirt like that so I can make one for my daughter. :)

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  23. doggonit! I saw that skirt on clearance too! I tried it on because I loved it so much on the hanger. It looked terrible on me and now I'm kicking myself for not thinking outside the box. I love it on your little girl!

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  24. What a great idea! It turned out wonderful! I am a new follower.

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  25. I love it! I always see great projects made from upcycled clearance items. I really need to spend more time shopping, so I can check out those clearance racks!

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  26. What a fabulous dress! I linked to your tutorial over at Craft Gossip Sewing:
    http://sewing.craftgossip.com/tutorial-ruffled-toddler-dress-from-a-womans-knit-skirt/2010/09/08/

    --Anne

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  27. I like your better I saw this skirt at target I should have gotten it great job your models adorable :)

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  28. Great idea! It's adorable - and when she grows out of it, you can upcycle the dresses again to some great ruffle pillow covers!!

    You just gave me an idea of something new to thrift for! THANKS!! xo

    :D Lynda

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  29. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! For this adorable post. I was in need of a cute simple dress for my daughter to wear on our beach vacation, and this is perfect. We are now out the door to find some cute, inexpensive skirts.

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