Sewing

2 T-Shirt Dress

Materials needed:
2 t-shirts
Sewing machine

Time needed:
1 two-and-a-half hour nap

I saw this idea on Youtube, tried it out and loved it!  I think it's my new favorite thing.  I want to give credit where credit is due but I can't for the life of me find the video on Youtube where I originally got the idea.  If anybody knows, please tell me where to find it so I can share the link. 

Start with two t-shirts.  Mine were men's small size.  They can be the same color or different - it doesn't matter; they only need to be the same size.

Start by cutting the collars off.  You can get creative with those if you feel like it.  Maybe make them headbands or something, but they are not needed for the dress itself.

Next, you'll want to stretch the neck as big as you can.

After that, turn one inside out, then put the right side out one inside of the inside out one.   Was that confusing enough?  ;)  Just remember, right sides together with the tags lining up.

Stitch around the neck with some kind of zig zag stitch.  While stitching, try to remember to strecth the fabric.  If you don't, you may pop some stitches when trying to get into your dress.  Yes, I know from experience.  It's not fun to feel like your clothes are telling you that you should lose some weight.

Then a regular stitch.  Remember to stretch the fabric as you go.

Try it on.  This is where the Youtube tutorial ended.  Easy peasy, right?  Well, if you're like me and don't like so much leg showing, or if you just want to pull some color from the top down to the bottom, or if you just like more work, we'll keep going.  Figure out about how much extra fabric you want at the bottom.  I wanted about 3 or 4 more inches.  It doesn't affect the look of the swoopy neck to take some off, thank goodness.  :)

Decide how you want the bottom of the dress to look.  I've done one with just one big strip of the color from the top on the bottom, I've done one strip of the color from the top then added another from the bottom.  Today I decided on two colors from the top with one from the bottom.  There are many possibilities and this is where you can really be unique. 

Typically I don't like pinning.  I'm not that much of a perfectionist, but I make an exception for the bottom of this dress.  It would be WAY off if I didn't pin the strip of color around the edge of the black.  I highly recommend pinning unless you're *much* more awesome at this sort of thing than me.

Sew, stretching as you go.  It also gives it that almost ruffly look.  Also, I forgot to mention that you can sew it like I am here with one raw edge showing, or you can sew the right sides together for a cleaner look.  I prefer the raw edge today, and I thought I'd choose a decorative stitch as well.  I forgot that the decorative stitch takes much longer to sew...and more bobbin.  I had to rewind the bobbin in the middle of this.

Pin the next section.

Sew it, stretching the fabric as you go.  I just did a straight stitch here because you don't see the black thread on the black fabric anyway.

Pin the last section.

And sew it, again stretching the fabric as you go.  The end.

Accessorize with a wide belt.

You can sew the sleeves of the bottom shirt closed so you can have functioning pockets, but I've found that they never lay just right if you do, plus if you actually put anything in the pockets it kind of ruins the way it looks.  But it's up to you. 

Have fun!