Boys Tee to Girls Dress

My two oldest are boys, boys with shirts I love. My youngest is my only girl, a girl with a funky fashion sense. I like to get the most out of all the clothes I buy my kids and low and behold I've discovered how to make some of those boy clothes go all the way down the line to my daughter and in a way her inner fashion diva loves. All it requires is taking the best tees the boys have outgrown, finding a yard or so of coordinating fabric and adding a skirt. The boys' best tees become her spunky play dresses.

My oldest in the Dark Side of the Garden shirt two and a half years ago.

It all started with this Darth Vader topiary shirt. I found this amazing, super soft Threadless Tee several years ago at a consignment sale for $2. My oldest son loved it. Then it was passed down to my middle son. But one fateful day he decided to see if scissors would cut cotton. His query resulted in a small nick along the bottom hem. I was sad to see this shirt go before its time.  So I decided it didn't have to go yet. My daughter liked Star Wars...I could do something with this.

I found this madras on sale and bought a roll of 6" black tulle as well. I'm just learning to sew and I've never done anything like this before; I've never done gathers before either. Nor have I ever sewn with tulle. But I was determined. I did call my mom a couple of times but I figured it out. Adding a skirt from the madras and a slight ruffle of tulle along the bottom.

It's not perfect. If I include the tulle again, I'll make it much fuller. However, my daughter loved it even it is still a little large on her. She wore it to a party this summer and was a hit...mostly with the adult men in attendance. Now when my middle son outgrows his seasonal shirts instead of sending them off to the Goodwill, I'm setting them aside for my Princess Fierce.

This past week I made another. A long sleeve boys' shirt that reads, "Here Comes Trouble." Fitting for any of my minis. I found some great fabric on sale at Hobby Lobby in the remnant pile only $3. Love the remnant section of my fabric stores! My daughter requested this dress to have a long skirt and there was plenty of fabric for it. The material definitely gives this boy shirt a feminine flare. The gathering is still giving me a bit of trouble but I think I'm finally figuring out how to create a straight hem. Practice makes perfect, right? If you have any gathering tips, I'd love to hear them.

She still has some growing to do for this one as well. Which means even more seasons of wear. Score! I've got a pile of shirts and fabrics sitting beside my sewing machine calling out my name. I even picked up a great boys pirate shirt at the thrift store for $1 and some red and white striped fabric for the skirt on sale! Pirate dress! If you don't have an older son, the boys clothes are priced much lower than girls items in most consignment stores. Open your imagination and flip through the boys department and see if you can create something beautiful. 

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