Make a Summer Dress out of a Bedsheet
Is that summer dress you've been eyeing just too much for your tight budget? Make a summer dress out of a bedsheet to get the fashion you want without parting with your cash. This process creates a sleeveless dress that zips in the back and then ties around your neck.
Contents
Steps
Plan Your Dress
- Take your measurements. You will measure most accurately if you are unclothed.
- Measure your waist by wrapping a vinyl tape measure around it.
- Measure the distance from your waist to where you want the hem of the skirt to fall. For example, measure just above or just below your knee depending on your preferred skirt length.
- Check the distance from your waist to your shoulder.
- Wrap the tape measure around the widest part of your bust.
- Choose your bedsheet. If the fabric is sheer, then plan to use 2 layers of fabric for your dress. Alternatively, use the sheet and a second lining fabric such as white cotton.
- Select thread to use for the seams. Choose white or a neutral color that will blend in with the fabric.
- Unpick the bedsheet seams using a seam ripper.
- Use the seam ripper to cut every second or third stitch. Then, use your fingers, not the seam ripper, to pull out the threads.
- If you're using a fitted sheet, fold the sheet into quarters and cut off the elastic around the perimeter.
- Iron the bedsheet along the place where the seams used to be. If the unpicked stitches left large holes in the fabric, then trim the edge off of the bedsheet so that the holes don't look unattractive when you're wearing the dress. Save the fabric and use it to make ties for the dress later.
Cut Out the Skirt
- Create a skirt pattern.
- Draw a semicircle on a piece of paper. The length of the semicircle should equal the length of your waist plus 2" (5 cm) for seams.
- Draw a straight line from the left base of the semicircle toward the outside edge of the paper. This line's measurement should equal the length of your skirt plus an additional 2" (5 cm) for seams.
- Draw a second line on the right side. The second line should have the same measurements as the first.
- Draw a second semicircle from the tip of the left line to the tip of the right line.
- Lay your pattern over the bedsheet and cut out the shape of the skirt by cutting along the edges of the pattern. To make the process simple, place the flat edges of the pattern paper against the edge of the fabric.
- Lay the cut fabric face down on top of your lining material. Use straight pins to pin the bedsheet to the lining. Doing this will keep the fabric from rippling or shifting while you cut.
- Cut the lining fabric into the same shape as your skirt pattern.
Create Straps
- Cut a strip of cloth 3" (7.5 cm) wide. Or use the fabric that you reserved if you chose to trim the edge off of your bedsheet.
- Place the fabric face-up on a flat surface. Fold 1 edge of the fabric (lengthwise) over to meet the other edge so that only the inside of the fabric is visible.
- Pin the fabric edges together.
- Sew the edges together using a sewing machine.
- Fold the fabric that you just sewed so that the unsewn ends are together. Cut the fabric in half along the fold.
- Flip the 2 tubes of fabric inside out and set them aside. These will serve as the ties for your dress.
Sew the Shirt
- Sketch a shirt pattern on a large piece of paper. The pattern doesn't have to be perfect because you will try the shirt on and make adjustments later.
- Draw a line equal to the distance between your shoulder and waist on the paper. Add 2" (5 cm) for seams.
- Measure the distance from your hips to the widest part of your bust. On the line that you just drew, measure the same length, starting at the bottom of the line. Make a dot on the first line to mark the location of your bust on the pattern.
- Draw a line through the dot that you just drew. The length of the line should equal one-fourth of your bust measurement plus 2" (5 cm) for seams, and the dot should be at the midpoint of the line.
- Draw a line at the base of the shoulder-waist line that is perpendicular to the shoulder-waist line. This line should be one-fourth of your waist measurement plus 2" (5 cm) for seams.
- Rough-sketch the front half of the shirt. Sketch as though you are looking at the shirt from the side. Curve the sides inward slightly to give it a natural shape.
- Sketch the back of the shirt. The sketch should be approximately equal in size to the front with a section scooped out of the top.
- Cut out the pattern pieces.
- Place the pattern pieces on top of the bedsheet material. Cut out 2 front pieces and 2 back pieces.
- Pin the cut shirt pieces to the lining material. Cut 2 front shirt pieces and 2 back shirt pieces out of the lining material by cutting around the bedsheet pieces.
- Pin the 4 pieces of the shirt together.
- Join the 2 front pieces with the pinned seam in the middle.
- Pin a 12" (30.5 cm) zipper to the back pieces. The shorter side of each back piece should be pinned to the edge of the zipper.
- Pin the back of the shirt to the front.
- Try on the shirt with the fabric turned inside-out. Doing this will prevent you from poking yourself with the pins.
- Adjust the pinned seams as needed so that the shirt fits comfortably.
- Check the zipper to make sure that it fits snugly against your back and doesn't bulge.
- Tuck the seam in under your bust if needed. Do the same along your waist. Ignore the section above your bust for now because that will be fitted later.
- Take the shirt piece off and try it on after you make your initial adjustments. Keep trying it on until you have a good fit.
- Sew up the sides of the shirt piece except for the zipper. Just keep the zipper pinned into place.
Assemble the Dress
- Make the skirt.
- Sew the bedsheet and lining fabric together along the bottom edge of the skirt (the wider part of the semicircle) with the bed sheet fabric facing inward.
- Remove the pins and flip the skirt inside out.
- Pin the skirt to the bottom of the shirt. Unpin the bottom 2 pins from the zipper so you can match the edges of the skirt to the edges of the shirt. Sometimes there will be some excess skirt material, so simply cut the excess fabric off of the skirt.
- Add 4 pleats to the top of your skirt, placing 2 in front and 2 in back. Make sure the pleats are small so they don't make the flow of the skirt look boxy.
- Make sure the pleats are evenly spaced around the skirt. User your vinyl tape measure to double-check.
- Grasp the fabric and fold it over to the right as though you were starting to make a fan. Pin the folded section of fabric down so that it will stay in position.
- Iron the pleat to make it precise.
- Sew the pleats using downward stitches. Stop at the point where you want the skirt to twirl freely.
- Sew the skirt to the shirt. Make sure that the dress is folded inside-out to make your seam less visible.
- Add the zipper. Sew the back seam of the skirt up to 1/4" (6 mm) above where the end of the zipper would fall. Pin the zipper's final few inches down the back of the skirt, and sew it into place.
Finish the Project
- Put the dress on and place your hand on the excess fabric above the bust.
- Fold the excess fabric down, angling the fold either outward or inward. Pin the fold into place.
- For a scalloped neckline, pin the fold inwards.
- For a v-neck, pin outwards.
- Take the dress off and sew the fold into place. Hand sew the fold so the sewing is less prominent.
- Fold down the raw edges of the shirt around the arm opening. Pin them to the fabric and then sew them.
- Take the straps that you sewed earlier. Fold the open edges inward just a little.
- Pin the straps to the shirt onto the top corners of the bodice. Hold the fold to make sure that it stays even. Tuck the fabric of the bodice inside the tube and pin it down
' - Sew the tubes onto the fabric.
- Wear the dress. Tie the tube ties around your neck and zip up the zipper.
Tips
- Save any fabric scraps from your dress for a future project.
Warnings
- Take care of your hands throughout this process. Use lotion to keep them from drying out while you are sewing.
Things You'll Need
- Vinyl measuring tape
- Bedsheet
- Lining fabric
- Seam ripper
- Thread
- Large sheets of paper
- Pencil
- Scissors
- Straight pins
- Sewing machine
- 12" (30.5 cm) zipper
- Needle for hand-stitching
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