Great for adding flair to school and team t-shirts. This project can be completed in about an hour for an experienced sewer, or after the project has been made a time or two.
For this project, you will need: • A t-shirt that fits comfortably (not too loose!) • ¾ yard 43” or 45” width quilting cotton for 4T dress • For larger sizes, add 1-2” to each measurement of cut list below and purchase 1 yard of fabric • 1” strip of single side fusible light to medium weight interfacing, cut to length of t-shirt hem
* Allow extra fabric for one-way directional pattern fabric. Be sure to wash your fabric prior to sewing to eliminate shrinking after garment has been sewn. I wash mine in a large lingerie bag to minimize pulls and tangles. Iron all fabric before making any cuts!
Step 1: Cut the materials
Cut the following from quilting cotton for size 4T
Skirt (cut 2): 24”x16” Belt Ties (cut 2): 24”x2.5” Belt Front: 18”x2.5” (or longer, depending on width of t-shirt)
Cut 1” strip of single sided fusible interfacing, enough to go around bottom hem of t-shirt.
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Step 2: Prepare the T-Shirt
Locate the waist of the t-shirt, where you would like the skirt to begin. Measure 1” down and cut remainder of t-shirt off.
**T-shirt should be ironed prior to cutting and sewing, but ensure that any design is covered by an ironing cloth or dish towel prior to ironing with heat!
Iron the 1” strip of fusible interfacing along the cut hem. This will give the t-shirt a bit of structure to prevent the knit from stretching and carry the weight of the skirt below without sagging over time and washings.
Step 3: Sew the Skirt
I don’t own an overlock machine (a type of sewing machine that finishes raw edges beautifully) so I sew the skirt sides using the French Seam method. It encases the raw edges of the fabric inside of the seam and makes the finished product look beautiful and professional.
Place the two skirt pieces wrong sides together and sew a scant ¼” seam along the two shorter sides (top and bottom in this photo).
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Flip the material inside out so it is right sides together and iron flat, paying attention to the seams. Sew a 5/8” seam allowance along the shorter sides again.
This will leave you with a tidy French seam for the skirt sides. Iron seam flat.
Step 4: Hem the Skirt
Decide which side of the skirt will be the top and which will be the hem. Flip hem up ½” and iron.
Flip hem up again 1” and iron or pin to hold in place.
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Sew hem with 3/4” to 7/8” stitch.
Folding your hem up before sewing will give you a clean hem and enclose the fabric raw edges. As a bonus, you can let the hem down if your kiddo has a growth spurt!
Step 5: Adding the Skirt Pleats
Fold the skirt to locate the center of the skirt. Mark by ironing or with a pin.
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Using a seam gauge or ruler as your guide, fold the fabric towards the center seam to create a pleat. My pleats were about ½” folds. Yours may vary depending on the size of your t-shirt and style preferences.
Top view of the pleat.
Pin the pleat to hold it in place.
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Continue folding and pinning pleats, towards the center of the skirt. After three pleats gave been added on each side of the center, measure the skirt against the t-shirt hem to see if it is approximately the same size. If it is too large, add another pleat (or more). It will make for a fuller skirt, but you want to be cautious to not add too much bulk to the waist. If it is too small, you’ll need to make smaller pleats.
Top view of pleats. Once finished with the front, complete on the back of skirt using same technique and measurements.
Once pleats are in place on the skirt back, run a quick ¼” seam over the pleats to hold them in place without pins.
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Step 6: Finishing the Skirt Raw Edge
Finish the raw edge with a zig-zag stitch to bind the edges so it will hold up in the wash.
Step 7: Attaching the T-Shirt to the Skirt
Set skirt aside, grab t-shirt and fold to find the center. Mark with a pin.
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Pin the skirt to the t-shirt, right sides together. Match the centers and side seams first, then pin the rest of garment.
Top view of skirt pinned to t-shirt.
Sew with a 1/2” – 5/8” seam. Flip inside out.
Congratulations! You completed the hardest parts of this project! It looks like a dress, but it still looks slightly unfinished. Let’s add a belt to tie it all together (no pun intended).
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Step 8: Prepare and Add the Belt Ties
Take the belt center piece and measure it against the front of your t-shirt dress. Trim it to be 1” longer than the front length.
With right sides together, sew the longer belt ties to either side of the belt center.
Iron or pin the belt tie in half with right sides together.
Sew the belt tie together.
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Using a loop turner, flip the belt right side facing out.
A loop tuner is a great tool for projects like this. If you don’t do many projects that involve turning tubes, you can thread a safety pin through one side of the belt and push it through to turn it inside out.
Iron belt flat with seam in the center back.
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Push raw edges inside of belt. Iron and sew shut.
Tack belt to side seams of dress. After lining up seams of belt with seams of dress, stitch vertically along the seam to hold belt in place. The belt will be loose along the rest of the front. Pulling the back ties will allow for a custom fit and the belt front will pull flat.
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Step 9: Enjoy!
You have finished this tutorial! I hope the special girl in your life loves this creation as much as my daughter does. I’ve since made a t-shirt dress about six times with various school and dance t-shirts. They have practically become my daughter’s uniform and wash up quite nicely.
Completed Dress Front Completed Dress Back
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