Sew Chic Upcycling Guest Post - Johnny in a Dress

Thrift it, Repurpose It, Remake it

and Wear it!

To kick-off our Sew Chic Upcycling Event this first guest poster is sure to have you rummaging through your closet or heading to the thrift store to make yourself an awesome dress! This is Natalie, from http://johnnyinadress.blogspot.com/


Her blog features TONS of ideas for sewing the latest and trendiest items, redecorating your house,  refinishing furniture, organizing your playroom and so much more! 
I think you will LOVE HER! 


Also, check out another Sew Chic Upcycling creation on my co-host's blog:  Sarah from This Crazy, Blessed Life

Hey there!

I am Natalie, the girl behind Johnny In A Dress!

I am a Christian, Wife and Mother. My days are spent doing different therapies with my son, who has Cerebral Palsy, and picking up after my daughter, whose favorite activity at the moment is to to see how fast she can wreck our entire house. Over at Johnny In A Dress you will find crafty tutorials mixed in with glimpses of my day to day family life! I try to squeeze in a craft anytime I can, it's my comfort in this chaotic world. Johnny In A Dress has become my journal and I would love for you to stop by!

I am honored to be one of the guest posters for the Sew Chic Upcycling Week! Aren't Jenny and Sarah AWESOME?!? (I actually had a total freak-out moment when they asked little ole me to be apart of this fabulous event!) One of my favorite things to do is to transform something that is old and boring into something that is brilliant and beautiful!

Ok, enough rambling... Onto my Sew Chic Upcycling Week Project:

Here is my

Old Skirt - New Dress Upcycle!

I picked this skirt up at the local thrift store for $4!

The front...

...the back...

I decided to make it into a dress because I am a dress kinda gal!

So,  I pulled the skirt up and it was a little long for my 5'2 frame... so I grabbed a random sash out of my closet and tied it around my waist then I decided to chop 3 inches off the bottom of the dress.

Measure and cut 3 inches off the the bottom of the dress - straight across. (keep the part you cut off, we will use that in a minute!)

Unbutton the dress, fold the hem under about 1/4 inch then 1/4 inch again and stitch  to create a nice, clean, finished hem.

After you are finished stitching your new hem, grab the piece of fabric you cut off. Put your machine on the longest stitch setting and sew straight down the RAW edge DO NOT backstitch - We are going to create a ruffle to go around the top of the dress! (I swear if everyone wore ruffles, this world would be a much happier place - ruffles rock!)

next pull ONE of the threads and create a nice ruffle.

Keep pulling and working the fabric until you have this:

Next pin the ruffle onto the top of the dress RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER with the ruffle UPSIDE down.

Like this:

Put your machine back to a normal stitch setting and sew the ruffle onto the top of the dress making sure to backstitch at the ends! 

Now for the sash!

I wanted a fun color to "pop" with the busy black and white design on my new dress, so I picked out a turquoise color from my fabric stash...

Cut your fabric 60 inches long and 8 inches wide (this is the size I used for myself, you can add more or less to the length depending on your size) then fold it in half and iron.

Pin straight down the open end...

... and stitch HALFWAY down the open end making sure to backstitch at the beginning then in the middle of the sash. Cut your threads and leave about a 2 1/2 inch opening in the middle of the sash then continue your stitch making sure to BACKSTITCH at the beginning end end once again. (confused? - See next image...)

Here is a visual just in case you are super confused:

Now fold the "tube" so the seam is in the center. Like this:

Then iron flat: 

Now fold the tube in half so that the raw ends are on one side, making sure it is still turned INSIDE OUT:

Draw a line at an angle and cut along the line like this:

Unfold the tube and stitch the ends closed.

Find the opening you left in the center of the tube and begin to turn right side out. 

I use a little pencil to make sure the corners are nice and pointy, but whatever you use to create nice corners will work just fine! 

Once the sash is right side out and the corners are nice and pretty...

Iron and you have a new sash!

Yay!

See?!

You can't even tell where the opening is... 

Now put on your "new" dress and go on a date with the hubs!

The front: 

The back (aren't the buttons fun?!?)

The sash adds that perfect pop of color!

I think the ruffle makes this dress fabulous!

This was super simple and cost me a whopping $4!

Next time you are at the Thrift Store, look with a creative eye for those "old" items that can be made "new" again!

Make sure you pop on over to Johnny In A Dress and check out some of my other upcycling ideas!

Thank you so much Jenny and Sarah for inviting me to be apart of this awesome event!

LINKY PARTY!

Now it's YOUR TURN! From August 1-12th link up YOUR OWN clothing upcycled or recycled fashions for a chance to win AMAZING PRIZES! 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners will be announced August 12th. Check back on August 6th and 7th to find out what those prizes are!!! You will be blown away!

LINKY RULES:

1. Link a CLOTHING project you upcycled or recycled.

2. Add this button to your blog or post so more people can join the fun!

3. Follow Seamingly Smitten and This Crazy, Blessed Life

And add this button to your post!

<a href="http://thiscrazyblessedlife.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n504/Rah1515/RefashionWeekcopy.jpg" /></a>

Go ahead, show us what ya got!

A HUGE Thank you to our SPONSORS:

Check back tomorrow for more upcycled projects!