I decided to do another variation of the toddler t-shirt dress and also do an official how to make a toddler dress out of a t-shirt tutorial. There are many of these out there, but I wanted one to go with this. I was also asked on how to make the ruffles for the purple dress I did, so I have that included as well. And, I also did a quick how to on how to make these little hair bows with the leftovers. Have fun
What you need:
-T-shirt (mine came from the Dollar Store)
-Scissors
-Sewing machine, pins, all that stuff to sew it together
-Child’s dress
Ring Around the Rosies Toddler Dress:
1. Lay out your t-shirt and fold it in half so that the front is facing you.
Lay the dress on it, also folded in half to find where you need to cut. If the dress is tight on child, try and allow a little extra room in the cut for a seam allowance. I try to make as little as possible for myself to do, so I always have the bottom of the dress on the bottom of the shirt. I didn’t cut mine exactly this dress shape, but used it to find the basic shape I needed. Also, since my girl is tall enough now, I was able to line up the neck with it too, leaving the front already done for this one.
2. Cut out dress pieces.
3. Place the two pieces right sides together and pin in place.
4. Sew down the sides, making sure not to stitch where the arm holes are. You can finish them up if you would like to give it extra hold (I use a v-stitch and sew the inside edges together).
5. Sew the top of the shoulders together and finish seams. Turn right side out.
6. Optional: If you are blessed and have a serger, you can serge the edges. If you don’t, you can use a v-stitch to finish the edges (if you have enough, fold the edges under a bit while sewing it. It looks smoother). Or, just leave them raw.
7. Cut the two sleeves off the part of the shirt that is left.
Cut in a little bit at the bottom of one sleeve and begin cutting the edges.
Continue in a circular motion all around the arm sleeve, as long as you can. I keep the width of the strips pretty thin, but you can do larger if you like.
The little piece on top is what I had left over.
8. Cut the two now long pieces in half. Three of the pieces will be used to make the roses. The other will be used to make the hair bows.
9. Start with the rose in the middle. Make a circle from the end part and pin in place.
Continue winding the piece in circles around until you reach the end.
Tuck the end underneath. Pin.
Beginning at the bottom, sew with a smaller stitch setting (the length on mine was 3.0). Make sure to backstitch a bit before and after sewing. Sew in circles around until you come to the middle. Backstitch when finished.
10. Do the same with the other two, placing them on opposite sides of the middle one.
Hair bows:
Take the long piece of leftover and cut in half.
Cut two small pieces from the other leftovers as well. You will need it to tie with. Wrap one of the halves around your hand.
Tie it in the middle with the small piece you cut.
Cut the loops on each end open and trim/pull the pieces until you achieve desired look. Sew them onto a hair clip.
Ruffles:
Make the dress the same way as in parts 1-6. I used a different dress to cut out the shape for this one. It was shorter and the neck was more of a scoop. Cut the long strips to ruffle from the sleeves, or any other way from the leftovers after cutting the shirt out. You want to cut five pieces. The middle will be the longest, the two beside it will be the same length (but shorter than the middle), and the last two on the outside will be even shorter.
There is no definite width or length. Just do it to your liking. Baste down the middle of each strip.
This means, no backstitching at all. Leave a long tail at the beginning and the end. Make sure the stitch is set to a large width (I put mine at the highest, which is 5).
To create the ruffle, pull the bottom thread (this is the thread that came from the bobbin).
To help me out, I tie a knot at one end, and do the pulling from the other. It helps keep the ruffle in place for me. Then, pin the middle one on the shirt. Make sure it is directly in the middle of the shirt. Sew it on. Then, add on the two that go beside that, ending with the smallest ones beside those. I sewed them close together (I had to lift up the side of the one already sewn on so I wouldn’t catch it in the stitch).
so darling. thank you for taking the time to do the instructions.
I really appreciate it.
Yay, a dollar store craft, and it’s sooooo cute.
It’s so cute! I love how you recon tees into dresses! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you! This I must try, have a lot of t-shirts to remake!
Those flowers on the t-shirt dress are adorable! Have you ever used them in a clothing/sewing project for women? They look like they’d be cute on a blouse or a t-shirt for an adult.
I love the rose detail. I can see that being used to decorate an adult shirt too! Thanks for sharing all of your creativity with the rest of us
Both dresses are awesome!! My daughter is too old for a toddler dress now, but an adult shirt would make a tunic for her and we’re needing a rainy day project today.
I posted a link to your tutorial on Craft Gossip Sewing:
http://sewing.craftgossip.com/tutorial-ruffles-and-roses-toddler-dress/2009/07/21/
–Anne
Love the coral dress!!!
I saw your purple shirt the other day! It was such a great idea that I made a dress for my 3 year old from a shirt that we tie dyed last week. I even added some ruffled sleeves. Thanks for the inspiration.
Your dresses are so cute. Thanks for all three tutorials. I can’t wait to try these!
wonderful! i love all your tutes!
WOW…seriously.
LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Gorgeous again! I featured you at somedaycrafts.blogspot.com
New to your blog. I made a yellow shirt similar to your purple dress. I love the way it looks very Crewcuts. I think I may attempt to make the rosettes on another one. I’ll share my outcome when my model comes back in town. She’s with her cousins.
Jessica, I have been following your blog for the last month. I really enjoy seeing the things you make for your daughter. It gives me ideas for my 22 month old. I love that you share step by step how you do things. You would make a great teacher.
Love this! I stalk your blog now and then for more cutesy ideas of refashioning t’s.
I used your rosette idea for my daughters rock n roll dress (out of an old t shirt ;0) )
http://photo-3-6-5.blogspot.com/2009/07/spa-day-hair-cuts-and-new-threads.html
I love this! I can’t wait to try the rosette technique! Great job!
Thank you for the tutorial. You do some incredible stuff. I love the roses on this sweet little dress. Now I need to go look for an old t-shirt to cut up.
LOOOOVE strips roses! Amazing and inspiring!
so adorable I think I need to learn how to sew;)
WOW – that’s all I can say lol I’m so impressed!
You’re awesome – you make it look so easy! Your lil gal looks super cute!
I just found your blog today, and decided to try and make this little dress for my 2-yr-old. It turned out so cute–thanks so much for the awesome tutorials!
so cute! i’m adding this to my sewing to do list! great tutorial with lots of pics! thanks!
Thank you for posting this tute. I had this idea a few years ago but didn’t know where to start, you gave me the info
I used an old shirt of mine and 2 tanks and made nightgowns for my 5 yr old. My sewing isn’t the greatest so I left out the roses and ruffles but I love the roses!
I’ve got a few more shirts and she needs more nightgowns! lol
Love the pic of your dd with the purple dress, she has such a beautiful look on her face
You are such a rockstar. I love this. The variations are just icing on the cake. I’ll be linking.
Hi Jessica. This may be a little or lot late but welcome to Jacksonville! I just found your blogs & love your upcycling ideas. Your very creative! Jacksonville needs a good craft group….Tracy
http://cottonpickincute.blogspot.com
Love it! Thanks for sharing!!!
So so cute! Thanks for the great ideas!
I love the roses, I’m already thinking what clothes I have that I could put one on. So cute!
Love the coral roses! Made a deep purple dress from your tute tonight, love the results, so cute. Had trouble with the roses, but for my first tee recon, not bad. Thanks for the great tutorials!!!
Hello, i refferred your creations on my blog. you can see them on come fare un vestitino con una maglietta della mamma
i hope you like it.
hello, linda
You are really a genius!!!! Never would have thought such a plain t-shirt could be turned into angel outfit!!!! It really sparked the crafty side of me to do something!!!
Darling, I am a great grandmother who has done lots of sewing, but your idea takes the “cake”! Thanks for sharing. “Twinkle”
I am SO in love with those roses and ruffles. You are so talented! I’m more than half-tempted to go refashion one of my husband’s t-shirts just so I can make those roses or ruffles.
Great post! Who ever needs to buy new clothes again with the amazing amounts of jersey and other fabrics you can upcycle from thrift stores. I love those ruffles down the front of the purple dress!
What a great tutorial. I used it as a guide to do a lace bodice on a onesie, and it turned out(http://makethings.wordpress.com/2009/08/10/lace-bodice-onesie/). Thanks for being such a great inspiration.
absolutely amazing and clever!
Exactly what I was looking for! Thanks so much.
LOVE it! So cute. A great tutorial! made one for my 2 year old this morning with the ruffles and, thanks to your fantastic instructions, it only took me half an hour! Thanks again!!
really love this one.. huhu~
thnks for sharing.. =)
I love the dresses! Just have one question. If you leave the t-shirt hem as the hem for the dress, doesn’t it hang long on the sides? Your original dress, used as a pattern, has a rounded bottom edge .
“Just have one question. If you leave the t-shirt hem as the hem for the dress, doesn’t it hang long on the sides? Your original dress, used as a pattern, has a rounded bottom edge .”
It actually came out fine with out hanging long on the sides. The dress was rounded like that because it was a baby doll style. A regular cut dress would have just gone straight down. The dress for the “pattern” was gathered and it looked like that when laid out.
I have soooo many tees to use for this. I am glad I found this!
Thanks for this tutorial! I took a Joe Boxer night top of mine and converted it into a dress by turning it around backwards (buttons now down the back) and putting a ruffled necklace on the front. It’s so much fun to reuse and convert clothes and give them new life!
Thanks for the inspiration!
Wow, what an impressive t-shirt is this one. I would like to appreciate you for sharing such an impressive t-shirt with us.
These are super cute! Thank you for sharing.
absolutely adorable!! your daughter, and your work!
I loved the roses made from the extra material so much i was trying to incorporate it into one of my many projects I was working on…so i added one to a neck pillow I made for my daughter. It is the most fashionable neck pillow i have ever seen! Thanks so much for the tutorial! Love all your creative ideas!
Thanks for the great ideas. I made another style tee shirt dress today, using a toddler tee shirt, cut off to waist length, and then attached a bright, coordinating fabric. I used your ruffle idea to put trim around the bottom of the skirt. It is beautiful!
This is so cute!! Thank you for sharing! (I just found your blog through Gussy!
I love this and made one for my daughter. How do you make the ruffles so the stitches don’t pull during wear? I ended up using elastic thread but I think I might have done something wrong
http://craftinginthecloset.blogspot.com/2010/09/ruffle-t-shirt-dress.html
“How do you make the ruffles so the stitches don’t pull during wear? I ended up using elastic thread but I think I might have done something wrong :)”
All I did was baste down the middle with a large straight stitch, gathered it, then sewed it on with a large straight stitch (mine goes up to length 5, but I think I used 4). Since it is just a small part of the dress, it didn’t really effect the stretch of it. If you are worried about that, you could do a small zigzag stitch down the middle when sewing it on. That helps it keep the stretch more.
Hi!
I have followed your tutorial to make a toddler dress but added a pair of winged sleeves, do have a read here
http://sertyan.blogspot.com/2010/10/t-shirt-to-toddler-dress.html
I love these dresses! I tried to make a t-shirt dress with long sleeves. Unfortunately mine looks like an t-shirt night gown. I’d really appreciate any suggestions you might have on how I could fix it. http://analoglovesdigital.blogspot.com/2010/08/t-shirt-dress-or-nightgown-tutorial.html
Thanks
seriously cute…thanks for the tute…my granddaughter would love it…thanks
Thank you SO much for this! I made the ruffle dress for my daughter and it was awesome & easy!
That’s amazing! I just love ruffles, and those dresses are so adorable. Too bad I can’t sew.
Great tutorial for those who can though. 
you are soooo clever – thank you thank you thank you for taking the time to show the rest of the e-world how you did this…. Smile… G
You are so creative! Loved your tutorial. Keep posting all your creations.
thank you thank you thank you – i love the look and can’t wait to try this.
Love them! I felt totally inspired by you last night and made 3 yes 3 dresses from my old T-shirts. And I’m planning on making more!
Here are the ones I’ve made so far: https://www.facebook.com/miriam.quarterman#!/media/set/?set=a.10150103720947713.265107.633322712&type=1
Another great t-shirt reconstruction tutorial! I including this one on my blog as well… http://darlingadventures.com/?p=574
Thanks!
Love this idea. I just put a flower like this on my gown that I made with t-shirts. Come see us on the web.
Very cute. I tried making one today but mine just looks like I cut the arms off a tshirt, doesn’t look much like anything haha. I’ll try another one later, maybe it was the cut of the tshirt I used
Thank you
Good for you for trying it though! That is the best way to learn. I remember trying to make these more like a tank top look at the top if that helps any. And, if you have a hard time free styling it, you can always grab a pattern and use it to help.
Hi Jessica! Thank you for sharing this very detailed tutorial! I’m so excited to get to try it for my 4 great-nieces! Your little girl is so adorable! Blessings from Bama!
What an awesome tutorial! Thank you! -Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures
Thank you so much
Happy sewing! -jess
Thank you for this awesome tutorial with many pictures. With my poor english and as a sewing beginner, I made a dress for my daughter.
The result is here: https://yadesquestionsquejemepose.wordpress.com/2015/11/10/comment-recycler-un-vieux-t-shirt-en-robe-de-fillette/