Upcycled T-Shirt Dress

Here is my first recycled T-shirt dress. I have been hounding my sister for weeks to save me a few of her old shirts so I could refashion them. She gave me a blue thermal and this cool retro brown and orange ringer T. I cut the chest piece, saving the neckline from the blue shirt. I then used one of Rebecca's current size-4 long-sleeved T shirts to measure sleeve length (although I forgot about width!). I cut a middle stomach piece out of the brown shirt, and then finished the skirt with another blue piece. I love how the turquoise and brown look together.
I used the short sleeves on the brown shirt as little bell sleeves to finish off the dress. I gathered them and sewed them to the end of the sleeve. They were already striped brown and orange, and I liked that effect. The back of her dress has half of a giant "78" on it- a remnant from the original T. That part was not as cute as I had hoped, so it was relegated to the back.

Next time, I will fit it to her body a bit better. Instead of gathering the bottom piece of the skirt, I am going to cut it at an A-line and sew it flush with the bodice. It will look much cleaner. I had some extra fabric, so I made a quick blue headband with a flower made from the brown T-shirt. She won't keep it on her head very long, but it pulls the outfit together nicely. We leave for a quick trip to San Francisco today, so I am packing this wrinkle-free dress with some brown leggings for our walking day around the city.