How to Upcycle Shirts into a Maxi Dress

This post is a tutorial how to upcycle shirts into a maxi dress.

What You Need to Sew a Tired Maxi Dress

• Scissors
• Sewing machine
• Pins
• Yarn
• 3 silk men’s shirt size XL
• Dye
• Vinegar
• Water
• Stove
• Pot
• Tape measure
• Needle

How to Upcycle Shirts into a Maxi Dress

Instructions to Create a Maxi Dress from Shirts

1. Cut off the sleeves according to your shoulder measurements.
2. Then cut off the sides according to your chest measurements measurements. Pin the button part onto the part with the wholes and sew it so you have the female way of buttoning.
3. Cut off the sleeves to your desired length. Make sure they fit into the cut of your top.
4. Next cut off the button part on both sides of the cut-off lower part of the shirt. This part will become your first tire panel of the dress.
5. On the shirt that becomes the middle part cut off the hem. On the shirt that becomes the lowest part keep the hem. Stitch the upper part so you can pin it to the lower part of the tire.
6. Pin the sides of the top together and sew them together. Pin the sleeves in and sew them in. Pull the yarn of the first tire panel to the circumference of the top. Pin them together and sew. repeat for other panels.
7. Now that the maxi dress is ready, try it on and adjust the length if needed.

Dying Can Harmonize the Color Combination

If you don’t like the colors, consider dying your new dress. Prepare the dye according to the instructions. In case of silk, you need vinegar in the process. When choosing the dye consider how the colors will mix. I went for teal in the hope that the gray would turn to some hunter green, the green be more bluish and the white turn into teal. See first photo in this post for the final result.

More on colors result when dyeing wardrobe favorites.

Further Upcycling Projects You May Like

The following list encompasses all upcycling projects published here on High Latitude Style.

• Sewing a skirt from four old shirts (how I did it)
• Turning an old unwanted old shirt into a beautiful skirt
• How to turn an old shirt into a great scarf
• How to upcycle a sari into a full skirt

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Video: N. Mölders
Photos of me: G. Kramm

© 2013-2023 Nicole Mölders | All rights reserved