Tools and Materials:
- Two men’s shirts
- Sewing machine
- Scissors
- Pins
by BlueprintDIY
Upcycle a Men’s Shirt Into This Amazing Shirt Dress
4 Materials
$10
2 Hours
Easy
Who doesn’t love a shirt dress? They are fun and trendy and the best part is, now you can make your own from nothing but two men’s shirts. I took two different shirts and transformed them into an amazing baggy shirt dress with gorgeous slits down the side. Follow my tutorial and learn the ins and outs of creating this incredible upcycle. This shirt dress is so versatile and can be dressed up or down! Follow this step-by-step guide and get started on making your own stunning shirt dress!
Upcycled men’s dress shirt
Upcycle men’s dress shirt to women’s dress
Before we get started, I wanted to talk a little bit about the shirts I would use in this amazing upcycle! First I chose a plain blue men’s shirt to become my shirt dress. I love an oversized look and this shirt is definitely oversized! Next, I chose this blue striped shirt to use for the added details on my dress. I thought it would be a great contrast and add so much to the look!
Measure yourself
Measure your desired length
I started by measuring how long I wanted the shirt dress to be. I knew I definitely wanted to have gorgeous deep slits on the sides so I thought I’d make it a bit longer rather than shorter.
Make a marking
Next, I thought about where I would want to add in the extra material. I decided I would just add a stripe in the middle but you can definitely add it onto the bottom as well!
Cut the shirt
Cut the shirt
In this step, I used a ruler to draw a straight line under my pins and the cut across that line. A great tip when working with shirts is to make sure you cut in the middle of two buttons and not to close to a button.
Upcycled men’s shirt
Next, I marked 11 inches on my striped shirt. I cut across my markings and had a gorgeous strip of fabric ready.
Clip the edges
Clip the edges together
I placed the striped piece over the other fabric, right sides together and I clipped the edges.
Take in the side seam
I purposefully didn’t clip the side seams together in case they didn't match up. It’s important to take in whichever side seam is bigger and get it to the size of the smaller seam.
Sew the edges
Sew the edges together
I then sewed the clipped edges together. I repeated the step on the second half of the shirt and made sure to surge the bottom and the inside where I had previously sewed. This gives the shirt a perfect finish and prevents any fraying!
Try on the dress
Try it on
I just adore how this dress looks so far! I tried it on to make sure I was happy with the length and also checked that all the buttons lined up.
Add a stitch
Add a stitch
I then added a top stitch over the regular blue shirt to hold things in place and keep everything neat and secure.
Make the slit
Create the slits
I tried my shirt dress on again and pinned exactly where I wanted the slit to go up until. I used a seam ripper to create the perfect slit on this adorable dress.
Hem the slit
I then folded the back edge of my slit and sewed it down.
Cut the bottom
Add the finishing touches
On the other side of the slit, I cut from the slit to the front of the shirt at a curve. I then double folded the bottom, raw edge and sewed a rolled hem.
Easy men’s shirt upcycle
I am so in love with this baggy shirt dress! Where would you add the extra material? Let me know in the comments below!
Your comment...
Join the conversation
It looks cute on you for sure
Thank you!! 😊
I just saw another post on making your own shirtdress, and I commented on it with just these suggestions before I read yours. Great minds.....!