DIY Denim Dress

Tools and materials:

• Denim jeans/denim fabric
• Measuring tape
• Tailor’s chalk
• Scissors
• Pins
• Zipper
• Sewing machine

For this DIY denim dress, I used three pairs of denim jeans. You can also use any scrap denim you have sitting at home. 

Take measurements 

Next, I drew a rough sketch of the dress I would be making and wrote down all the measurements I would need. For this project, I measured my chest, bust and waist, and hip. I also wrote down my bust to waist measurement and my waist to the bottom of the dress measurement. I took all of my measurements and divided them by four.

Cut the bodice pieces 

I started by cutting the denim I would need for the bodice of my dress. I measured 9 inches from the bottom of one leg and cut it off. 

I then seam ripped open one side of the denim piece. I did the same on the second leg so that I would have two identical pieces of denim. 

Cut the skirt pieces 

I also cut off the remaining leg pieces and opened them up on one side. I would use these to make the bottom of my dress. 

Sew the front bodice pieces 

To make the bust section for the bodice, I used the bra technique. 

Once I had the shape pinned, I sewed along that pinned line. 

Sew the dress together 

For the dress, I had one piece for the bottom at the back and two for the front because I would add a zipper down the middle. I laid down the front two pieces and placed the bust pieces on top, right sides together. I then went ahead and sewed at the waist. 

After sewing, I went ahead and cut off any excess fabric.

Next, I placed the back bodice pieces on the front piece, right sides together, and sewed the side seams together. 

I also took the back bottom piece and sewed it to the front pieces by joining the side seams. 

Next, I sewed the back bodice pieces onto the back skirt pieces and made sure that everything was neatly sewn together except, of course, for the center front. 

Attach the zipper 

I went ahead and pinned and sewed a zipper down the front of the dress. In this step, I was careful to make sure that the waistline on each side lined up. All I had left to do was hem the bottom of the dress which I did by double folding the fabric and sewing. 

I think this strapless denim dress is so cute! What other denim upcycle ideas do you have? Let me know in the comments!