How to Easily Make a Dungaree Dress From Old Jeans

Pam Oduor
by Pam Oduor
10 Materials
2 Hours
Easy

In this tutorial, I'll show you how to make a DIY dungaree dress from old jeans! A dungaree dress is timeless and easy to wear in any season. Pair with a t-shirt and sneakers in the warmer months, or boots, tights, and a knit jumper in the cooler months.


Instead of going out buying a dungaree dress, why not make a dungaree dress yourself at home? This is such a cool upcycle. Let me show you how easy a denim dungaree dress is to make!

Tools and materials:

  • Old jeans (oversized)
  • Chalk
  • Scissors
  • Skirt as a guide
  • Ruler
  • Pins
  • Sewing machine
  • Thread
  • Buttons
  • Needle
A pair of stretchy jeans that are oversized

1. Get an old pair of jeans

It’s best to find a pair of jeans that have a stretch. If you don’t own any stretchy jeans, any oversized jeans will do the trick. Here, I've used a pair of my mom's jeans.

Cutting the jeans at the back crotch

2. Cut the jeans

Fold your jeans, and starting from where the back crotch protrudes, cut a straight line across. 

Cutting the legs open at the seams

Now, you should have two leg pieces. Cut open each piece along the seam. 

Placing the denim pieces on top of each other

3. Assemble the pieces

Lay each open piece on top of each other, right sides facing. 

Making the dungaree dress sewing pattern

Then, fold the whole piece in half. Next, take a skirt, fold it, and lay it on the folded denim pieces. The skirt will give you a pretty good guide on the shape of the dress and will help you determine where the waistline is. 

Using a skirt to make the pattern

Using chalk, trace a line from the top to the edge of the skirt. Also, trace a cursive from the top of the skirt downward. 

Marking the waistline with chalk

Now, cut along these lines and open the fabric pieces. Mark your waistline on either side. 

Folding in the raw edges to sew

For a cleaner look, fold in the raw edges on the side and sew. This will also prevent your fabric from fraying. 

Pinning and sewing the waistline of the dress

Next, sew from the waistline going down. 

Cutting out the waistband to make straps

4. Make the straps

Cut out the waistband for the straps. 

Folding and cutting the jeans waistband

Fold the waistband in half and cut the middle to make two straps. 

Attaching the straps to the dungaree dress

Now, attach the straps to the top part of the dungaree dress. Make sure the strap at the back is attached from inside the dress.

Criss-cross stitching on the straps

As you can see, I did a criss-cross style stitch to ensure the strap stays in place. 

Marking the button placement with chalk

5. Add buttons

Now, mark the points where you’d like the buttons to go. Make sure it’s centered on each strap and the fabric underneath. 

Hand-sewing buttons onto the dungaree dress

Now, manually sew on your buttons on the main fabric itself, and make some buttonholes on the ends of the front straps. 


Tip: If your straps are longer, you can alter the length by sewing in more of the excess fabric, as shown. 

Folding in the sides of the dungaree dress

6. Make more modifications

If the top of the dungaree dress is a little loose, go ahead and bring in the sides, as shown. 

Folding and sewing the front of the dress

Also, fold and sew the front part should it be too long for you. 

DIY dungaree dress

DIY dungaree dress

From denim jeans to a cute dungaree dress! Who would have thought that such a transformation could be possible? Let me know what you think of this tutorial on how to make a DIY dungaree dress from old jeans in the comments below.

Suggested materials:
  • Old jeans (oversized)
  • Chalk
  • Scissors
See all materials

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4 of 6 comments
  • Kat17515781 Kat17515781 on Aug 28, 2021

    Love this!! hope to find some jeans to make this for my grandaughters.

    • Pam Oduor Pam Oduor on Aug 28, 2021

      Aaw.. Be sure to make some for them. Thank youuuuuu 💞😊

  • Jen33408914 Jen33408914 on Sep 03, 2021

    That is absolutely darling!! I’m a 65-year-old grandma I’m going to make one for me and my granddaughter and my daughter’s!!

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