Thrift Flip

Tools and materials:

• Maxi dress
• Sweatpants
• Measuring tape
• Scissors
• Pins
• Sewing machine

Cut your fabric

The first step is to cut the dress by your waist. If the dress has a seam, that works great. Otherwise, measure your waist, mark it off and cut it there. Next, place a pair of folded sweatpants (that already fit) onto the folded skirt of your dress and use some scissors to cut them out around them. Make sure your skirt is folded so that you end up with four layers of fabric. 

Sew the pant legs 

Lay your leg pieces on top of each other - right sides together - so that you have two pant legs forming. Make sure your edges are aligned and then sew along the crotch seam of each pant leg. 

Form the pants 

Once you have two pieces - each resembling a piece of your pants - lay them on top of each other right sides together. Make sure the edges are aligned and then pin down the inside of each leg and the outside edges. Once your pants are pinned, sew along the pins to form the pants. 

Create the jumpsuit 

Turn your pants right side out and your top inside out. Place your top upside down and slip it onto the pants through the neck hole. Align the bottom of the top with the top of the pants (right sides together) and pin all the way around. Next, sew along the waistline - where you placed your pins. 

Create the drawstring tie 

Using the extra fabric from the skirt of the dress, measure an inch thick and cut out a really long piece of fabric. Next, fold the fabric over so that it’s half an inch thick and sew it down. Finally, use a loop turner or safety pin to turn the fabric right side out 

Insert your drawstring 

Measure the width of your jumpsuit’s waist (mine was about 14 inches) and then cut a strip of fabric that is double that length (so a 28-inch piece of fabric) that is about two inches thick. This piece of fabric will be used as a casing for the drawstring to go in. Take your piece of fabric and pin it to the seam allowance from when you sewed the pants of your jumpsuit. Make sure you are pinning it all the way around. 

Sew the pinned area of your casing and then add another row of stitches on top to make a small tunnel for the drawstring to go through. Next, use some scissors to cut small holes in the front of your waistline and weave your string through until it comes out the other end. I don’t see a need to finish the holes since you can’t really see them anyways. 

To finish the jumpsuit, hem each pant leg, tie a nice bow with your drawstring, and voila! This DIY thrift flip gives an old maxi dress a whole new life. This can be done with almost any maxi dress you find, just make sure it’s a color you love and has a lot of fabric to work with!