Upcycle an Old Dress Into a Cute DIY Top

I love upcycling clothes into new garments. I got this Granny style maxi dress in the thrift store because I loved the fabric but not the style.

I’m going to show you how to upcycle clothes like this into a trendy DIY top that goes perfectly with jeans.

Tools and materials: 

• Long sleeved maxi dress
• Sweater as template
• Fabric marker
• Ruler
• Measuring tape
• Pins
• Scissors
• Sewing machine

1. Cut out the basic shape

There is plenty of fabric in the lower part of this dress to make a loose sweater.

Lay the dress out flat and place a favorite sweater on top to use as a template.

Line up the bottom of the sweater with the hem of the dress, so you won’t need to make a new hem.

Fold the sleeves of the sweater across the body.

You can trace around the sweater first, or cut around it on the fabric, as I did. Leave a half inch (1 cm) all around as a seam allowance.

2. Necklines

Mark the two pieces on the wrong side so you know which is the front and which the back.

Fold the back section and the sweater in half lengthwise. 

Line up the top of the neck with the top of the back and mark the side and bottom of the neckline. 

Cut out the curve and trim the shoulders to even them up.

Fold the front piece in half lengthwise and cut out the neckline, using the back as a template.

Trim both sets of armholes evenly.

The front neckline is usually lower than the back. Measure 3 inches (8 cm) down from the outside edge of the front neckline and draw in a new curve before cutting it out.

3. Bind the neck edge

Place the two pieces together with the right side facing.

Join one shoulder seam.

Open out the seam and measure the circumference of the neckline, which in my case was 18 inches (45 cm).

Cut a strip 2 inches wide and the length of the neck circumference from the dress fabric.

Fold the neck binding in half with the wrong side inside.

Pin and sew it around the outside of the neck edge, with the right sides facing.

Join the second shoulder seam and the neck binding.

4. Cut out and insert the sleeves

Lay the sleeves of the dress flat.

Place the sweater sleeve on top of one dress sleeve and line up the bottom edge with the hem of the sleeve.

Mark the top and bottom of the armhole.

Cut out the sleeve, adding half an inch (1 cm) to the length at the armhole as a seam allowance.

Use this sleeve as a template to cut the second one.

Join both side seams of the top with the right sides facing.

Turn the top right side out and pin and sew the sleeves in place around the armhole, with the right sides together.

Another way to do this is to leave the top wrong side out and place the sleeves inside it. Line up the top of the sleeves with the armholes so the right sides are touching.