Upcycle Tshirt Dress Into Suspender Skirt

This is a really simple way to turn an old oversized t-shirt into suspended skirt.

Posted by Ungrateful bat

About

I have only used things that I have at home, old oversized tshirt that I bought for a £1 and the another old top for the waistband. I think I paid 50p for the second tshirt long time ago.
There is something very satisfying in picking up materials around home and creating something new.
I know you may not be able to follow my instructions absolutely as your shirt may be little bit different. I hope that you will be able to take inspiration and create something unique

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You Will Need (1 thing)

  • Tshirts

Steps (13 steps, 120 minutes)

  1. 1

    I forgot to take a picture of the tshirt that I am upcycling. It was an oversized fit old Monki tshirt or perhaps a short tshirt dress. The whole fit was pretty much t shaped and it had pockets :-)
    I cut across the chest, that will be the skirt part. I used the rest of the fabric to cut up straps. I also needed an extra bit of fabric for the waist band. You can see that it looks little bit different in the picture. I used another tshirt for that. I like the slightly different colour of stripes, but it would also be nice to use different pattern!

  2. 2

    I turn the waist band inside out and cut it down to fit my waist, then I sew it.

  3. 3

    I folded it so that the seams are hidden inside.

  4. 4

    I turn the straps inside out and stitched them together. The I turn them inside out. I think its fun that the stripes go horizontally and then vertically, but you could line your fabric up so that all the stripes face same direction.

  5. 5

    Next step is to create the pleats. The waistband is turned under, you cannot see it in this picture. I always do pleats on my knee for some reason!

  6. 6

    This is what the pleats will look like.

  7. 7

    Here is how the pleats look like attached to the waistband. I will then sew along where the pins are. I use my overlocker, but zig zag on machine would also be ok. If you are using zig zag and are worried that your machine will struggle, be assured that you should be ok! The tshirt fabric is quite thick and not as stretchy as some lycra fabric, which sewing machined seems to struggle with using zig zag (in my experience).
    You can also hand sew it. I have done that many times. it will not really matter if its not perfect, as the seam will be hidden inside.

  8. 8

    When you finished the step above and turn the skirt right way round, this is what it will look like! You can stop here if you like. For me skirt without suspenders its just not complete, so I will continue with next step:-)

  9. 9

    I will first attach the suspended to back of the skirt. It is then easier to line it up at the front. When you lining up your suspenders, take into account that the skirt has a stretch, so you want to make sure when you are wearing it the distance of the suspender strap is how you like it and that the cross its not too high or too low.
    I know my stripes are not lined up perfectly. I am ok with that. This is upcycle project and the fabric was previously worn and stretched out a bit. Also I like little imperfections in my project.

  10. 10

    I always stich these by hand. It gives me control to make sure it is well attached and no stitches are visible on the front.

  11. 11

    I like to add a little detail on the cross. Here I'm using little heart patch.

  12. 12

    This is what my suspenders looks like the right way up. Next I will measure it at the front and hand sewing to secure it.

  13. 13

    The last step is to wear your lovely creation :-)