NOTE: I'm currently re-vamping this instructable for clarity and completeness. Please check back and give me notes once it's finished - Mahalo!
This project will take (at least) two people, one of whom should be a savvy seamster. We had both people being great seamstresses, but then, we only had two hours. It was a collaboration from the minds of Ruthie Daughters Voss and Thayer Abaigael Lund. We designed and built this dress during The LindyHop for Life charity event we were attending, a 24-Hour Dance-a-thon, with our group, The Cult of the Eye .
1. What you'll need:
1a. two roomy (L, XL or XXL, depending on the model's figure - we used XLs and I'm about a size 8) non-fitted t-shirts
1b. enough trim to go around the finished hem of your dress (we recommend something heavier, like a beaded trim, which will help show off the fantail inset best)
1c. a sewing machine (we used a babylock, and a regular sewing machine could do just as well), but I suppose you could hand-sew it (might take a while...)
1d. one large snap
1e. other sewing essentials: pins, thread, handstitch needle (to sew on trim), sharp scissors
This project will take (at least) two people, one of whom should be a savvy seamster. We had both people being great seamstresses, but then, we only had two hours. It was a collaboration from the minds of Ruthie Daughters Voss and Thayer Abaigael Lund. We designed and built this dress during The LindyHop for Life charity event we were attending, a 24-Hour Dance-a-thon, with our group, The Cult of the Eye .
1. What you'll need:
1a. two roomy (L, XL or XXL, depending on the model's figure - we used XLs and I'm about a size 8) non-fitted t-shirts
1b. enough trim to go around the finished hem of your dress (we recommend something heavier, like a beaded trim, which will help show off the fantail inset best)
1c. a sewing machine (we used a babylock, and a regular sewing machine could do just as well), but I suppose you could hand-sew it (might take a while...)
1d. one large snap
1e. other sewing essentials: pins, thread, handstitch needle (to sew on trim), sharp scissors
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Signing UpStep 1: The Bodice
A NOTE BEFORE WE START: All the measurements are 'eyeballed', not exact. This is both a very freeing and, yet, terrifying concept. Just keep remembering, if it all goes to Helena Handbasket, you're pretty much only out two T-shirts....
2a.Put 1st t-shirt on "the Model". At nape of neck, cut ribbing and shorten to fit snugly (without choking). Cut around neck ribbing, leaving it attached to t-shirt in the front, as wide as you want the halter to be. Sew a large snap at nape of neck to rejoin the ribbing.
2b. Cut halter and back neckline (leaving neck ribbing). Take in side seams to be form-fitting to bust (add darts, if needed for fuller bust). Cut empire seam below bust.
2c. Cut hem from sleeves of 1st t-shirt and sew into straps from halter back to neck back.
2d. From remaining fabric of the 1st t-shirt, cut a tube of fabric (wide enough to attach at empire seam and cover to just below natural waistline. Cut open tube (Tie-Cinch Waist) and attach center of it to middle front of halter at empire seam; sew front together, ending just past sides (leave ends of Tie-Cinch Waist dangling; this will become a tie in the back).
3. Save scraps from 1st t-shirt for fantail inset on skirt and to make (optional) Pin-Up Girl Pillbox Hat (that's a WHOLE different project unto itself - I'll see if I can convince Bif, the creator, to put up an instructable on that!)
2a.Put 1st t-shirt on "the Model". At nape of neck, cut ribbing and shorten to fit snugly (without choking). Cut around neck ribbing, leaving it attached to t-shirt in the front, as wide as you want the halter to be. Sew a large snap at nape of neck to rejoin the ribbing.
2b. Cut halter and back neckline (leaving neck ribbing). Take in side seams to be form-fitting to bust (add darts, if needed for fuller bust). Cut empire seam below bust.
2c. Cut hem from sleeves of 1st t-shirt and sew into straps from halter back to neck back.
2d. From remaining fabric of the 1st t-shirt, cut a tube of fabric (wide enough to attach at empire seam and cover to just below natural waistline. Cut open tube (Tie-Cinch Waist) and attach center of it to middle front of halter at empire seam; sew front together, ending just past sides (leave ends of Tie-Cinch Waist dangling; this will become a tie in the back).
3. Save scraps from 1st t-shirt for fantail inset on skirt and to make (optional) Pin-Up Girl Pillbox Hat (that's a WHOLE different project unto itself - I'll see if I can convince Bif, the creator, to put up an instructable on that!)
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