Come and learn how to turn those worn out overalls into a cute & “upcycled” dress with this creative Overall Dress Tutorial. This is a sweet project for that even sweeter little one.
It’s Amber from Crazy Little Projects again! Come say hi. Pretty please.
Here I go again, making something for a little girl. I just can’t seem to help it. My baby BOY was growing out of his overalls. They had holes in the knees (they’ve been through all 4 boys), so I dreamed up this project idea as a way to upcycle them. If you’ve got old and holey kids overalls, I recommend giving this a try. It will up the size of them at least 1 size too, so you can use them longer. This is my overall dress tutorial from old overalls.
I think this is a fairly easy, straightforward project too. Here’s what you need to know.
Overall Dress Tutorial:
Supplies Needed:
1/2 yard to 3/4 yard of 3 coordinating fabrics
(depending on size of dress)
Old pair of overalls
Ribbon
(I recommend at least 1 inch wide)
Instructions:
Start by chopping off the bottom part of the overalls right at the waist. Then measure how wide your overalls are.
Now, cut your three fabrics so that the length of them is 4 times the width of your overalls. You will want to cut them in staggering widths so that they layer. For my 18 month size, my widths were 7.5 inches, 9 inches and 10.5 inches. Adjust this for a larger or smaller size by figuring out how long you want the dress to be (to her knees) and then cutting your bottom layer to fit that sizing. Be sure to leave a little extra (about 1 inch) for a hem. Then, make the other two layers slightly more narrow.
Hem each of your layers.
Then, layer them one on top of the other in the order you want them:
Now run a basting stitch along the tops of them. Do it again half an inch or so away so that you have 2 basting stitches:
Now we are going to ruffle them. Gently pull the top threads of your basting and slide your fabric down. Be VERY careful not to break the thread. (If you need a run down on ruffles, I’ve got a tutorial for you here).
Ruffle it until it is double the width of your overalls. Sew the raw edges together to form a loop. Pin it in place on your overalls and stitch it on:
Then pin your cute ribbon over top of the ruffling and sew that on.
And you’re done!
Please come visit me over at Crazy Little Projects. Lot’s of sewing going on over there!
Thank you Amber! Don’t you just love her? Amber is CRAZY talented, and she always has such amazing ideas. She is wonderful, as is this adorable Overall Dress. What a fantastic idea to “upcycle” an old pair of worn-out overall jeans. This dress is fun, fast, and FABulous!
Like Amber said, you can use any fabric to create your FABulous Overall Dress. The Ribbon Retreat is constantly getting new fabric in that is TOP of the line and the choices are endless. Want to check it out? Visit our website to see what an amazing selection we have for all of your clothing, home decor and any other DIY project that has caught your eye!
Have a wonderful day and as always…Happy Creating!
