Eco DIY: Organic Cotton "Alf" Dress

Yeah, ya read it right... ALF! ha ha ha.
This sewing project is more of a minor upcycle deal, see ya' don't need "Alf" to make this dress...(even though you might think you do!) All you need is an old t-shirt that is nasty, doesn't fit, etc from your closet, grandmaws closet or the thrift store... a t-shirt with a whimsical logo that can be cut out and re-sewn onto a new outfit. I put mine on an organic cotton dress I made from some locally woven fabric. But you could do this with a hoody and put the old logo/character on the back.

THE BEGINNING:::

I pinned down my dress pattern on the fabric, which was the pattern I traced from another dress I already had.

And then chop chop! Cut out the fabric, leaving enough room for the side seams.

I had folded the fabric over, so that the front and back would be cut at the same time. I like efficiency... :)))

I left the pattern pinned on while I sewed in the seams along the edge... then unpinned the pattern.

I love making things adjustable! So I made the top of the 'sleeves' or straps the kind you can tie to any size....

Once the organic dress was sewn together, it was time for ALF!!!

CAREFULLY pin your logo on, you want it really flat and even so that it doesn't wrinkle or bunch up the front of the shirt or dress or hoody or whatevs you may be sewing it on...

Then SEW! I used the basic straight stitch and slowly went around the circle of Alfness...

ALF HYSTERIA:::::

hysterical? lovable? weird? so was Alf.

You can wear it with or without a shirt underneath... summer time, or fall time...

party time?!? WWAD ? ;)

XOXOXOxox

DIY: Turn a Hillbilly Prom Dress into a Summer Dress

Holy beau-tee-ful mou mou-ness! I found this long prairie style gown at a local thrift store, and fell in love with the cotton fabric, the little late 70's flower pattern, and the layer of see-through material on top - not to mention the frill on the bodice with pink buttons!

Only thing is, no one really sports big long mou mou's anymore so I thought it would be great to take the focal point of the dress (the frilly chest area) and turn the rest of the gown into a smaller summer dress.

***

STEP 1 : I measured the dress for the length I wanted it, more of a mini dress. I measured from the top of my shoulder to where I wanted the dress to hit on my thigh - leaving a small amount of room for the hem line.
STEP 2: I used scissors to cut off the extra material (which is enough to make a whole 'nother skirt or dress!
Step 3 : I then turned the dress inside out so that I could make the other measurements, for my waist, chest, hip - then marked it with straight pins so that a new seam could be sewn.

NOTE: I had originally wanted to keep the sleeves on but because I had to take in many inches of fabric, I ended up removing the awesome see-through sleeves. In the end I liked this better anyway (not to mention i had no idea how to put them back on!)
STEP 4 : Sewing time! This is where I used all my measurements and straight pins to make all the new seams - the new seams will be along the right and left side (where the original seams are), and then to hem the bottom.
The new seams will depend on whether or not the dress fit you to begin with - if it already fits your size, all you'd have to do is hem it into a mini dress for summer fun!
YAY!!! This is the finished upcycled summer dress..... sooooooo not a mou mou no mo' ! In fact, this shit is so cute it's almost punk rock. I left frayed edges where the sleeves used to be for a more punky look.
Check out all the angles... (the frill makes it awesome from the side!)
Time for a party. :)
Xoxoxo