A Fond Farewell

Jo and I cleaned out her closet a few weeks ago and I've been working through the pile of outgrown clothes deciding what to keep, what to donate, and what to cut apart and reuse. I came to one of my favorite things I've ever made for Jo.

I loved the icy blue paired with the black and white polka-dot skirt, and the penguin button was just perfect.

It was really easy to make so I'm going to share a mini-tutorial here. I made this a couple of years ago and didn't take pictures, but I really don't think you'll need them. It's that easy.

Start with a store-bought shirt. This was a summer dress so I used a tank top, but you could easily use a long-sleeved T-shirt for winter.

Measure around the bottom of the shirt. Double that length and add 1 inch for seam allowance. That will be the length of your rectangle.

Measure from the bottom of the shirt to the length you want the finished dress. Add whatever you like to use for the hem allowance. I like to use 1 1/2 inches. I turn it up 1/2 inch and then 1 inch for the hem.

Sew the short sides of the rectangle together to make a big circle. Gather around the top until it's the same size as the bottom of the shirt. Sew it to the bottom of the shirt.

Hem the bottom. Add a button if you want - to decorate the shirt and pull in the colors from the skirt. You're done.

I've made a several of these for Jo and there is one tricky thing to look for. Some T-shirts and tanks tend to twist off grain, so wash the shirt first and make sure it looks like it's not going to be a twisty one. You can wear a twisty, off-grain shirt, but if you attach a skirt to it, it makes the whole thing hang funny.