A Gingham Shirt Dress

I have been bitten by the sewing bug lately and completed some projects that have been in the making for a long time. This one was not one of those.I have been enjoying sewing for Alexandra lately and in my searches for some cute patterns, I came across this shirt dress tutorial at made. I decided it was a perfect Earth Day recycling project for me.

I tried raiding Gabe's closet for a few shirts that I could pirate for my new project. He became extremely protect of his shirts when I told him what I had in mind, so the next day I went to the Salvation Army store (gotta love 50% off family day). I purchased three extra-large shirts that will get new life as a dress for my beautiful baby girl. I tried a couple of them on her and she hammed it up. The tutorial is very good and goes step by step, but I still agonized over the pattern and adding the adjustments I wanted. I loved the look of the cuff as a sleeve, so I wanted to incorporate it into the dress. In the end, I took off the cuff and then sewed it back on. I also learned that I needn't be so fussy. The dress design is very forgiving, so don't worry too much about making it the right size, just adjust the elastic and you're golden.

Here's the final product:Isn't she just precious? What would I do without this little one in my life? *heart bursting with mama pride*