Gameday T-shirt Dress

A few weeks ago I saw one of my dearest friends while I was at home in Tampa, she gave me this UCF t-shirt & asked if I could make it into a dress for her 2 yr-old to wear to football games with her daddy. I said "abso-freakin-lutely!" I love me a challenge.

Here's what I came up with, it's a cross between the t-shirt dresses I've been doing lately & a pillowcase dress. I think I'm pretty darn happy with it. (:Best part it is, it's was easy to do. Love it! Here's how to make your own "Gameday Dress" for your favorite sports team, special event or just a favorite tee!

Start off with your basic adult tee...Next I cut across the top so the total length was my desired length for the finished dress (although actually a bit shorter since I knew I was going to add a 2" ruffle) I also cut two "J" shapes off the top that were 3" wide & 3" deep for the armholes.*Measurements are for a 2t but the armholes are pretty much the same for most toddler sizes, with the finished product you'll have a lot of sizing wiggle room b/c of the adjustable straps.

Next I used my serger to finish off the edges around the top of the dress. This isn't a necessary step per say, since it's knit you could just leave the edges unfinished, but I like to give it a bit more stability & also a neater look. If you don't have a serger you could iron/hem the edges or just stitch them with a zig-zag stitch.Now it's time for the casing, simply fold the top front & back edges down 1" & stitch into place.Ready for ruffle time? Cut a strip of coordinating fabric that is twice the width of the base of your dress by 3"Finish the bottom edge of the ruffle if you wish (I ran mine through the serger on a rolled hem stitch) & then ruffle the other edge of the fabric using the ruffling method of your choice. (You can read more in depth ruffling instructions/variations in this pillow post) Take the two short ends of your ruffled piece & stitch them together, right sides together, you should have a ruffled tube at this point. Pin the ruffled edge to the base of your dress with the right sides together, tug & adjust the ruffle so it fits the base of your dress & your ruffles are spaced evenly.Stitch the ruffle to the dress using a serger or zig-zag stitch so it has a bit of stretch. Fold the ruffle down & then topstitch the seam down with a regular stitch. This will just help keep things in place & give it some strength. (it's done in white thread, click pic to enlarge & squint really hard)For the straps you could just use ribbon or bias tape but I chose to use the same knit pink fabric that I'm using for the bottom ruffle. If the fabric didn't have that natural knit curl to it then I would've sewn a tube with the right sides together, turned it right side out, & used that. But the beauty of super stretchy stuff is it tends to curl in on itself. I simply sliced 2 long pieces that were aprox 1" x 28", attached a safety pin to one end so I could thread it through the casing & then once through knotted the ends. Repeat for the back casing & then you can just gather the fabric as much you like & tie in bows on the shoulders! Easy, no?