Creative Upcycling: The Dress Shirt Challenge

Are you looking for ways to keep your sewing budget in check? Maybe you are having difficulty finding sewing supplies? Or, do you have extra clothes in your closet that you don't know what to do with? In this course we are going to share some of our favorite upcycling tips as Cinnamon, Donna, and Shari work together to create a few unique looks each using the same upcycled shirt!



We will be rounding out this topic over four installments as we walk you through the planning and sewing processes. We hope this inspires you to try a little upcycling yourself, we'd love to see what you come up with at the end of the course too!



We encourage you to follow along with us as we plan and create our projects! Maybe you want to make the same thing, maybe you have a favorite pattern you want to try out instead, either would be great!

Here are a few of our favorite places to find dress shirts for upcycling:

  • Our own (or husbands) closet!
  • Goodwill
  • Discount stores like Marshalls, Tj Max, or Ross

Our projects:

  • Shari will be demonstrating her creative use of the fabric while using her latest pattern - Literary Society (available exclusively at Pixie Faire).
  • Cinnamon will be demonstrating her creative use of the fabric while using the Sew Powerful Purse Pattern paired with a Doll Size Purse too! 
  • Donna will be demonstrating her creative use of the fabric with a purchased girl size pattern and a coordinating doll dress made with the Dollhouse Designs Fiesta Dress for 14.5" WellieWishers® dolls (Available exclusively at Pixie Faire).

 Join us next Tuesday as we share our progress!


5 Comments

JOANNA
JOANNA

March 05, 2022

What an amazing idea. I’ve been doing this for a long time. I go to Target and get small baby shirts or kid shirts and upcycle them for doll clothes and other things.

Renee B.
Renee B.

March 04, 2022

I love this challenge, it reminds me of when I was a small girl with my 1st Barbie size doll. My mom and 2 older sisters were not used to the whole 1/4" seam, Barbie doll clothes patterns and so were very very slow to make my doll some clothes. One morning, before anyone else was awake, I went into the linen closet to find fabric scraps and a needle and thread. Using very skinny pieces of a light weight wool fabric, I hand sewed together an apron for my Barbie, complete with 2 patch pockets, ties for the waist and a hook & eye for the neck of the apron. My mother was amazed and started to look for bigger scraps of fabric for me. Eventually I received my first sewing machine- an electric, One speed (fast), Child’s Singer Chain Lock sewing machine. I loved sewing for my dolls and I’ve been sewing ever since, over 60 years!!

MARIAN
MARIAN

March 02, 2022

I have found some of the most amazing fabric at thrift stores. Love this topic

Ellen
Ellen

March 02, 2022

I have been thrifting fabric for ages! Usually from goodwill, salvation army stores and even outgrown clothing from my kids. Even have some great finds from garage sales. I also find buttons and other notions from these items. It is a great way to build a stash of fabric!
This topic will be so, so great!!

Charlene
Charlene

March 01, 2022

So excited for this course, I have a wedding dress I’ve been wanting to recycle into doll clothes.

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