peasant top toddler dress

So, when it comes to making things for Annabel, I've had more frustrations than successes in the department of actually producing something she likes. Most of the things I make (remember that scarf?) get immediately rejected by her. It's kind of anticlimactic and not very motivating. So, for now I am focusing on making something that I KNOW she loves: dresses!

So yesterday, I mentioned that I spent $1.40 on a shirt at Salvation Army with repurposing in mind. Here's the shirt:

So I know "peasant top" may not be the technically correct name for this style of shirt, but I'm not sure what to call it, so I'll stick with that for now. (Any help on this front is welcomed!) When I saw this top, I loved the fabric. Something in me felt like I had seen it before. Turns out I was right...

Annabel at 6 days old. I loved her in this onesie!

...When I saw this fabric, it tugged my nostalgic mommy heartstrings and I immediately envisioned it as a dress for her. I thought it would be really easy, and well, I was right! About two hours of taking-in and strap-making, and I ended up with this:

Love it!

Luckily, so does she. She didn't even want to wait until I was done sewing it to put it on!

The back. Next time I'll make the ties less wide and bulky.

Seriously, this dress was amazingly easy to make. I didn't need any tutorials or instructions. I just took measurements from one of her other dresses, cut a few inches off of the top and bottom of the shirt, cut a few inches off of one side, and then re-sewed one side seam all the way up. The cotton jersey material is wonderful in that I didn't have to hem anything! The edges just roll up and look cute and finished all on their own. See?

Adorable! And totally in keeping with the style of the dress.

Actually, the hardest part (which wasn't very hard at all) was making the straps. I just used the extra strips that I trimmed from around the bottom of the shirt. Folding it in fourths to make finished-looking straps was no walk in the park because of the previously mentioned rolling-up tendency of jersey fabric, but in the end they turned out fine (as long as you don't look too close at my stitching).

This was so delightfully simple to make and so deliciously satisfying as an end product! I'm already eyeing a couple of old shirts I have like this that I really don't wear anymore. And we won't talk about the fact that I already got another $2 kids dress at Salvation Army to alter for her......