DIY Upcycle Maxi Dress to Spring Go-To Dress

It's definitely time to upcycle a few things in my wardrobe, and I started with one of my most coveted dresses: the maxi dress. I loved these during my pregnancies, and the print is still one of my favorites. I wanted more fitted, knee-length dresses; so welcome, the "Spring Go-To Dress."

                  

    

To do this to your own maxi dress, it'll only take a few steps:

•  Try your dress on to get an idea of where you want your bodice to end. This should be before your hips, closer to the smallest part of your waist. My maxi had pockets built in, so I cut mine above the pockets, which was close to the bodice I would have originally chosen. Please excuse the longsleeve under my dress; I'm in Michigan, and it's a bit chill!

• Cut your bodice from the rest of your dress; then try just the bodice on so you get a better idea of how small you'll want to sew it to match your waist. I simply pinch in the sides, get a visual of how many inches on each seam I"ll want to remove, and place a pin. 

• Before removing the bodice, bring the "skirt" of your dress up to the bodice, allowing 1/2 inch seam allowance. Determine how short/long you'd like your dress to be. Since I want to convert mine from ankle-length to knee-length, I have quite a bit of fabric to remove (more outfits for my girls!). Mark the top of your "skirt" with pins, or measure how many inches you want to take off (the top is where you'll cut), and then remove the skirt and bodice (careful not to poke yourself!).

• Cut your skirt piece (from the top of the skirt) to your desired length.

Now it's time to sew!

• Use the pins on the bodice (top) of our dress as a guide for stitching. You may choose to use washable fabric marker, or you can just wing it like I did. With your garment inside out, sew new side seams that fit to your waist area.

• Cut the excess material from the sides of your garment and finish with serger or zigzag stitch, if desired.

• Now it's time to baste stitch the "skirt" of your dress so we can gather it to fit the bodice. Set your machine to a longer stitch, and be sure not to reverse stitch (when beginning or ending). You will need to be able to pull these threads in your next step.

• Once you've basted around the full top of your skirt (just a straight line around the top), you'll pull the bottom threads until the bottom is gathered to be the same length as your bodice. 

• Line up the bodice and skirt of your dress at the side seams, and pin all the way around to ensure they're the same size. Be sure that you line up your bodice and skirt with right sides together, near the edges. To test that you've lined them up correctly, just flip your dress right-side out (after pinning) to make sure it looks correct.

• Sew around the edges where your bodice and skirt align (one big circle). 

• Flip your dress right-side out, try it on, and decide if you want to add a belt. I added a simple belt from the remaining fabric. Just take a large rectangle that's the length of your waist measurement and double the width you want it to end up. Stitch short ends together (right sides facing) so you have one circle. Then fold in half length-wise with right-sides together, stitch down one short end and then all the way to the center of the long end. Clip your stitches, and add 1-2 inches of space (so you can flip your belt right-side out). Then sew down the other short end and toward the center. Flip belt right-side out through the opening, press, and fold opening together and stitch close. Stitch onto dress at desired locations. I stitched mine at the sides and twice in the front (under bust) and twice in the back.

• Put on your dress, and THINK SPRING!

Be sure to leave a comment with your latest maxi dress transformation!

Jennifer @ KuttiCouture