little tank to big-ger dress

Wow, never mind that hair...
What to do with this cute tank that is way too small - 2T too small. Don't ask why we still have it. So it is way short and the arm holes are probably feelin' a little snug.An easy summer dress is my new solution to problems of this sort. I picked out this lightweight grey blend and my little helper really wanted 'the shiny fabric' so we threw in a little of both. I used a yard lengthwise because that was what I had and it seemed about right. Next, I doubled up the grey by folding the fabric in half to the length I wanted the dress to be. I only doubled it because it was so sheer and initially I was only going to use the grey, but any fabric can be cut to length and just hemmed. I do like the look of the folded skirt, though. Unfolded, and sewed the width ends together making a big tube that can now be refolded and attached to the shirt. Don't mind the crazy ruffling of the seam. Something is definitely wrong with my poor machine friend.
Baste stitched around the top and gathered to about the circumference of the bottom of the shirt. Gathering can be done by pulling one of the threads from the baste stitch. Basic, I know, but it was foreign to me at one time. Next I attached the skirt and top stitched to help eliminate the bulky look of the gathered raw edges inside the dress. Next I cut the arm holes a little bigger all the way around. I just left the edge raw because it's easy and it looks cute. I ruffled a 2 inch strip of my grey material and attached it to the top part of the arm hole as a little cap sleeve.

Since my machine really wanted to ruffle this lightweight material, I decided to stop fighting it and just go with the flow - lots of ruffles. Cut 2 inch strips. Sewed a narrow zigzag stitch along the sides to keep the fraying down. Sewed a basting stitch and let my machine do her thing with the ruffling. If your machine is tuned up and in fine working order, you will probably have to create your own ruffles by, again, pulling one of the threads from your baste stitch. I rarely use pins, but I did pin the ruffles in place and then sewed them on. I only pinned because my first attempt to skip the step of pinning was unsuccessful and my ruffles were all over the place. I recommend pinning. Have fun extending the life of some of your clothes.