OMG! Turn Your Curtains into Your Fave Festival Season Dress
Yep, you read that right. We’re taking a page from Julie Andrews’ character in The Sound of Music and turning curtains into clothes! We bought curtains off of Amazon and turned them into the perfect festival dress. Now even the most beginner sewers (want to learn? Take Sewing 101!) can follow along with this tutorial. We were gushing over the crocheted pieces that we saw popping up for this year’s festival style, but this look can be achieved with any type of curtain or fabric. And if you want even less sewing, skip out on the jersey lining and use this tutorial to make a crocheted beach cover up!
Materials:
— 1 1/2 yards of white jersey
— craft paper and/or dress pattern
Tools:
— sewing machine
— fabric scissors
— sewing pins
— marker
Instructions:
1. Trace a favorite dress onto craft paper to create a pattern, or print out our pattern provided.
2. Fold the jersey fabric in half, and place the straight edge of your pattern along the fold. Pin and cut out a front and back piece.
3. Fold your curtain in half twice so you can cut both pieces at once. Place the straight edge along the fold, pin in place and then cut.
4. Take one jersey piece and one crocheted piece, pin to the pattern and cut out the curved neckline for the front of the dress.
5. Lay your fabric down in this order – front jersey, front crocheted, back crocheted, back jersey. Then pin the side seams and strap seams in place. Sew these four seams.
6. The jersey will naturally curl, so allow the jersey to curl over the crocheted piece and pin into place to make a hem on the neckline and arm holes. Pin in place and then sew.
One hack for creating a new dress is to trace an old dress to create your pattern. Fold in half, line up the arm holes and trace onto craft paper. If the dress is on the tighter side, don’t trace so closely to the dress so you create seam allowance. If you don’t have a dress to use as a mock-up, print out our downloadable pattern – it fits sizes S/M.
Fold your jersey in half and place the straight edge of the pattern on the fold. Pin and cut out two pieces – one for the back and one for the front.
Fold the curtain in half and then in half again so you can cut the two pieces of the dress at once. You will want to place the pattern at the bottom edge of the curtain so you can get that amazing detailing. Pin and cut out the dress pattern.
Grab one piece of the crocheted pattern and one piece of the jersey pattern, and cut out the front neckline.
Lay the fabric down in this order – front jersey, front crocheted, back crocheted, back jersey.
Pin the side seams and straps in place, then sew. (It’s really that easy – four lines of stitches, that’s it!)
The jersey will naturally curl, so allow it to fold under itself and then on top of the crocheted piece. Pin into place to create a clean hem on the neckline and arm holes. Use matching white thread to sew into place.
Elise is festival-ready with her crocheted dress, booties and floppy hat. This breezy dress is perfect for the Coachella heat, but can also be paired with a belt and denim jacket for a more fitted casual look.
Show us your project by tagging us on Instagram + using the hashtag #iamcreative!