DIY American Apparel Jersey T Dress

There's this dress/shirt/shift thing I love at American Apparel. I first discovered it back in 2005, when this other company had printed some reggae logo on the front and bob marley's picture on the back thigh. Needless to say, I never really liked rocking Bob that close to my buttocks (it was a short-lived phase) so I upcycled it a year ago and now it's an awesome Jack Johnson tank. (You can see the creation of that shirt here.) 

In December I finally gave in an ordered a new one for myself directly from American Apparel. It's grey and I love it. Perfect for me to work in.  (That's me on the right... not the left).

Fine Jersey T Dress  - $27.00 - click here to go to the American Apparel website 

Last month I was on Oahu and went in to the American Apparel store, but I didn't feel like coughing up $27.00 for another one. Then I thought, "I should just make one!" Lo and behold, I came across some jersey knit at the fabric store in a fun kelly green for like $3.99/yard- so inexpensive!! 

1- I laid my American Apparel T dress on top of two layers of the jersey knit 

2- pinned it to the jersey knit

3- cut around it, leaving about 1/4" excess

4- sew a seam at each shoulder and down each side (you don't hem the neckline, arm holes or bottom edge!)

5- cut off any excess fabric or any fabric that doesn't line up

 Turn it right-side out, and that's it!

Sorry for the selfies, but I promised myself I would blog more, even if that means my photos aren't as good. I realized I wasn't blogging because my perfectionist self told itself that it could only blog with good photos! 

Anyway... there was this rectangle fabric left over and it looked like it would be the perfect head band!

So I sewed it up and cut off the excess!

I probably wouldn't wear it together, because it's too matchy-matchy. 

So of course, my mini-me, a.k.a. Ivy wanted her own green Jersey T dress :) I whipped it out in about 10 minutes-- headband and all. The photo shoot that ensued took longer than it took to make the dress.

Some reflection of this project:

-it's such a quick project!

-my jersey knit is slightly thinner than american apparel's

-jersey knit is extremely easy to work with - no fraying, so no extra hemming involved

-leave those raw edges alone and let 'em roll!

-back stitching was a little tricky - my machine wanted to eat the edge of the fabric

-i liked using a straight stitch and a zig-zag stitch

Get out there and make one! You won't be sorry!

Aloha, Rebecca