The Colorblock Dress
This upcycle is so easy, and I have to warn you! Once you get the hang of this you will want to upcycle all of your tops! One issue with Plus Size tops is that they often are not long enough. For some reason a lot of brands seem to keep the length of plus size the same as they do for regular sizes…which is just a shame! Plus size bodies have different requirements, and if you have a longer torso then sometimes you just have to improvise. If you order clothing online like I do, then you probably have some tops that just aren’t quite long enough. Try this upcycle and those tops will become your favorite things to wear!
Materials:
Two stretchy tops that are the same width across
Rotary cutter and mat
Sewing machine
Step One: First, chose one of the tops to be the top and bottom portion of the dress. You can use a plain top, sure, but if you have something with a fancy neckline or back details, all the better!
Step Two: Hold the first top up to your body, and figure out where your bustline is. Then, cut off the top in a straight line just below the bustline. I folded my top in half, lined up the edges and used the rotary cutter and mat to cut straight across. If you don’t have that set up, draw a line with a marker and ruler, then cut with scissors. Set the bottom portion of the top aside.
Step Three: Now cut off the second top, just below the armpits. You will want to check to make sure that the tops are about the same width across. This will be the middle panel of the dress, so make it as wide or narrow as you want. I removed about five inches from the bottom portion, which removed the lower hem.
Step Four: Sew the pieces together! I used a narrow zig zag stitch, which was set to about 4 in width and length. This will allow the fabrics to retain their stretchiness, and makes it so you don’t have to do any fancy stitches for stretch. First sew the middle portion to the top, then attach the bottom of the first top to the bottom of the middle portion.
This is such an easy upcycle! I’ve done this a couple of times now, and it literally creates something that I can’t wait to wear. Colorblocking is very body friendly, and looks great if you have some curves. This project probably only took me about twenty minutes in total, so you could easily do this in as an evening or weekend project. Happy sewing!
