Smocked Top to Dress Walkthrough

I wanted to create a mushroom dress to wear for the back cover of my book! I already had this smocked top in my closet and was not in love with the way it fit. Often times smocked tops are more of a crop fit and I prefer a bit more length to my tops. I don’t know why crop tops are all the rage right now…and if you love wearing them then you are probably loving the way brands are cropping tops at the moment. But I keep buying tops thinking they are of normal length, only to find out later that they have a cropped shape. Fortunately as a seamstress I can use those tops as a basis for tunics and dresses!

This project took 1 yard of cotton fabric with mushrooms on it, sewing machine and basic sewing supplies. The patch is completely optional!

For the skirt, I ironed the fabric then cut the yard in half. I squared off the edges with my ruler and rotary cutter. Then sewed the pieces together at the sides to create the skirting. Next, I used safety pins to mark the side and mid points on the lower hem of the top. I did the same thing on the skirting, only this time it was on the top edge. Next, put the top into the skirting, right sides together with the bottom seam of the top in line with the top seam of the skirting. Line up the pins, and attach the skirting and top together, again at those four points.

Start sewing, and stretch the smocking as you go so that each section of the skirting lines up with the top. If there is additional fabric than there is smocked area for each section, simply stretch the smocking most of the way and then sew the rest of the way without stretching. The key here is to make each quarter section of skirting line up with each quarter section of smocking.

I decided not to hem my skirt, because I wanted to keep the length. I zig zag stitched the hem, but you could use pinking shears for a cute look too! The mushroom patch was just what I needed to finish the look for my faerie book! You can use another style of patch or applique for a cute look, or even some lace detail on the color or hem of the skirt.

You can use this same technique for t shirt dresses and other upcycles too! This method is a great way to pair up a top and bottom that aren’t the same size, but still retain some stretch in the waistline.

Play around with this technique and see what tops you can restyle to make them fit more comfortably and get more life out of the clothes in your closet!