Introduction: DIY Convertible Dress

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I immediately fell in love with pictures of the Butter by Nadia dress, but at $250, I knew I could DIY it for less. I started seeing the same design being offered by lots of different companies, and figured it must be something great!  This convertible dress can be wrapped in an infinite number of ways to create different style.  I love wearing it on hot summer days as a slinky halter, twisting into something elegant for a wedding, or wrapping it as a skirt for daily wear. In fact, I love this dress so much, I made two - one in a lightweight t-shirt jersey and one in a heavy matte jersey - making them two of the most comfortable garments I own.  Next version: two toned, and with pockets!

Step 1: Layout

I kind of winged it with the pattern, but I've included a diagram I drew on some scrap paper to help illustrate my intent.  The skirt is a basic circle skirt, and the straps are pleated a bit in the front.  It's very simple, and I would wager to say one size fits a lot of different sizes.

I turned down the top edge of the back half of the skirt to create a finished edge.  The top edge of the front half is sewn to the straps.  The rest of the edges remained unfinished.  Like I said, it's very simple!

Step 2: Skirt

I cut the pieces of the skirt to the sizes written in my diagram.  The waist edge of the back half of the skirt had 1 1/2" add to the top so I could turn it down and create a finished edge.

I folded the back half of the skirt over on itself to finish the top edge on my serger.  This is easier to do with a zigzag stitch on a regular sewing machine if you don't know quite what I'm talking about here.  I hope the pictures help illustrate what I did.

Then I placed the front and back halves of the skirts right sides together and serged the side seams together.

To finish any serged seam, I took a large-eyed needle, and threaded the tail of the serger thread back through the serged seam.

Step 3: Straps

The fabric for the straps were cut according to the diagram.  The purple jersey was wider than the blue, providing more modest coverage, which I prefer.

I measured the pleat placement as shown, and pinned them together.  Before attaching the straps to the front of the dress, I basted them in place by hand.  Make sure that the two straps are pleated in opposite directions!

Next, I marked the center of the front side of the skirt and aligned the two straps accordingly.  Preferably, they will overlap at the center front.  Using the serger, I attached the straps to the skirt.

Wow, the dress is done!  How easy was that!

Step 4: Wear It!

Here's a sample of some of the ways you can wear this garment. The Butter by Nadia website offers a great video tips for wrapping.  There are lots of other companies who offer this same style dress, and with these directions, you can customize your own to fit your personal style. 

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