I kept this tablecloth from the fifties for ages now – and finally I knew, what I would do with this beautifull bit of embroidered cloth: An upcycling dress!

Okay, let's start...

Step 1: What You Need

All you need is:

A beautifull tablecloth
Scissors
A sewing-machine
Pins and thread

That's pretty all. The pattern is quite easy, as you will see in the next step.

Step 2: Cut the Tablecloth

Cut your cloth in 2 similar pieces. One piece is for you front, and one for your back. The width is deterimined by your hips (the widest part of your body ;-). The length of you taste – that is, how long the dress should be (above your knees, below etc.)

I cut my tablecloth actually into three parts, because of the embroidery: I wanted the square to be in the middle of the front. Since it was in the middle of the cloth, I cut two pieces for the back and sewed them together to one piece.

Step 3: Sew Shoulders

First I took a t-shirt to locate the right position for the cutting. Then I sewed the joints for the shoulders and fixed the material by zigzag seam.

Step 4: Sew Sides

Then I zigzaged the cloth on the sides. After that I pinned the side seams. For "sleeves" I just left enough space for my arms. After sewing the side seam, if ironed the cloth where the sleeves should be, and pinned it, in order to get a nive seam. Then I sewed.

Step 5: The Cutting

The cutting of the dress is quite simple too. I took a long piece of cloth, pinned it to the cutting (right side in right side) and sewed it. Then I ironed the long piece of cloth into the cutting, fixed it again by pins, and tried to sew it as even as possible in order to get a nice (visible) seam.

Just a side-note: I cut the cloth in such a way, that I had not to sew the hemline of the dress. The pattern of the tablecloth allowed me to use the nice embroidery instead, which looks really nice.

Step 6: Make a Belt

Since the pattern of the dress is quite simple (only two rectangles), it is nice to have a belt to give it a little bit of "form". If it is possible to use a bit of the table cloth it is even nicer. So did I: I cut one long piece twice as broad as the belt should be. Then I ironed it, so that I was able to pin it together and easily sew it together.