Every time I go into Goodwill, I head back to where they keep shower curtains, sheets, and blankets. I love to find unconventional fabric and bring it back to life in a new way. Plus you cannot beat the price for the amount of fabric you can purchase!

The fabric I used to create this dress was from a sheet. (The set was missing a fitted sheet, but I didn’t need all of that fabric for the dress!) I thought the print was fun and the material was lightweight and perfect for a summer dress or top.

Materials for your Dress

• 2 yards of lightweight fabric
• Matching thread
• Invisible zipper

Directions for your Tank Top Dress

• Step 1: Using pattern paper, draw the pattern pieces for the dress and cut them out.
• Step 2: Pin the pattern pieces to the fabric and cut out your material.
• Step 3: Take ¼ inch sections on the front of your bodice and pin. Once pinned, your garment will look like the picture below. Sew a baste stitch over the pinned section.

• Step 4: Next, pin the BODICE FRONT and BODICE BACK, right sides together and sew the left side of the garment (orange dots)
• Step 5: Add an invisible zipper to the right side of your dress (yellow dots) according to the instructions on the package.
• Step 6: Follow the instructions in this blog post to create bias tape straps out of your material.

• Step 7: Pin the bias tape to the top of your dress and follow these instructions to make adjustable straps for your dress.

• Step 8: Next, add three baste stitches to the top of the SKIRT FRONT and SKIRT BACK. Pull the loose threads to gather the fabric until your skirt bottom is the same length as your BODICE.
• Step 9: After the SKIRT FRONT and SKIRT BACK have been gathered, pin the right sides of the fabric together and sew the side seams.
• Step 10: Pin the gathered end of your SKIRT to the BODICE and sew.
• Step 11: Hem the bottom to complete your dress!

Have you repurposed fabric or old clothing? Let me know in the comments below!