from goodwill to her closet

My mother in law brought me this Eddie Bauer shirt from Goodwill because she loved the color. I loved the color too..for my daughter instead of me. I, of course, forgot to take a before photo. I just jump in when I start a project and don't think it through too much. I did find a similar shirt for sale here that it looked like. It was a women's short sleeve button up shirt with darts in the back. I cut it out of the same pattern I always use -Simplicity 5695. With this pattern, I use view D and just lengthen it by about 3 to 4 inches and exclude adding on the bottom ruffle. All Simplicity patterns are on sale this week at Hobby Lobby for $1.99. Or if you don't want to buy a pattern, here is a tutorial for a child's peasant blouse at the Just Tutes blog. You can easily lengthen it in to a dress. Okay, I fold the strip with the buttons right down the middle and pin and press. That way it will be centered when I place the pattern piece on it. I just make sure that I leave about 1 to 1 1/2 inches above the top button for the neckline casing. For the sleeves, when using a man's shirt, there is plenty of extra fabric for these, but in this case, I didn't have enough, so, that's where I brought in this Alexander Henry pear and apple fabric. I thought it matched nicely. The jury is still out on the pocket. Ideally, I would have liked a not so neon polka dot fabric, but I was working on this Saturday night and just used something I had. I still might unpick it and take it off. I also cut out a few of the apples and pears for applique on the bottom of the dress. I now have 3 more shirts (men's madras plaids) for future dresses waiting to be cut. I am thinking that she will be wearing dresses all spring and summer long. It's nice to think that I won't have to buy any shorts or other clothing to get us through the next few seasons. Now if I can just find some inexpensive leggings. I found some at WalMart (Geranimals brand) and they stopped carrying them. I can't bring myself to pay $10 for something that is just an "extra." So, if you see any in size 2T/3T, let me know!