How to Make a Sewing Pattern from Old Clothes

I bought this dress from H&M and loved it. However, I wore it a few times and then I found a few holes in the front after washing it. I loved it so much that I found the dress on sale and bought it again. When I got it home, before I even wore it, I found another hole in the front. Needless to say, this dress and I were just not meant to be. But I held on to it incase I wanted to use it for scrap. I found some adorable striped jersey at the thrift store for .50 cents and it was perfect to re-create this dress. This is how i used the old dress as a pattern:

Step 1.

Cut the dress at all seams. But pay attention to how it is put together as you’ll need to remember this.

Step 2:

 

Place the newly cut pattern pieces on your desired fabric and cut out.

For the pieces that need two identical parts , like sleeves, I doubled over the fabric and cut those out together.

 

Step 3:

Now that all the pieces are cut from your fabric, sew all the pieces back together. In this instance, I sewed together the bodice, then the skirt separately and then joined them at the waist seam.

 

Step 4.

 

 Finish your hems and in this case I had to add a channel in the middle for a waist band. I also had to finish the neckline, skirt and arm hole hems. All of these things can be pulled from the original design.

 

I gave this dress to my sister for her birthday and she kindly took pictures of herself in it. She is just so beautiful and she styled it wonderfully.