I’ve been DROOLING over the amazing wrap dresses that have been floating around in catalogs, high end stores, and the internet. These thing are FANTASTIC and gorgeous and amazing because of all the different ways you can wear them. Seriously, if you have one of these dresses, you might never have to buy another dress again. You wouldn’t HAVE TO, but of course I will. Because I loves to SHOP! But anyway, these incredibly versatile dresses run anywhere from $70-$200 and might just be worth it because of how much wear you will get out of them. BUT, lucky for you you can save yourself some major benjamins and MAKE one! Yep. YOU CAN DO THIS. AND it’ll be awesome. Just follow this diy wrap dress tutorial and be wearing your awesome dress by tonight.
I found myself in JoAnns the other day loving all over some green stretchy knit fabric that was on sale for 30% off. I LOVE all shades of green and blue and teal and so I bought 6 yards, without really knowing exactly what I’d do with it. I’m SO glad I did because I came home, did some googling, and found out that people are actually DIY-ing the wrap dresses I’ve been drooling over. So, I made myself TWO infinity wrap dresses (or convertible wrap dress, transformer dress, etc.) out of my 6 yards and I LOVE them with a capital *SMOOCH*!! I made one short one (circle skirt style) that is fun and flirty and drapey and divine, and a long one (maxi skirt style) which I also dyed darker (using RIT dye in Navy Blue) and is regal, and elegant, and beachy.
I used a combo of several tutorials I found online to make the dresses and a little of my own brain power thrown in. I didn’t find a really GREAT wrap dress tutorial though and so I thought I’d better document my process for any of you who’d like to DIY one or two for yourself. You’re going to have to excuse my messy handwriting and sketches, I wrote things down by hand as I went along instead of typing it up. But, I hope this is thorough enough for you and helps you get the job done a little easier than it was for me. Let me know of any tips or suggestions that you might have if you decide to make your own.
Here is the blueprint. Feel free to print these off and use them but only for personal use please!!!
Here is a look at the finished dress with the tube top…
Thats basically how I made mine (with a few adjustments that I learned along the way and threw in to make it easier for you guys). Would you like to see how to wear it?! I had a little fashion show this afternoon and tried out some ways, but you can also find tons of youtube videos on how to tie a convertible wrap dress if you would like to learn more.
Now my maxi dress… I LOVE it…
I feel like a Greek goddess wrapped up in my maxi dress…
There you go my friends! If I can do it, you can do it. Seriously, I made both dresses this Sunday afternoon.
TIPS:
- Use a knit stitch or zigzag stitch for stretchy fabric.
- Realize that this fabric is STRETCHY so make your skirt and waistband somewhat smaller than you think you’ll need to. Especially the waistband. The weight of the skirt will want to pull it off your waist if it is not tight enough.
- You can DYE these knits. SO if you find a some on sale, grab it and alter the color if you’d like with RIT dye. (My maxi dress is the same material I made the short dress with just dyed in navy blue dye for an hour)
Update 2/28/2013: Target has a great deal online for a wrap dress if you’d like to skip the DIY and go to the BIY (buy-it-yourself) version. Here is the post on that: Target Multi-Wrap Dress.
