Elastic Band High Waist Dress {Mini Tutorial}

Hello awesome new project and fabulous way to recycle clothing! 

My friend Katie introduced me to a great blog with this lovely dress tutorial... 

{The Elastic Band} Empire Waist Dress

All we needed was an elastic band, old tank top and about 1.5 yards of fabric!

It didn't look difficult and is totally my style, so we decided to tackle it! We were really excited about getting this in the works because it looked so simple and comfortable! Finally, one Sunday morning we made a trip to Jo-Anns and purchased the supplies (I went a little overboard and bought enough to make a few!) and began sewing away at her house. 

We found the directions all in all to be fairly simple...the only thing we changed/added was that we removed the "gathering stitch" after stitching the skirt to the elastic band. We found that it was MUCH easier to put on over your head with this stitch taken out! I also decided to NOT stitch my tank onto the skirt. I LOVE the skirt as it is and the idea of being able to switch out different colored tanks for various looks is awesome. Plus, no one knows that it's NOT a dress once it's on! :)

Here is Katie's beautiful dress! She had an old green tank and paired it with the cutest green and pink floral fabric. She also added black lace on the neck of her tank to match the black elastic band. She said she has received many compliments when wearing it at work and that it looks adorable with a black cardigan! Super cute :) She is working on her second one as we speak!!

I also made a few adjustments on my own with the fullness of the skirt. My first attempt at using the suggested measurements (1 and 1/2 times the length of your waist, so mine was approximately 1.5yards) along with the stiffer cotton fabric made the skirt feel huge and really full (plus I'm not pregnant like the girl in the tutorial!) I adjusted this by taking in a few inches from the seam and added another two seams to make it less full. My second skirt was with a silkier material. This was the easiest, quickest and best fitting skirt of them all since I didn't have to adjust the measurements! The flowier fabric allowed it to gather and sit just right so it didn't look near as puffy. For my third skirt, I adjusted the original waist measurement to fit me almost snug, then added a triangle piece of fabric in the back for some wiggle room and fullness. All three ways worked fine and look awesome in the end! 

This was my first skirt! I used a black elastic with a black multi-colored tiny floral print fabric for the skirt. This is the one I had taken in and added two extra seams to. It's not so puffy anymore! :)  

I also made it a little shorter so it hits right below mid-thigh. 

See how cute it is to change out the tank top color! Completely different look!

This is my silkier skirt! It's perfect for the summer & beach. (I wore it in Longboat!) I also made this one a little shorter as well. I loved the fun fabric of yellow, pink and white...I've been eyeing it at Jo-Anns and am glad I found the perfect project for it!

This is my most recent skirt where I just added the extra triangular fabric in the back to a smaller measurement. It is a brown with floral print. It also has a little bit of gold glitter mixed in for extra sparkle! I have it paired with a white thinner elastic band (3/4") that I added a gold lace on top of. I also made a flower accessory with the scrap fabric and lace! 

Up-close view of the flower on the shirt and in my hair. Also with a different color cami ;) You can kind of see the lace more in detail on the elastic band as well.

All in all this is a super easy and cute way to make a simple dress...or skirt! ;)

Thank you Katie for suggesting it and Smashed Peas & Carrots for sharing it with us!!