Guest: Danielle from "D & G Stories"

I am so excited to have Danielle here today. She constantly amazes me with the projects she tackles and completes beautifully! So here she is: 

Hi all! I'm Danielle from D & G Stories, where I blog about my various domestic adventures. I'm so excited to be posting here today! I absolutely adore Amanda and this adorable blog. If I could bottle her creativity and sell it I'd seriously be a millionaire. (But you obviously all know that already!) So needless to say, I was thrilled but a bit nervous when Amanda asked me to do a guest post about something just for moms.  While I'm not yet a mom, I'm well on my way with my first baby due in just a few months. 

Being that I'm pregnant and longing for some cute summer dresses, I decided to make one as my project for today. And being that I'm thrifty, I'm going to show you how to make your very own for about $5!

For this project I used a Target ribbed tank top I had in my drawer, 3/8" elastic from my stash, and a mens XL t-shirt which I picked up at Target for $4.99. 

Start by cutting the sleeves off of your t-shirt.

Next, cut apart the top seam of the t shirt where the front and the back come together.

Cut the neck line off the back piece of the shirt.

Repeat to the front piece as well.

Next, angle the sides of the shirt, and cut into an a-line. I just eyeballed it...but you want to basically just cut straight from the top side to the bottom side.

The back piece should be a few inches longer on top than the front piece. Round off the sides of the back piece so that the sides are even with the top of the front piece, like in the picture below. This extra fabric on top will come in handy later! (This will be the length of the skirt on your dress, so take more off the top depending on how long you want your dress to be. I'm on the tall side and this hit me at the knee.)

Now you'll want to sew up each side. I used a straight stitch, but you could use a serger if you are lucky enough have one. :)

Next, take your 3/8" elastic, and sew into the top edge of the front and back pieces of the t-shirt. Stretch out the elastic as you sew, so that when you release it it scrunches up the fabric. (This will give you lots of lovely stretchy "give" in the belly.)

Since we are lazy awesome, we're keeping the original hem of the t-shirt as the hem of the bottom of the dress. So you now have the skirt to your dress finished! Almost there!!


Remember, the original BACK of the shirt is going to be the FRONT of your dress. This is because this side has the extra length in fabric that I mentioned earlier, leaving more room for that growing belly. :)

Turn your skirt inside out, and sew top facing down, right sides together onto your tank top. You probably want to try the tank on and mark with a pin or a marker where you'd like the skirt to start so you make sure it sits well on.

Trim the bottom of the tank off, turn right side out, and you're done!

The front panel of the dress has the extra room your belly needs, 

keeping the bottom hem of the dress straight and even.

I made a quick fabric sash to wrap around the middle of mine..but you could use a belt or just wear it without!

Either way, you've got a super cute and comfy maternity dress for $5!

Thanks Amanda for letting me stop by and share today!

And an early Happy Mother's Day to all the moms (and moms-to-be!) out there!

Thank you so much Danielle! I love this idea - and really $5?! Thats my kind of deal! :)