You have probably seen our adorable new top/dress named Berkley's. Well, today we have a special treat for you! Ashley Lintner is one of our fabulous testers and she is going to show you how to take an adult button-up shirt and upcycle it to make a brand new Berkley's!
Isn't it amazing?! We thought you'd love it too, so here's Ashley with her tutorial!
-- My daughter loved her Berkley’s dress so much that I got to thinking, wouldn’t a man’s button up shirt look adorable as a Berkley’s top? Of course! My dad has tons of button ups from when he had to wear them to work so we went digging, the five-year-old didn’t find any she liked so we found some on clearance at a local department store. I bought an XL and XXL to make sure I could do the size 6 top with circle skirt. Since the front of Berkley is pleated, you will need to make sure that the width of the shirt will work according to the cutting chart. My plan was to use the buttons as the back of the shirt instead of using a zipper. I still had plenty left over too!
Before cutting, I laid my shirt out to see if it would be big enough for the project.
First step, I cut the side seams of the shirt to open it up to make cutting easier.
Next, I cut the bottom edge off the shirt where I would have a straight edge. I used the edge of the side seam and cut straight across.
Next, I cut out the front bodice piece according to the cutting chart. I used the back of the shirt for this part.
Next, you’ll cut out the back bodice piece. I used the button up for the back, eliminating the zipper. On this one you will fold the shirt in half and then line your piece up where you want the buttons to start and end. I was able to fit 3 buttons on the back of the shirt. You will make sure that the pattern piece is lined up against the edge of the button placket.
(Note: If your shirt had a pocket to begin with and it's in the way of your pattern piece, remove the pocket carefully with a seam ripper.)
Next, I took my second shirt and cut it like the first shirt. I then unbuttoned the front and cut it off at the shoulders. I then folded the shirt where the skirt piece would fit and cut 2 of those, 1 on each side of the button up.
Here’s what all of your pieces cut out should look like. I also cut the lining out with the second shirt.
I completed the pattern as instructed but when I got to the back here is what I did….
For the lining, I folded the edge under and sewed it down to the button placket, I tried to hide the stitching with the already existing stitching. When serging the lining to the back bodice I folded the top down on the button placket and top stitched it down, like shown below.
On the arms, I used the same bias trim as the skirt and completed the top.
Your shirt is now done! My daughter brought her A game for pics and loves this top!
Happy creating y’all! ~Ashley
