See-Through Boho Lace Dress DIY

See-Through Boho Lace Dress DIY: Convert an Old Curtain To a Pretty Dress

diy-fashion-see-through-lace-dress-sitting-hor-title-result-May-24-2015-01-txt

As I promised in my last fashion inspiration post, here comes my boho lace dress DIY! I made it out of a lace curtain using an old tee as a pattern 😉 For this DIY, I got inspired by lace tees in general and the one worn by Kayla Hadlington in particular.

Why Curtain?.. Why Not!

Yep, I made this dress out of a lace curtain! Why? Well, because I got the curtain several years ago, and I absolutely did not know what to do with it!

The curtain was left abandoned in my closet for all this time. I do not remember where it came from or why I accepted it as a gift (it was definitely a gift: I would never buy anything like this even for $1). I think it may even have traveled with me from Russia! I guess I felt nostalgic and wanted to have a piece of the mother land in my home. This kind of interior design style used to be very popular in 1980s in Russia, so it is quite possible this is a vintage curtain.

I would never put this kind of curtain on my windows (aggrh, why did I bring it at all!), so I had only two options: Give it away to a charity store or… use it for a DIY 🙂 I liked the yellow daisy tee in Kayla’s post and decided to make something similar. Half a tee, half a boho dress.

And so I did!

The last time when I made a dress was about 20 years ago. I think these results are not that bad 😉

Boho Lace Dress DIY Results

Boho Lace Dress DIY Results

How To Get The Look

In this outfit I wear the DIY dress with high waisted denim shorts, a bandeau top and T.U.K. shoes. I added a body chain and an ethnic statement necklace to support the boho look. To add some accent on the hands I put on white jadeite bead bracelets (also a DIY of mine). Not sure about how well the over-sized baroque round sunglasses fit the over-all look, but this pair was the best match among all the sunglasses I have.

Boho Lace Dress DIY Results

Boho Lace Dress DIY Steps

For this DIY I needed a dress pattern. I did not know how to print the full size dress pattern on my tiny printer, so I decided to use a different approach. I took an old tee, cut it along the seems and used it as a pattern. Easy-peasy 😉

Boho Lace Dress DIY Steps

Boho Lace Dress DIY Steps

DIY Steps:

  1. For this DIY you will need:
    • white lace curtain (or just some lace fabric);
    • an old oversized t-shirt;
    • scissors;
    • pins;
    • white thread;
    • a sewing machine.
  2. Cut the tee along the seams.
  3. Cut the front part in two in the middle. You should end up with two tee pieces: a half of the front and a flat sleeve.
  4. Put the front part of the tee on the double folded curtain. Cut the curtain along the tee leaving about 1/3” (0.8 cm) from the tee sides for the hem allowance. Repeat the step to make the back part.
    Here I decided to make some changes in the design. I made the dress longer and wider on the bottom. In addition, I used the ornamented hem of the curtain as the hem of the dress.
  5. Fold the curtain in two and cut out the dress sleeves using the tee sleeve as a pattern.
    Here I again decided to use the curtain hem. Now the dress hem and the sleeves have the same ornament.
  6. Cut the hems along the lace ornament lines. Do it with the dress parts and the sleeves.
  7. Sew the shoulder seams. Cut the hem allowance close to the seam.
  8. Sew in the sleeves.
  9. Sew the dress sides.
    On the bottom I left the sides open for about 11” (30 cm) and hemmed them.

And now wear it! Happy DIY-ing!

Boho Lace Dress DIY Results

Disclaimer: Yup, this post may contain affiliate links! If you buy something from me, I get some margarita money (not enough to buy a pair of shoes). Read more here.

15 replies
    • dushonok
      dushonok says:

      Estana, thanks for stopping by!
      Using scarves to make this dress sounds like a great idea! If they are big enough, of course.
      Actually I have recently got rid of so many scarves I do not wear anymore… why didn`t I think about using them in my DIYs? Thanks for the idea!

      Reply
  1. Andreea
    Andreea says:

    Ok i never would have thought to turn a lace curtain into a dress, but this is really inspiring and it looks awesome! I’m not sure if i could pull this look off though… Hmm… But i think i should check my mom’s curtains… :))
    PS: love the glasses!!

    Reply
    • dushonok
      dushonok says:

      Andreea, thanks for a lovely comment! I got the idea from the book “Gone With The Wind” where the main character, Scarlet O’Hara, made a fancy dress out of velvet curtains and some feathers from a rooster’s tail 🙂 it was my favorite book when I was a teen. Finally 20 years later I followed in her tracks!

      Reply
      • Andreea
        Andreea says:

        While reading your comment i totally had the scene from the movie in my head! Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable were amazing! Unfortunately i saw the movie first and it actually made me not want to read the book. I just don’t like sad stories. 🙂

        Reply
        • dushonok
          dushonok says:

          hehe 🙂
          I read the book before seeing the movie and got a bit upset to see how much they removed from the movie. But the end was of course kept unchanged… and yes, it is sad. But the book has at least one sequel with a good end 🙂 I read it too, and now I know Rhett and Scarlet reunited at last!
          Our conversation made me want to see the movie again 🙂 Love the actors, such a great match to the book characters 🙂

          Reply

Trackbacks & Pingbacks

  1. […] See-Through Boho Lace Dress DIY: Convert an Old Curtain To a Pretty Dress, by Dushonok […]

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.