Hurricane Irene is Coming... So I Made a Hurricane Dress for Raileigh!

8:13 AM Posted by Desi @ Wee Share


Hurricane Irene is heading our way. We're about 20 miles inland near Charleston. It's not expected to be horrible here-- just a lot of high winds and rain. It's supposed to hit land a bit north of us in North Carolina. However, according to The Weather Channel, we still fall within the "Medium Threat Level" area, so we're keeping an eye on the weather just to be safe.

While we were moving and I was going through my ginormous pile of shirts waiting to be upcycled, I uncovered a shirt Darren and I picked up thrifting years ago. It's a blue "I Survived Hurricane Hugo" shirt. Though neither of us actually lived here when that devastating storm came through, we purchased the shirt nonetheless. What can I say-- we have a thing for odd, vintage tees.

Anyhow, when the threat of Hurricane Irene came about, I remembered our old Hurricane Hugo shirt, and knew that it was destined to become a dress (because that's all she wants to wear) for Raileigh.

I used the Sienna Dress Pattern by Lil Blue Boo with a few modifications:

  • Sleeve shortened to make more of a cap sleeve
  • Used dress size 3T with the length extended to somewhere between a 4 and 6 (there isn't a size 5, but that's where it would be if there was one)
All blue pieces of the dress were reclaimed from the Hurricane Hugo shirt. The dark green is part of an old Oakland Athletics Little League tee. This one happened to be mine and I wore it often before Raileigh was born. It had a v-neck, which I loved. The shirt hasn't fit in years, so I thought it was about time to do something useful with it.


The dress is completely Raileigh approved. This hasn't happened too often in the past, so it definitely makes me smile big. She has deemed the dress twirl-worthy, and even asked to not take it off.

We love our new hurricane dress. Raileigh is wearing it today as we prepare for the arrival of Irene. I know it will get a lot of wear in the future as well.

Any of you that are in the path of Hurricane Irene-- I am praying for your safety.
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16 comments:

  1. Nike@ChooseToThrive said...

    Bwahahahah! I love your sense of humor! What a cute way to deal with the reality of living along the coast. Good luck this weekend ...

  2. Brave Brooke said...

    I love how excited she looks to have a new dress! It is too cute and I like your humor about this weekend!

  3. Caroline said...

    Just stumbled upon your blog from TT&J. I live in N.Chas and love this!!!!

    Caroline
    lucyreilyn@yahoo.com

  4. Hollowsins said...

    What a cute dress..too bad I can't sew.She is getting so big! Watching your blog the past year or so,it seems like she has doubled in size..too cute!

  5. Danielle said...

    Such an adorable shirt I love it. I hope you don't get hit to hard with bad weather.

  6. LeighAnn said...

    Very cute dress! www.jamesandleighann.blogspot.com

  7. Jenny said...

    Fab idea! Hope the weather isn't too bad where you are.
    Visiting from Running with Glitter.

  8. Sunny Vanilla said...

    Super cute! I'm a Florida gal and we've survived a few a big ones too. Great idea. Thanks for sharing :-)

  9. Jamie said...

    Awww your daughter is just adorable! And I love the shirt turned dress - what a cute idea!

    Please feel free to link your re purposed hurricane dress up to my new Make Yourself Monday Blog Hop!

    -Jamie
    For Love of Cupcakes

  10. Emily said...

    I was thinking of making an I survived Irene shirt~ Hope you made it through safely, so glad we did here. Too cute. Thanks for linking up!
    Emily
    domesticdeadline.blogspot.com

  11. Just Jaime said...

    FUN! I'm from NC so I know all about surviving hurricanes.

  12. Jamie said...

    Very cute. If you get a chance I would love you to link your shirt up to More the Merrier Monday. It lasts through Wednesday so you have plenty of time to stop by. See you there. http://diyhshp.blogspot.com/

  13. Suzanne said...

    Hey, I was in SC in 1989 for Hugo- and I just survived Irene in Delaware. Hugo was much worse than Irene for me.
    Your dress is so cute and so is your daughter.

  14. Alison said...

    Oh my goodness, I am so in love with this. I was only 3 when Hugo hit us. I think about those shirts everytime a hurricane comes. In fact one of my latest posts was "I Survived Hurrican Hugo and Ikea"! :) I would LOVE for you to join my locals link-up. So nice to find a fellow Charlestonian in the blogworld. :) http://foryoubylove.blogspot.com/2011/08/locals-link-up.html

  15. shopannies said...

    how very cute

  16. Liz @ the Brambleberry Cottage said...

    Another cute t-dress! Hope the storm wasn't too bad for you. We got heavy winds and lots of rain, here in NC.

    Thanks for linking to Time Travel Thursday.

    Liz @ the Brambleberry Cottage
    http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/