LDS Temple Dress

I've needed/wanted a new LDS Temple dress for quite some time now and have thought about sewing one.  My biggest reason for putting it off is because I don't like to sew sleeves or collars.  So knowing I'd have to sew both for a new dress it was easy to procrastinate making a new dress.  One morning it hit me, if I already had a white shirt I could just add a skirt and convert it to a dress, but the shirt would have to be long sleeved and have a higher collar/neck.  Ignore the less than cute picture, this was taken at the end of my pregnancy.
That's when I realized we already had exactly what I needed!  My husband had a white dress shirt that no longer fit him.  So I put my idea to action!

First  I measured where I'd want the skirt to start, then cut off the bottom part of the shirt.

Next I removed the top part of the collar by unstitching the top and replaced it with some lace so it looked a little more feminine.

For the skirt I used a white sheet.  It's pretty basic, just measure the length and you'll want about 1 1/2 times the width of the shirt.  Sew the ends together to make a tube, then sew a gathering stitch across the top, pin it to the bottom of the shirt then sew together making sure the gathering is even.

Once the skirt is attached you'll need to sew the bottom.

Then you can add any embellishments you want.  I plan on adding something around the waist and maybe the bottom of the skirt when I find the right thing.

The quote from President Hinckley kept going through my head the whole time I was making this, the one about "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without"