EDIT: I decided to take a look at my local library to see if they had the book and I took it out.
Ingredients:
7 white t-shirts
ruler
tailor's chalk
scissors
straight pins
needle and thread
the top:
1. Lay a white t-shirt flat and cut off the hem (save it to use in step 12 of the skirt). Cut off only the ends of the sleeves (just above the hem). Cut an additional 2" loop of the bottom of the shirt and set it aside.
2. Measure 10" down the front of the shirt starting at the neck band, mark it with a pin, and cut a slit from the neck band down to the pin.
3. Mark a straight line from the bottom of the slit to the bottom of the shirt. Measure that line (x) then cut a strip from the loop cut in step 1 that measures (x) long by 2" wide. (Save the remaining fabric for step 7.) Center and pin the strip over the chalk line, with both sides right side up. Baste along the center of the strip through both layers. Remove pins.
4. Pull the thread and push against the fabric to gather the front of the shirt into a slight ruffle. (This will shorten the length from 14" to about 8".) Sewing along the same line, backstitch it in place.
5. Tuck the corners of the neck band inside the shirt to create a deep V-neck. Cut through the sleeve ends (from step 1) to make two 1"-wide strips. Cut off the hem stitching from their edges and tie them in bows around the front of the shoulders, bunching the sleeves.
6. Turn shirt over, mark the center back from the neck band to the hem edge. Cut along that line *only* through the back.
7. Cut the remainder of the 2" strip in half lengthwise (stitch it so you have two 1"-wide by 34"-long strips). Thread one strip through each armhole, wrap each end once around the sleeve (gathering it in the back), and tie the ends in a bow across the back of the shirt.
8.Twist the two cut edges to the inside and tie the corners together in a knot at the waist.
9. For a better fitting bodice, poke two small holes 1" in from the two twisted edges on the back and about 5" below the strip you tied in step 7. Thread the remaining 1" strip through the holes, wrap each end once around the twist, send it through the hole again, and tie it in the back.
10. Untie the bottom knot in the back, put the top on, retie the knot, and adjust the gathered cap sleeves around your shoulders as desired.
the skirt
1. Lay your six t-shirts flat and, one at a time, cut (through both layers) across the torsos just below the sleeves (creating tubes about 18" high).
2. Cut through one side of four of the resulting tubes to make four triangles (each about 18" by 45")
3. Place two of those rectangles together (wrong sides in), lining up the hemmed edges, and pin along one 18" edge. Sew 1/4" in along the pinned edge using a backstitch, stopping at the hem stitching. (This creates a decorative external seam.) Repeat with the other two rectangles and remove all pins.
4. Take one of the two newly sewn rectangles and, with wrong sides together, pin one of the 18" edges to an 18" folded edge of one of the uncut tubes (from step 1). Pin the other edge of the rectangle to the other side of the tube, creating a much larger tube. Sew along both pinned edges 1/4" from the edge using a backstitch and stopping at the hem. (The double-thickness tube becomes the front panel of the skirt.) Remove pins.
5. Repeat step 4 with the remaining rectangle and tube.
6. Insert one large tube inside the other, wrong sides together. Line up the double-layer panels and the hemmed edges. Pin the rough edges together and sew 1/4" from the edge using a backstitch.
7. From the tops of the six t-shirts, cut rectangles about 8" by 20" through both layers of fabric (cutting just inside the sleeves and just below the neckline).
8. Pin all the rectangles together along the 8" edges, wrong sides together, and sew 1/4" from the edges using a backstitch, creating a wide loop.
9. Measure 1" down from the top edge of the loop and baste around the circumference of the entire loop.
10. Pull the thread and push the fabric to gather the ruffle so that each 20"-long panel is reduced to about 7" or 8" long.
11. With the right sides facing up, pin the gathered ruffle around the bottom of the tube from step 6, placing the basting stitch line over the hem stitching. Adjust the gathers to fit the circumference of the skirt and sew over the basting stitch with a backstitch. Remove pins.
12. Cut off the bottom hem of a seventh t-shirt just below the hem stitching. Thread it through the drawstring casing of the two back panels at the top of the skirt. Pull the drawstring tight, gathering the back of the waistband into a small keyhole, and tie a bow.
Optional: Add small rosebuds or other decorations sprinkled around the skirt.
Hopefully you can make the dress become a reality!
The instructions were copied word-for-word.
Hope they aren't too difficult to follow without the pictures!