The sad-looking old dress below was a recent charity shop find.
Whilst the cut and length were incredibly unflattering, the style somewhat dated, and the buttons really beaten up, I saw potential in this little number!
So whilst I started off with this...
...I ended up with this!
To begin with, I unpicked the skirt and sleeves from the bodice. I didn’t like the neckline so I cut across the top of the bodice, making it (temporarily!) strapless.
Then I cut up the back and put in a zip, adding darts and bringing in the sides of the bodice for a more fitted look.
When it comes to the skirt, I cut off about 1.5-2 inches from the top, gathered it again and sewed it back onto the bodice.
Using some of the fabric from the sleeves, I made straps and sewed them onto the dress. I swapped the battered buttons for some cute purple flower-shaped ones, and added some daisy trim to finish off.
Since I had some fabric left over, I decided to make a head bow too!
Here’s the dress styled up.
(Alfie decided he wanted to be in the picture too!)
This dress will be great to wear on its own in the summer--the fabric is just the right weight for a summer dress. For the current season I’m wearing it over a shirt or tee, or under a cute cardigan.
This was my first ever dress refashion--and I’m totally happy with it!
Linking up at:
Linking up at:
Found you and this dress on Poupee. It's so adorable.
ReplyDeleteThis is great for your first dress refashion! Looks like you've been doing it for a while.
http://blog.stylegeekproductions.com
Wanting to do things like this is the entire reason I got back into sewing. Someday, I'll have the confidence to actually do it! I love how your tweaking even helped modernize a somewhat dated pattern. It looks great!
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting me at The Stingy Stitcher!
wow what a transformation! I love to sew to. www.ylifeunzipped.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteHello! I love what you did with that dress! I can't believe it's the first time you refashioned a dress, you did such a professional looking job. I love it taking something old, and not useful anymore and making something pretty out of it. You stopped by my blog and left a nice comment, so I stopped by to check yours out. I love your blog. I too, design jewelry. I have many of my pieces in older posts. You make very pretty things. I am from Missouri in the United States, isn't it great that we can be so far away, but still share a look at each others creations. I will be back to visit.
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