This weekend I physically exhausted myself in the garden (did not take long!!! - a couple of hours each day), which left me with heaps of time to sit and sew for relaxation.
Inspired by my recent
finish of a recycled quilt I went through the stack of unfinished projects by my machine. There was a dress I had bought about a month ago from a Save the Children Op Shop in Christchurch.
I am not very good at sewing clothes for myself from scratch, but if something fits I know I can generally make it look better.
One of the things that really bug me about ladies clothes is NO POCKETS - why why why. Yes I carry a handbag but it is so handy to have pockets. And why was there no fastening at the waist? - so it gaped - no dome or button or anything.
So I made a new collar, new sleeve end, stitched a pocket into the waistband but floats externally, shortened the length and added some bias, added a $1 belt also from the Op Shop and presto - A new outfit that I am thrilled with.
I wore it to church today and heaps of people commented on it.
$10 dress
$1 belt
$5.50 fat quarter of green and black flower material from
quilters quarters in Rangiora
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| The finished article. |
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| The before (sorry not good photo) |
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| The before on my dress model |
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| Worn to church this morning |
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| icky 80's collar |
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| off with the collar and half the sleeve |
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| On with a new collar |
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| on with a new cuff |
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| Add an external pocket |
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| jazz up the bottom of the skirts. Shorten by 1 inch and add bias |
DONE -
I link up to these places
href="http://thededicatedhouse.blogspot.com">
That is so cute! I love the dress, it looks really lovely on you
ReplyDeletethanks Jess, I felt a bit more glam than usual
DeleteWOW Karen, what a great frock. Shape and colour suit you so well. L.o.v.e the new neckline and collar...very 40's tea dress-esque. x
ReplyDeletethat's exactly the look I was going for. Another ladies lunch needed to use the dress more??!!
DeleteIt looks fantastic well done. You've made it so much nicer than it was :0)
ReplyDeletethanks Miriam, I loved the we movie you put on your blog about giving appreciation. We need something like that in one of the gap filler projects
DeleteKaren, Thank you for visiting my blog and your gracious comments. I am with you when it comes to making and remaking outfits that work for me. I love your dress and the black and white with a little punch of color is so in for spring. Also love the quilt on your header one of my favorite patterns.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy,
Peggy
http://gardenhouseliving.com
That is a beautiful redo! I love it.
ReplyDeleteThis is great. Love to see someone around my age making neat clothing to wear.
ReplyDeleteNina
Thanks for visiting and following Nina. i enjoyed your blog about camping outside in your own backyard
DeleteI love the remake of your dress, it looks fabulous. Visiting from Sew Darn Crafty.
ReplyDeleteReally nice refashion!
ReplyDeleteWhat I love most are the new neckline and the green bias :)
MammaNene from
SergerPepper.blogspot.it
Loving the remake this is gorgeous
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting my blog via Show and Tell
You are so talented! That dress is adorable!!! The color is fabulous and the green ribbon just pops!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your awesome positive comments.
DeleteI love the refashion and how it looks is so much more "hip". ha ha Thanks for showing how. Maybe I'll take a look at some older clothes in the closet. I'd love to have you share this at What to do Weekends Party, too. Followed you. Linda
ReplyDeletehttp://www.craftsalamode.com/2013/03/what-to-do-weekends-9.html
Hi Linda. Thanks for following and the invite. Am popping over now.
DeleteYou look amazing! Get to that ladies lunch.
ReplyDeleteThe refashion is great! Thank you for sharing and thank you for the visit and sweet comment at The Dedicated House. It means the world! Would love it if you would share this at my Make it Pretty Monday party which is live. Here's the link if you want to check it out. http://thededicatedhouse.blogspot.com/2013/03/make-it-pretty-monday-week-40.html Hope to see you at the bash! Toodles, Kathryn @TheDedicatedHouse
ReplyDeleteFabulous transformation - those changes really make a difference! Thanks for linking to the Craftastic Monday party at Sew Can Do:)
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesome change-- definitely from frumpy to fabulous! Love what you did with it. :)
ReplyDeleteWow what a fab revamp. The collar and belt just set it off too.
ReplyDeleteThat is absolutely stunning on you!!! No wonder you got so many compliments :) A brilliant upcycle!
ReplyDeleteWow. A new neckline, collar...trim on the skirt (and a Belt!)...what a difference those details made! I'm inspired. Thanks so much for sharing. Lynaea @ EverydayBloom.com
ReplyDeletei just keep looking between the two, hard to believe it is the same dress! your've done a great job, i love the bands of green and black at the bottom, give it a nice contemporary look: and i'm with you, i wont buy unless it has pockets! great to have you linking, have a great week x
ReplyDeletewow thats fabulous! you look so super cool in the altered version x
ReplyDeletewhat a fantastic job you've done! it's awesome!! and yes the pockets thing... if there were more pockets i'd try to leave the bag at home! well done- it's an awesome dress :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a transformation! Well done!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great upcycle! You are very clever!
ReplyDeletexx
What a fabulous refashion!!! With just a few changes, you have made a BIG difference to the look of the dress. Great job.
ReplyDeleteOh my dress! It made such a huge difference on the dress. It doesn't even look like the same dress after the collar and some added details. So awesome what you did and it looks way better than the original condition. I too don't understand why there are no pockets. That's why I love thrifing for vintage clothes because a lot of the clothing do have pockets on both sides. :) Love it! Visiting you via Recycled Fashion Friday!
ReplyDeleteAdin B
http://www.chetopianfamily4.com/2013/03/my-sahm-style-salmon-y-mint.html
And oh, I love that quilted blanket of yours. So beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI love the green contrast band.
ReplyDeleteMy goodness ... what a wonderful transformation! Your 'new' dress looks terrific. I love the bit of green you added.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous transformation! Thanks for sharing at The Weekly Creative.
ReplyDeleteShannon @ Sewing Barefoot
I've featured this at the newest Craftastic Monday Link Party at Sew Can Do & pinned it as a favorite pick too. Stop by to check it out & grab a Featured On button:)
ReplyDeleteOhhh Cheryl thanks so much. I will do that right now. You make me feel very proud of my creation
DeleteYou stopped by my blog today @ http://createcraftchere.blogspot.com/ and left a nice message. It inspired me to drop by you site here. I am so glad I did. The dress transformation is a great idea, love it!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely transformation! The "new" looks so fresh for spring!
ReplyDeleteI'm jealous I can't sew a stitch!
Clearly, I need to learn to sew, This is darling!!!
ReplyDeleteHi Shannon thanks for visiting. You so do need to learn. I learnt by sewing kids clothes which don't need to be so accurate.
DeleteWow! What a great refashion. I've seen lots of dress refashions, but yours has definitely transformed the original dress. The fun details you added totally changed the dress and put your personality into it.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sarah, I am working on my next refashion and it wont have quite this pizaz!
DeleteI love the colar :D
ReplyDeleteSo beautiful!
Karen, that is absolutely beautiful! The "before" was definitely drab and out-of-date. You made that dress look absolutely amazing; so stylish and VERY flattering! You look lovely in it! And the price? You can't do better than that! Congrats on an amazing transformation and thank you for linking up!
ReplyDeletexo -E
What an amazing transformation! It's adorable.
ReplyDeleteBlessings from Harvest Lane Cottage,
Laura
I liked this very much.
ReplyDeletemirjam
Wow very nice post i am really impressed to this post.
ReplyDeleteWholesale Branded Clothing
Wholesale Clothing Suppliers
Just jacked off to these pics
ReplyDelete