This vintage dress has been waiting to be updated since I wore it as "baby hands" for SNL dress up day at the YMCA. Yes, we workout in ridiculous outfits....I am proud to say that I kept my baby hands for the entire 60 minutes! I did like the dress in its' original form, but the collar was a bit annoying and it was a tad too long. The dress also was not lined so I thought it would make more sense to turn it into something more like a swimsuit cover up. Plus, the color/pattern was screaming 4th of July.
I did a lot of guessing with this refashion, and learned what to do next time, (story of most of my crafting endeavors). Here is what I learned:
Here are some pictures of my process. I am not going to make a full tutorial as I would change most of what I did the first time anyway ;-).
- Cut the top part of the dress more "straight across" rather than an arch.
- Attempt to seam rip the part of the dress with the buttons up by the neckline. This ends up being stiff and won't gather well. I was too lazy ;-)
- Do not make a casing for elastic at the top. I tried this first and it looked super janky and like a kids' sewing project. I searched the internet, aka Pinterest, and discovered "sport elastic". Which, by some miracle, I actually had some in my drawer! Most likely it was part of some shoe box of sewing supplies from an estate sale find. That is were I pick up most of my sewing notions. This stuff is nice and soft, so it works as a waistband up against the skin. You sew 4 lines, which helps keep the fabric nice and flat and not as bubbly as a casing. Love this stuff!!
- I probably did not need to "ruffle" the top piece before sewing it onto the bodice. I think I could have pinned it all together at the top and stitched it all together with the elastic? That might have worked, not quite sure.
- I used my new serger to serge the bottom hem. However, I still have random colored thread in the machine so the hem is pretty dark. I will either fold it under and stitch on my regular machine....or just leave it because it's just a cover up. ;-)
Here are some pictures of my process. I am not going to make a full tutorial as I would change most of what I did the first time anyway ;-).
Learned a lot from this project, that is actually a good feeling. My brain is starting to get a little squishy from summer break, so this was a nice challenge! ;-)
Anyone else out there totally replace elastic casings with sport elastic?! Or is it super expensive if you don't buy it in a dusty shoe box at an estate sale? Why haven't I heard more about this stuff?!
Anyone else out there totally replace elastic casings with sport elastic?! Or is it super expensive if you don't buy it in a dusty shoe box at an estate sale? Why haven't I heard more about this stuff?!