Seeing Spots

This dress was another last-minute grab at the clothes swap last month. It's an XL, is missing its belt, and has a big rip up the back seam. But I love the sheer polka-dotted fabric!

With a couple little snips, I detached the black slip/underdress from the outer dress.

My plan is to flip the dress upside-down, so the skirt becomes the top. I trimmed off the top portion in a curve to give a shirt-tail kind of hemline. After a new hem, the bottom edge will be all set.

Now for the top (previously the skirt). I snipped the side seams down about 6-8 inches from the edge. Once hemmed, these will be my new armholes.

Then I repaired the ripped back seam.

Finally, I gathered the fabric around the neckline with a half-dozen small pleats in the front and back and joined the corners to form the new shoulder seams.

With my sheer shirt all set, I turned my attention back to the underdress. All I did was cut off the bottom half and hem the edge. Now I've got a black cami to be worn under my new top.

And to put the two back together...