Refashion Runway Sew-Along: Floral and Geometric/Stripes

This weekend kicks off the third season of Refashion Runway, hosted by the Renegade Seamstress! The challenge this week was floral and geometric/stripes, which is a fantastic combination for those of us who are only beginning to dabble in pattern mixing. To see what the contestants came up with and vote for your favorite, go check out Beth's post.

Having had so much fun as a contestant two years ago, I thought it might be fun to sew along with the weekly themes for this season on my own, but with the added challenge of attempting to do so from my current, recently-scaled-back refashion stash, without buying anything new. The only striped thing I had on hand was this t-shirt, which I already refashioned once but never really wore as much as I thought I would. Luckily, I also had a floral dress that would coordinate beautifully. The bright, summery flowers and the bright, summery stripes seemed to cry out to be combined, am I right?

First, I picked out the back zipper from the dress, and also salvaged the hook and eye, the hanger straps, and the laundering tag. Then I cut the skirt off the bodice.

The fabric was mostly cotton with a small amount of spandex for elasticity. This, combined with the fact that it was a couple sizes too large for me, meant I didn't need a zipper in the back. I could gather the waist a bit with elastic, and that would do just fine. So I closed up the center back seam where the zipper used to be. I also reattached the laundering tag on one of the inner side seams.

Next, I pulled out some 1-1/2-inch elastic and cut off a piece to fit my waist snugly. The ends were joined with some zig-zag stitches for security, as well as to limit fraying of the ends since this elastic will be exposed.

I attached the elastic loop to the skirt, stretching it slightly as I sewed. Again, I used a zig-zag stitch to keep it stretchy and encase the raw edge of the fabric, and I did this right down the center of the elastic.

To make sure the skirt was securely attached to the waistband, I gave it another line of zig-zags just below the first, at the bottom edge of the elastic.

At this point, I could've called it a day with a perfectly cute skirt that would look fantastic with any number of solid or striped tops (or another pattern if you're braver than I), but that wouldn't fit the challenge, now would it? So I put on that striped tee and marked where I wanted my waistband. Cutting a straight line on a striped fabric is so awesomely easy! Finally, the shirt was attached to the waistband in the same manner, with another zig-zag stitch around the top edge of the elastic.

And there you have it!

To complete the ensemble, I threw on my green leather belt and black canvas Keen slip-ons.

I tossed in some more geometric patterning with a polka dot Fossil bag and some additional flowers with my little yellow rose earrings.

Dress: refashioned // Belt: $2 thrifted // Shoes: $5 Yerdle // Bag: hand-me-down from a friend // Earrings: $10 Etsy // Bracelet: $3 Target clearance