Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Fall Flowers Dress

I'm starting to get back into the swing of things after a few weeks of craziness, illness, and travelling, and boy, I've really missed you guys! And my sewing machine too! So what better way to celebrate the long-awaited arrival of autumn than to whip up a cute floral dress to wear with tights and boots? So I pulled out this Laura Ashley number from the clothes swap last month. It fit alright and was nice medium-weight jersey fabric perfect for cooler weather, but the skirt was a bit too long and the collar a lot too tight. Seriously, I could barely get my gargantuan cranium through that thing!

Clothes Swap HaulFall Flowers Dress - Before

First off, a little trim-and-hem for the skirt.

Fall Flowers Dress - In ProgressFall Flowers Dress - In Progress

Then I needed to widen that collar. So I placed the dress back on Rosy, and started carefully cutting around the old neckband, right up next to it in the back and then slowly sloping downward in the front. To make sure it was symmetric, I cut one side and then folded over the scrap to use as a template for the other side. Next, I left the dress on Rosy so as not to stretch out the un-finished edge and measured the new opening - 33 inches.

Fall Flowers Dress - In ProgressFall Flowers Dress - In Progress

From the remnant of the skirt, I snipped off about 30 inches of the original hem. Using a strip slightly shorter than my neck hole will help the neckband lie flat better. Then I stitched the ends together to form a loop.

Fall Flowers Dress - In ProgressFall Flowers Dress - In Progress

With the dress still on Rosy, I pinned my neckband in place, stretching slightly as I went around. Then I was finally able to take the dress of my dress form and stitch the neckband in place. Once that was done, I folded the neckband upward and top-stitched all around, reattaching the tag at the center back.

Fall Flowers Dress - In ProgressFall Flowers Dress - In Progress

I wore my new dress today with a pair of evergreen tights ($7 Target clearance last spring), my favorite thrifted leather boots ($8 Goodwill), and my leather jacket (Wilson's Leather end-of-winter clearance a couple years ago).

Fall Flowers Dress - After

Fall Flowers Dress - After

Fall Flowers Dress - After

Fall Flowers Dress - After

Fall Flowers Dress - After

Fall Flowers Dress - Before & After

8 comments:

  1. Welcome back! Missed your clever refashions! You are so talented!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ha! I have issues getting my big head through tiny crew neck tees...I can imagine your struggle. :o)

    JJ
    www.dressupnotdown.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yep, giant head and super thick hair cause all sorts of problems!

      Delete
  3. I love this dress.

    And I am struck once again by how clear and helpful your tutorials and photos are. I've learned so much from your blog. Thank you for taking the time to do this!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are most welcome! Thank you for taking the time to say so. I so appreciate your feedback!

      Delete