Busy, busy, busy.
Been staying true to my goal to become a one-woman factory of handmade items. I told myself that I need to have a good number of products before the shop relaunch, so I have become an insane satin-burning, bag-print-designing, chain-cutting, cloud-drawing, photo-taking lady.
SO FUN.
________________________________________________________________________________
Let’s get bored, crafty, and social: Bloglovin’ | Facebook | Pinterest | Twitter |
I was supposed to post my Valentine’s Day DIY today but I got excited over this new project. I did this yesterday and have worn the blouse to dinner and grocery shopping. Yes, I am in love with it.
First, a few things about the original dress. It was a tube dress that I thrifted several years ago. I probably wore it less than 5 times. The top bandeau section had a vertical seam right by the left chest area. It was quite a wayward seam that sort of annoyed me. This section was also a little too narrow for my liking. The bottom seam didn’t reach my underbust; the whole thing was a study in squashed upper body parts. The length of the dress was also problematic. I am nearing 30 and I feel like I have no business wearing things that reach no more than 2 inches above the knees.
And so I butchered it to make a blouse. (Finally, I have a cat motif piece of clothing. That I like.)
So you want to turn a dress into a blouse, too? Here are the steps I took. But first, some notes:
1. This will work best on jersey fabric.
2. I used a dress with an empire gathered cut. Any dress will do as long as the bottom section is gathered or pleated. This is because you will need wide fabrics to play with. Pencil or body-hugging dresses will not work.
3. You can also do this to a skirt by simply removing the elastic casing or the waistband. This method will also work using a shirt that is too large for you.
The tutorial:
What? Another dress, Meream? Yes. Because, as I implied in my last post, I have been slowly questioning my previous propensity for sewing short dresses and skirts.
This was the inspiration. Or Pinboard, if you will:
pretty fabrics from a local store | a Modcloth dress | dotted mint fabric I got on sale and a drawing of the dress I planned to sew
While the boyfriend entertained his guests (he had a PS3 party) last Saturday, I stayed holed up in my studio and started sewing the dress. The goal, if it’s not too obvious from my shoddy drawing, was to sew a dress with just the right amount of whimsy; to create a look that is 29-year-old-appropriate, if there is such a thing. While I LOVE the Modcloth dress above, I thought it looked too young for someone my age. I did, however, still wanted a few cute elements from it so I went for the shirred bottom.