Dress Make-Over

I found this dress at Target a couple weeks ago on sale for $9.98, marked down from $40! I could not pass this deal up, even if it was a size too big and little too short. It was just so darn cute!

Before (w/ my doggie in the background)

I immediately knew I wanted a ruffle to lengthen the dress, but all I could picture in my head was a pleated hem, so I got to work.
I was really excited about trying to make a pleated hem, because I always wanted something like this around the bottom of my wedding dress, but never found one.

I took in both sides, and ripped out the existing hem. I then hemmed the blue fabric first before ironing and sewing in the pleats. And just an FYI that I am SO glad I thought of before sewing anything together. I washed my blue fabric because I had an inkling that it would bleed. Boy did it bleed, the sink looked like grape kool-aid!

Once the pleats were in place I attached them to the dress using the old hem as a reference point.
I was saving this dress for church this weekend because I thought it looked very patriotic, and I am so excited about the way it turned out. The pleats give it almost a 40's look, which works great since I love anything vintage.
For the patriotic touch, I threw together a button bracelet that I will post another time.

After

Thrift Store Dress Make-Over

Well I finally got around to re-vamping one of the many dresses I stocked up on from the thrift store. My motivation to get me going came from my new pair of peep toe heels that have ruffles around the back. So CUTE!

Finished product.

Ok, back to the dress. The dress caught my eye because it had some really nice details. I liked the back cutout, pockets, the buttons up the back , 3/4 length sleeves and the fit. On the other hand, the length, shoulder pads, neckline, and bow had to go. It was quite frumpy to say the least.

Before

It also had a hole.

Once removing the bow and shoulder pads I hacked the length by a good 6 or 7 inches. Next came the neckline. An easy slit down the front turned it into a V-neck.

Goodbye shoulder pads and bow.

I pinned back the neck flaps and secured with what my mom and I call "stitch witchery," the iron on no-sew stuff. After I hemmed the bottom it still wasn't the shape I wanted. I grabbed one of the pencil skirts my mom made me and layed of on top of the dress. With this as a pattern I pinned and sewed the skirt to taper toward the bottom.


Finally, with the excess fabric cut from the bottom I made a belt. I'll give details about the belt in a future post, but I will say I was pretty excited about how it turned out. It involved my first button holes ever!

I have to say this is my favorite dress make over yet. I love how the overall shape turned out and how the pleats were accentuated by the tapering of the skirt. When you are just pinning and cutting (and never measuring, because I find it tedious) you never know what you're going to end up with!

Have a great week everyone!





*I'll be linking up to these Parties

Thrift Store Dress Make Over (05.02.10)

I had my friend Lauren's wedding coming up and I wanted to get a new dress for the occasion. So I stuck with my challenge to only buy dresses from the thrift stores and give them a face lift. I didn't put an end on this challenge...it may last a few months or forever...who knows, but I love getting a good deal! So this little beauty was equipped with shoulder pads and a high neck. The makings of all fabulous dresses, right? What sold me was the pleated skirt and drop waist. I immediately saw the potential.
The shoulder pads of course had to go. I really think they made the dress a good inch or two longer just by removing them!
After the shoulder pad surgery the dress was still a little too short. Probably because it was a petite size, and I am anything but. I took out the hem and put in a smaller one so that it was a more appropriate length. The sides needed to be taken in and I decided to make the sleeves shorter to make it less of a grandma-ish dress. To get rid of the high neck I unbuttoned the top button and pinned it back to make a v-neck. Once it was washed it was ready for the wedding.

Thrift Store Dress Make-Over (03.23.10)

So as per request of my sister, here is yet another dress make-over update. I found this one on sale for 50% off at a thrift store which is about as cheap as you can get! Although it looks very 90's school teacher-ish, I saw the potential within. I thought the blue and white polka-dot pattern would be perfect for a stroll along the beach, but the fit needed some touch ups.
First things first, the length had to go. I took off about a foot of fabric from the bottom and took in about another 3 inches on each side to make it fit better. Once I tried it on with the new fit, I noticed the sleeves were a weird length. I guess I didn't notice them at first because of all the other hideous issues staring me in the face. The sleeves got taken up and in to make it less frumpy. I found a white belt at the thrift store as well, so I cut off a whopping 13" and sewed it back together in the back. With the extra belt elastic I fashioned together a headband. Not sure I'm completely sold on it, but it looked cute for the time being.

So here is then finished project. Taken in, up, unbuttoned and ready for the summer!

Thrift Store Dress Make-Over (03.08.10)

I decided to take a break from my crafting blogs to talk about my latest sewing adventures. When I went to the thrift store last week to find another dress for our vacation and I found this gem as well. I loved the pleats at the shoulders and the flowy sleeves. Cons: the shoulder pads, awkward mid-knee length, and mysterious yellow stain.

First things first, I took out the shoulder pads. Then after trying it on it only needed to be taken up about an inch. Conveniently the hem in the dress was around two inches so I took the easy way out and folded the hem on top of itself and hand sewed it together. After putting in the new hem, I wanted to get rid of the stain by dying it purple. Note: when dying a 100% polyester dress make sure to get a poly dye, I used Idye Poly. The color came out great. The stain unfortunately came out more pronounced. I'm guessing it was an oil or grease type stain...maybe butter, who knows.

Well then I had to get creative. I paired a black v-neck tee over the dress and rolled under the shirt sleeves to make it look like a vest, and to show off the dress sleeves. I paired it with my black tights and boots and I was ready to go.

I'm not sure if you can see it, but that is the stain.

Shoulder pads...eww.

My "cheater" hem. But the fastest hem I've ever put in.

The relentless stain

The dress all fixed and ready to be shown off.

Thrift Store Dress Make-Over (01.30.10)

So the details of the previously mentioned "inspiration" are as follows: I am pretty much obsessed with the blog New Dress a Day that I mentioned in the blog Tid Bits. I always think to myself, "Wow she is so creative, I wish I could pull off something like that." Well as some of you know, Jordan and I are taking a much needed vacation to Cancun this summer and I need to get some new summery clothes to wear for the trip. So then the idea hit me... make a couple of summer dresses from finds at the local thrift stores! I figured I could handle a couple of clothing makeovers without freaking out. Jordan and I both had a random weekday off so we went to check out a new thrift store in town where I found this gem.

Surprisingly the dress only needed a few minor alterations to get it in a wearable condition. The overall size fit me just right, but to make it more appropriate for summer I needed to take a few inches off of them hem and decided to add some lace. Once I chopped off 3 inches from the bottom I decided to reuse the excess to make a belt to cover the hideous elastic/crookedly stitched waist. After a quick wash the dress was ready to wear! Now onto my next find!

Oh and my favorite part of the dress was the pockets! I love pockets!

Up-close detail of the belt

My very first hem. My mother will be proud...(I followed your directions to a "T," Mom)