Friday, February 1, 2013

Altering a Vintage Dress


Here is a dress I (Beth) found in a vintage/costume area of a local thrift store. Pretty cute, don't you think? I thought so too. I loved the light blue color, the daisy print, and the collar and sleeve cuffs with the lace.



 It didn't have a size on it (I think it was homemade), but it looked like it would be a good  fit, so it came home with me. Trying it on proved otherwise... It wasn't really too small, but it was a little snug in the skirt. That didn't turn out to be a problem though, as the dress had plenty of length. Which then gave me an idea...




   
 I started by using a seam ripper and removing the sash from the front, then sewing the space it left back up. Then again with the seam ripper, I took the zipper out. After that, I cut across the dress where approximately my waist would be. I measured out the length I wanted the skirt to be, and then cut off the extra fabric.

                         (my lovely work area is also our multifunctional hallway)  

I made pleats in the skirt as I pinned the top of the dress back to the bottom, and then sewed them together. Finishing up, I re-attatched the zipper and put the sash back in by opening up the front a little and sewing it back in.


    

And here it is, all done! (please excuse the messy bedroom) A perfect fit with a loose fitting skirt, and I like the length better. It's a great spring dress, but the fabric is a little heavy for the warmer months.
I wore it to church one day and got a complement from one of the older ladies, it was sweet. Then an eight year old boy approached me and said, "That looks like a granny dress".
Oh well, it probably was once.  :)

2 comments:

  1. I must have been sick or something the day you wore that dress to church because I haven't seen it yet. It's cute! Nice job on being creative and figuring out a way to alter it to fit you! Looking forward to you wearing it in the spring as I want to see it in person!

    Becky

    ReplyDelete

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