Reversible sunhat from dress

My daughter wore this dress to the Queen's Golden Jubilee celebrations in our street - it was perfect!!

When she outgrew the dress I knew that I wanted to refashion it, but couldn't initially figure out what. So I waited for inspiration to strike...

Then it hit me.  A summer's hat...

But not just a summer's hat - a reversible summer's hat...

So now I can remember that celebration and keep the sun out of my eyes too!

Next...

A multitude of Flapper dresses

Would I make some Flapper dresses?

Well, of course, says I!

But there are going to be about 30 of them...

That's so not a problem!

The addition of fringing was discussed but we decided to add silver sparkle detailing to the dropped-waist, figure skimming dresses instead.

Like most of my costumes, velcro was added at the back for quick changes.

I made half in this style...

And the other half were made in green satin, with a slightly different silver trim and a bow on the hip.

The finished result...

One very happy dance school teacher!

Next...

Alice in Wonderland

Would I mind making an Alice in Wonderland costume for the local dance company?

Absolute no brainer - of course I would!

It began with a circular skirt...

I added a top (which had to be taken in a little with darts)...

Next I added a Peter Pan collar (this photo was taken pre-pressing - top tip - ALWAYS press your work LOL!)...

Puffy sleeves with a little gather...

Acres of Broderie Anglaise...  Always buy more lace/Broderie Anglaise than you think you will need, because you will need loads and loads of it, especially with a circular skirt!

All topped off with an apron...

I love how the more that I sew, the more that I know :)  All of the above costume was made with no pattern, just a few measurements from the dancer.

The dancer looked, and danced, beautifully!

Next...

Dress to tunic top

Sometimes you see a dress in a shop and the print is so fabulous that you have to have it, right?

I love it when that happens!

So I found this beautiful child's dress and brought it home.  See what I mean about the print?

My daughter fell in love with it and wanted to wear it, but on trying it on we found that it was too small at the top.

So I had to put my thinking cap on.  Hmmm.  What to do?

I know!!

I could cut the top off entirely, elasticate the waist and make a tunic top - yes, I think that would work!

I used the original belt to make some criss-cross straps.  Et voila!

It looks fabulous with a pair of leggings!

I'm not sure if you will be able to see this as the pattern is so intense, but the front of the skirt/dress is higher than the back - I love it!

Next...

Patriotic A line dress costumes

Land of hope and glory...

A-line dresses are quite straightforward when you know how.  Front piece.  Two back pieces.  Top inners and (in this case Velcro for a quick change).

So to make a few of them for costumes was a real joy.  There really is nothing more satisfying than seeing items of clothing/costumes I've designed and made in action!

Next...

Figuring out a small skirt to dress refashion

I spotted a skirt in the sale.  It was very long, very plain and very French Navy, which just so happens to very *me*. 

Now, normally I would be making a dress into a skirt, so this was a first for me - doing it the other way around!

 

The skirt itself was 3 sizes too small for me.  But, as it was slightly gathered under the waistband, I knew that there was more fabric to play with once unpicked and that it would fit once I'd finished cutting and sewing.

I could *see* the dress waiting to come out!

This was one of those 'I have to make this now and I will figure it out as I go along' kinda projects.

I began by cutting off the waistband which exposed plenty of fabric, as I knew it would.  I then grabbed a vest top to use as a pattern for the armholes.  And cut those out too.  I sewed up the shoulder seams and tried it on for fit.  It was definitely starting to look like a dress!

I fancied making it an empire line dress so asked my daughter to draw a line across my tummy while I was wearing the dress.  I bravely cut the bottom off then gathered both top and bottom and sewed them back together again!

Except I hadn't taken into account the fact that the 'dress' was wider than the vest top leading to an excess of fabric along the sides.  No matter, I can figure it out.  So I tapered the side of the bodice THEN sewed them back together.

I'd heard about people stay stitching necks and armholes before adding binding, so that is what I did.  After making my own bias binding from some lovely cream and French Navy heart and polka dot fabric, I bound the armholes and neckline and then tried it on again.  The stay stitching drew in the excess fabric around the neck beautifully.  The armholes are now a little tight, but I can redo those no problem!

I added some ties and a belt (in that order!) primarily to cover up the join in the fabric, but thought it looked good too.  I then added tie loops to prevent the ties from slipping out of position.

And then the back was finished too!

Now I just need some warmer weather to wear it in!  Pah!  I can wear a shrug over the top, that'll be fine - clothes need to be warn after all!

Next...

Rose-print summer dress (was curtains!)

I love curtains.  There's always loads of fabric with which to create whatever you desire!

So I saw some rose-print curtains in a charity shop and bought them there and then.  Well, you would, wouldn't you?!  The roses were not too big and not too small.

It's summer.  So I knew that a summer dress was the order of the day.  It is loosely based on an existing dress that I adore, but I tweaked it here and there.  I added a waistband to lengthen the dress somewhat - I seem to have a long body!

And because it's cotton, it's very cool to wear.

 

 

I also shortened the shoulder straps because there's nothing worse than having to tame a wayward strap every so often.  It was either that or employ paperclips!

 

 

But after I was happy with the straps, the front of the dress rode up a bit higher than I liked.  So I tamed it with a bit of ruching and a piece of leftover strap.  It gives it more shape too.

As I said - gotta love those curtains!

 

 

 

Next...

 



 

Rosey rosey

It's amazing what you can find through local Facebook selling groups.  I originally bought a different preloved dress to this but was asked if I would like this one too.

Oh yes please!!!

When I got it home I realised that it wasn't shop bought and that somebody had made it with love - which made it even more special in my eyes.  Think of the history of the dress.  Where it's been.  Which little girl twirled around in it.  Love it! 

As it seemed very weddingy I decided to make a clutch bag from it, incorporating the rose decoration too.  If I can find a way to use up the little bits and bobs which make something unique, I will.

I also added a strap.

As there wasn't quite enough fabric to line it as well, I used some preloved sheet for the interior.  I think it goes rather splendidly, don't you?

It was topped off with a matching baby blue zip and - ta-dah! - ready for its first outing!

 

Next...

Easy peasy sun dress to skirt refashion

You know when you walk into a charity shop and spot the most gorgeous dress sitting on the rail looking a bit dejected?  Well, bring it home anyway!  You can always do something with it!!

This is what the dress looked like before:

Beautiful, isn't it?

But alas, it did not fit.

Did I let that stop me?  Nope!  Not a chance.  I saw the potential. 

I just knew that because the dress was gathered below the bust line that I could easily cut it off and there would be more fabric available to play with.

I began by unpicking the bottom of the back zip up to the waist.  Then sewed that part back together again.  I shortened the new skirt from the waist rather than the bottom, as that had an existing hem.

Then I made a channel for some elastic.  I could quite easily have used the waist ties for the waistband, but decided not to for this refashion.

That's it!

Told you it was easy peasy!

Now it has a new lease of life.

Next...

Polka dot tea-dress

I saw a fabulous tea-dress pattern in a magazine and wanted to give it a go. 

Then I spotted some polka dot fabric that I just knew would work well with it.  Blue has always been my favourite colour so that also helped.

So I made the dress.

I don't use patterns very often as they don't always tell me what I want to know.  I tend to sew the way that I cook - 'let's see what happens if I do this...' so to actually try to follow somebody else's instructions tend to be an interesting experience to say the least.

I also tend to use the 'visualise it first and then sew' method.  The more I sew, the more I know!

It formed the basis for my outfit for my first proper stall last night - more to come...

More oilcloth adventures

Now I've got the hang of it, I do love using oilcloth!

There's something ever so satisfying about its look and feel.  And they always look fab too.

This bag was created with no pattern, I simply used my bag-making skills to fashion it into the desired shape.

I lined the interior of the bag with a pink polka dot dress which I thought went nicely with the rose print.

 

 

I added a pocket and magnetic snap fastening too.

One lucky lady snapped this bag up as soon as I'd made it.

Righto - on to the next...

Chrysanthemum bag

I have a thing about really large, bold designs.  And colours.  And textures.  Oh, ok, I love fabric of all descriptions really LOL!

But some fabric speaks louder to me than others.  And this refashion is no exception.  A while back I discovered a curtain with a huge chrysanthemum on it so I brought it home.  I could spot its potential from a mile off as it had 'please make me into a bag' written all over it.

So I did:

Its lovely, slouchy style is perfect for days out with the girls, a shopping trip or three or to carry all of your books to college.

And of course, it's unique!

I lined it with some fabric from a teal dress.  And added a magnetic snap.

I think I might make more bags in this style - what do you think?

Celtic dress bag

So I find some fabric.  But it's not just any old fabric.  It's a dress with the most wonderful celtic pattern on it. 

I had no clue what to do with it at the time but I knew that it would come in handy at some point - how could I leave something as pretty as this in the charity shop?

The bottom of the dress was almost Aline which meant that there was more useable fabric available.

But what to do with it...

When my friend asked for a bag for her big birthday I just *knew* that she would love something made from the dress.  The celtic pattern is so her.

So I cut off the bottom of the dress below the band and turned it upside down making a perfect bag shape!

Then I interfaced the ties and used them as straps.  Thankfully they were quite long anyway.

As I was playing with the sleeves that I had cut off the dress I had an idea.  What if I squished them, added homemade bias binding and turned it into a pocket?

Well, that seemed to work!!

 The base was made from more dress and the bag was padded throughout to give it extra body.

With the addition of a label it was all ready to go... but would my friend like it??

Well, I gave it to her today and she seemed really quite happy with it.

That makes two of us!