Bow Tie Back Dress

Happy New Year!!
I am soo excited about this upcoming year!
This dress was a Christmas gift from my wonderful sister

Merry Christmas meeeeeeee!!

I started by turning the dress inside out, cutting out the shoulder pads, straps and about 2 inches off each side & the sleeves.

Next, I followed the seems in the back and cut a rectangle out.

& cut a wide neck.

Chop chop!!

I took the bottom of the skirt and cut it into 3 pieces.. (I did end up only using two of the pieces)

Measured, cut and pinned them inside out.

Than sewed along the long side leaving both short ends open 

Now, there are 3 loops

Next came the binding and the meticulous pinning!

I measured 1/2" from the bottom and pinned one of the loops

Twisted it and pinned the other side 1/2" from the bottom.

The second piece was pinned 1" from the top of the first one

Twisted and pinned on the other side 1" from the top of the lower one.

taadaa!

before & after

Blessings!

<3

Easy DIY: Low-to-High Skirt

Good afternoon friends!

I've had this guy in my closet for a couple months know while contemplating what to do with him - so many options! One suggestion was to make shorts (I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet), another option would be a one-sholder dress (I think I'll save that for next time) so I decided to make a low-to-high skirt :)

Before!

Did I mention it only cost $0.99!

Start by turning the skirt inside out and fold it in half - I have the front to the right and back to the left. I put the skirt on and placed a pin where I wanted the skirt to fall above my knee.
Next I used white chalk to draw a line from my pin to the bottom of the skirt. Be careful to make sure the front and back are straight with the angle in-between otherwise you'll get a funny 'peak' in the front or back. **This is the MOST IMPORTANT PART**

I pinned the skirt along the chalk line to guarantee there was no movement and crooked lines

Chop chop!

Next for the hem...

I had the skirt inside out, folded the material in 1/6" (roughly) and pinned the outside - it was awkward at first but it made the next step easier.

After I pinned the skirt in 1/6" (roughly) all the way around I started the second fold. This I did at 1/2" using this handy-dandy tool thingy [below], ironed and pinned it down. This will give it a nice finish!

The hem

Sewing time!

Gave it a quick iron and thats it!

After!

Love it!!

before & after

Thank you for stopping by!
Give it a try and let me know how it goes!!

Country-inspired Dress Refashion

Got super excited when I found this flowery dress at Goodwill for $6.99! But what to do?!?! Its wintertime in Minnesota and COLD so I decided sleeves were a MUST.

I started doing step by step instructions for you all but it got a bit messy through the process.

Took the sides in about five inches on both sides

Chopped the bottom off right above the knees so there was would be plenty of fabric to play with for the sleeves.

Measured the sleeves, sewed them together and put elastic at the end.

Sewed the sleeves into the arm holes -

AND taadaaaaaa!

Here is a close up of the sleeve - I love the poof!

Before & After!

Easy Cheetah Maxi Refashion

Hello friends!

I had a couple hours free this Saturday and decided to venture into Goodwill and came out with three refashionable dresses! I knew exactly what to do with this stretchy cheetah dress - MAXI SKIRT! I've been looking for the perfect maxi all summer - even attempting to sew one without a pattern (#fail)! - needless to say, I'm excited about this one! 

Used 1 1/2" thick knit elastic - the thickest I could find

Took the elastic, measured it around my waist where I wanted the skirt to sit and put a pin to mark it.

Next, I laid the top of the dress on my ironing board to chop the arm and neck holes off

Handy dandy yard stick for a straight line!

Chop chop!

 I measured the hem for 2 inches to give slack for the hem and pinned it down all way around. Now, I am going to be honest... I'm lazy. The hem would look ten thousand times better if the fabric was folded in twice and than sewn but common, who looks at the seem inside my skirt??

 

and give it a little sew sew. I did leave about a two inch gap to feed the elastic through.

Elastic time! I used a safety pin to feed it which did made it a little easier to pull through.

After the elastic was through, I pinned the two ends and sewed them together.

Next, I sewed up the two inch gap left for the elastic (where the pins are in the picture below - notice how the gap is laying flat and the fabric in the far left is extra scrunched - obvious but worth noting) and we are good to go!

Final step - try her on!! Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner!

Thanks all!