Hand(re)made
Some of my favorite thrift store finds are handmade garments. Some industrious person picking out a pattern, then going shopping for fabric and spending hours making something special for themselves is a lovely thought…even when it doesn’t quite seem to turn out the way they might have intended like this frock:
Hmmph.
I’m not quite sure what happened here. It sort of looks like someone didn’t quite follow the directions that came with the pattern, as some parts of this dress weren’t put together right.
You missed a bit right here.
Also, whoever made the original dress seems to have cut the fabric along the bias, which made it stretch in weird ways that weren’t altogether comfortable.
It’s okay…I can work with it. 🙂
First, I put the dress on my form to get it a bit more nicely fitted. There was no zipper or anything, so I made sure to not make it so fitted that I couldn’t wiggle into it.
Fitted, but not tooooo fitted
I put each side through my machine, then cut off the extra fabric.
What’s up with that interior peplum thing?
The neckline hadn’t been sewn down in parts, so I decided to just use that as an excuse to make it into a nice wide V.
See?
I stitched the new neckline down, then restitched a few other seams that were coming undone.
I think that awkward frock is much improved now!
Not too shabs.
I’m quite happy with this lil transformation!
Sort of has a 1940′s feel to it, doesn’t it?
My new dress was perfect for an evening cookout with some lovely friends. 🙂
Love these guys! 🙂
After the cookout, I headed off to see The Woggles!
They Woggle, but they don’t fall down!
It was an awesome show, and if you get a chance to see them, you definitely should!
Diane agrees with me!
Erin & Ken would concur as well!
Cheers!
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Tags: Year 4
That’s awesome! Great job taking something that wasn’t quite right and making it into something cool.
Love it!!! With the belt and sandals: perfection!!!!
Very nicely done! It looks great on you.
this may be my fave. I like it!
This dress is so adorable. I absolutely love how the neckline looks on you. Great job!
Love the fabric and colors! You do such a great job, I’m glad you’re getting your mojo back! 🙂 Thanks for being real to all of us.
Love it! Super cute…super super cute!!!
I’m sooooooooo delighted ur BACK!!!!!!!!!! It just MAKES MY WHOLE DAY HAPPIER!!!!! Yay! Thank u!!!!
Definitely one of my favorite refashions, and the first that I’ve ever commented on. This dress looks like it could go for $80 in a store. I’m so inspired by what you do! Keep up the amazing work!
OH yeah I’m really liking this one! Great job as always 🙂 Glad to see you’re finding your mojo again
Very nice! Love the belt together with the dress!
Love this dress – love your fashion sense! You have no idea how much you have inspired me. Disabled and have been feeling rather useless. Im creating in a way I’d never thought possible. Thanks for sharing with us.
Very nice, glad to see you back on track.
This is one of my favorites! I love the belt and sandal accessories. You rock girl
Nicely done! It looks like it was just waiting to be united with that belt 🙂
Your “before” picture always makes me laugh! Such a talented cutie!
Love the knee skimming length!!
Looks good and the colour suits you .
I wish I could take refashioning lessons from you. Such a great dress!
Looks like you’re back! Cute, cute, cute!
I absolutely love your hand(re)made refashion!!!
Supercute!
Much better
Lauren
livinginaboxx
Great post and the dress looks fabulous! I wouldn’t have even considered working with that – it would have been in the too hard basket, but impressive outcome.
Very cute, glad you got your mojo back!
Big fan of your blog, and I’m really glad to see it seems you’ve found your inspiration again! After reading your last entry, it got me thinking about the root reason why people like to refashion. And I think it’s because most people find stores too expensive for clothes never quite fit right any way. Not to mention everyone has features about themselves they like or dislike more than others, and finding articles that suit those features can be difficult.
So, with that common frustration with clothing stores, I was going to suggest that the next time you’re feeling uninspired, maybe ask your readers to tell you the kind of features they want to up-play or downplay and you can show us how to do it, Refashionista style! Maybe just being asked the right question will pop a brilliant idea in your head!
I’m sooo glad you are back! I always look forward to seeing you in my e-mail and love seeing all the things you do. I completely understand that creativity can become stifled when it starts to feel like a job – have fun and keep them coming 🙂
Super cute! Missed you and so glad you are back.
Yeah!!!! So HAPPY to have you back I the groove! And looking rather groovy!
Love it, and the way you accessorize!
You’re back & doing great things! Beautiful transformation – well done!
I like the pattern and the fact that your shoulders are covered with this style (as I would need for bra straps) and I like the new neck line! Good job! You could wear it anywhere, too!
YOU”VE SO GOT YOUR MOJO BACK!
Love this! It is so Anthro right now!
Very nice. I enjoy your blog very much and you have inspired me to start sewing again. Marci V from So.
Cal.
I would love to have your vision. When I look at your before pictures, all I see is something I would never wear. I don’t know how you can look at those items and see the cuteness, yet time and again, you amaze me with darling after pictures. I feel guilty for ever throwing away an outfit. You are so talented!
Love the look. You look so happy – glade you are back.
Gorgeous re-fash – a truly pretty vintage dress and I love that you altered an unloved creation x
You always find a way to make anything look cute. What most people don’t realize is that accessorizing can also make a huge difference. It can dress up or down an outfit. This is one thing that I have noticed that you do well. Great Job!!!
So glad you got your mojo back!!!!!
You have the best social life! I always can’t wait til the end of your blog to see where you took your new creation. Keep up the stylin’ work 😉
Great remake, awesome that you got to put it to use right away!
I agree with all the comments above. So glad to see you posting. And I also truly wish I could look at a piece and see it’s potential the way you can. Sometimes after you have altered an item I can see and think “or she could have done this” but it usually takes your initial idea to make my creative juices kick in. I am obviously not the idea creator, more the idea expander. LOL
Great re-do! I hope you’re feeling better – it is frustrating when we have a creative block, especially with something we love to do. Hang in there – hugs from Louisville, Kentucky!
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