So…I’m not totally stoked about this refashion you guys.
It turned out fine, but I wish I had thought through what I was doing more and gone in a different direction. Don’t you just hate when that happens?
Luckily, the original piece was only $1, so the stakes weren’t that high.
Still. :/
At first glance, This button-down blue dress may not look like much.
But take another look!
Aren’t those beaded appliqués on the sleeves gorgeous?
Some of you may be shocked/terrified at what I did first in this refashion.
I cut off the sleeves right above the appliqués.
Don’t panic, friends! It’s not going away. It’s just being…relocated.
Next, I cut off some of the length from my dress.
All of this chopping left me with a few raw edges to tend to.
This dress was made of a fray-free polyester, so I could have left the edges as-is, but I wanted them to look a bit more polished.
First, I clipped my sleeves under.
Then, I stitched them down.
I wanted my sleeves to be a little poufy, so I folded each one over a little bit, like this:
Then I stitched the folds down.
I folded the bottom of my dress over and pinned it into place.
I didn’t have to fold it over twice, because as I said before, it’s not going to fray. I just want a prettier edge.
Then, I hemmed my dress, like ya do.
Now, let’s get back to those appliquéd sleeves!
I cut off the elastic wristband from each sleeve scrap.
Then, I turned each sleeve inside, clipped the bottom, and sewed it off.
I turned my two sleeve scraps right side out again and stitched them to each other.
I cut off the original bottom hem from the leftover bottom scrap.
I tried my new dress on, but wasn’t quite happy with the length, so I chopped it off a bit more and re-hemmed it.
I removed the top button from dress with my seam ripper and folded the resulting top flaps into a V-neck.
When I was all done, I tied that bottom hem scrap around my waist and folded the sewn-together sleeve scrap over it.
I didn’t get a good photo of how the sleeve scrap thing worked, but lucky for you, I’ve repurposed sleeves into a sash before!
I styled my dress with a silver bracelet & earrings and platinum sandals.
Here’s a closer look at my new sleeves:
Some of you may remember this dress refashion where I used this same fold & stitch sleeve technique.
I hate to be negative or down on my own work, but I’m just not into this refashion at all.
There’s nothing terribly wrong with this dress, but it’s definitely not my personal style, so I didn’t feel comfortable in it. It feels fussy & reserved…two things I am definitely not.
I wish I had done something different with it. Womp womp.
Mr. Refashionista thought it was cute though, so I guess that’s something?
They can’t all be winners, I suppose.
Anywho…
Cheers!
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