Hello All! I have a really subtle/hard to photograph/slightly underwhelming refashion to share! 🙂
When everyone at my workplace was encouraged to wear garnet and black to support the Carolina Gamecocks on a recent game day, at first I was like…
I just don’t care about football. I want to. I really do. Other people seem to get a lot out of it, and I think that’s great…for them. Or…why can’t other people get as jazzed about the things I’m into as they do football? This January, do you think they’d be willing to tailgate for the premiere of Downton Abbey?
Not wanting to be a spoilsport, I thought I’d bust out my NEW machine and play with some of its decorative stitches.
Stay tuned in coming weeks for more info on this machine, as well as a comprehensive review. But for now, I just wanted to make sure you were properly introduced to my sewing room’s newest inhabitant. 🙂
Alright! The refashion!
I started with this shapeless frock of an awkward length:
I’m a sucker for black dresses. They’re great for those days when I wake up and just can’t bear trying too hard to look nice for the same room of people I see every day. By now they know the magic’s in the makeup, know what I mean? 😉 Black is also flattering. So when I find a black dress that I think can be saved, I pounce.
The first thing I needed to deal with was that length.
When I turned my new dress inside out to hem it, I noticed something strange on the neckline. Someone had sewn a penny into a triangle along the front collar. This is why it drapes so nicely in the front! I’d never seen this before, but thought it MUST be a sign of good luck, so I kept it! 🙂
…Back to the hem!
I pulled my ironing board into my living room (which is all of 4 feet away from my sewing room), and watched a bit of Mad Men while I pinned.
I stitched my hem down with matching black thread.
Now…I could have just left this refashion right there, but I REALLY wanted to explore the customization options on my new machine. Plus…I had to feign a little school spirit for my alma mater!
I loaded up my machine with garnet thread and picked a stitch. I had pllllllenty of options!
I settled on a pretty Greek Key design.
My Pfaff’s display showed me what the stitch would look like, as well as telling me which foot I would need and other useful info:
I just snapped the old foot off and snapped the new one on!
See that groove on the foot to the right? That gives the wider stitch room as the fabric travels across the machine and keeps it from getting all bunched up. This is why it’s so important to make sure you’re using the right foot (and why it’s so nice that this machine tells me which one I need to use).
First, I embellished the hem.
The sleeves and sash quickly followed!
I was getting pretty excited about how designer-y my dress was looking, so I put a zipper foot on and embellished that too!
And just look at that dress now!
Here’s a closer look!
My frock enjoyed a fun after-work outing with a fellow blogger!
I ran into a couple of other pals as well. 🙂
As promised, this refashion isn’t exactly dramatic, but I do really love how the subtle embellishments I added made an otherwise plain dress unique and special. 🙂
Cheers!
