Today’s piece started out looking like some sort of an ultra-beaded nightgown.

It’s silk, and it fits…but it looks completely ridiculous on me. This dress had other issues as well. First off, the beadwork was coming undone in several places.
Also, the outer layer was ripped on the zipper seam.

I began unpicking the beads from the dress. My original plan was to take off all the beadwork, and dye the dress a different color.

I unpicked all the beads from the bodice of the dress, and started unpicking them from the body. It wasn’t working out. 🙁 The outer layer of silk was too delicate, and started forming holes where I was removing threads.
Scrapping the de-bead and dye idea altogether, I cut off the outer layer of silk, leaving only the lining. Then, I trimmed off the ruffled skirt.
I decided to make this dress a top. I pinned the removed bottom ruffle to the neckline of the dress. The beads on the bottom ruffle are sewn in clusters, so if any had fallen off, it wasn’t noticeable.

I ran this through my machine. Then, I made a big cut off of the under layer that was the now the only layer.

I turned the bottom edge over once, facing the outside and hemmed it, leaving an intentionally exposed raw edge. I think the results are lovely. 🙂

I headed to Art Bar to check out my fella in the improv comedy troupe he performs in, The Art Bar Players. 🙂 They’ve started opening earlier now, and it felt odd drinking in the daytime there.




Cheers!