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One Dress, Three Ways III: A Dress to Skirt Refashion

Thrifty Ways to Make This Valentine's Day More Special Than Spendy
One Dress, Three Ways II: No-Sew Dress to High Low Top Refashion

Hello all.  Whew!  I have been one busy busy gal!  Starting my new job and lots of other fun things have kept me in a most exciting flurry of activity!  ðŸ™‚

Don’t worry!  It’s all calming down enough for me to blog a bit more regularly…at least for now!  ðŸ™‚

I feel like the last time we talked, I was near the end of a project.  Hmmmmnnn…what could that have been?

One Dress, Three ways
Oh yes! Now I remember!

You can see the previous (no sew!) incarnations of this dress right here and here!

I thought it was time to whip out my machine for the final chapter in this thrilling saga!

Since I’ve already made a dress and a top, I decided to go for (as many of you guessed) a skirt!

I wisely held onto that bottom scrap from #2!

dress cut in two pieces
What’s the plan, Stan?

To get started, I did a bit of cutting:

top cut off of shirt
Don’t wave Goodbye yet, little sleeve! I have a plan for you!

I knew I wanted to go for a funky layered look for my new skirt, and that I wanted it to be fitted.

I took a dress that I really like the fit of, and cut my basic skirt template from that.  Pinnage followed.

pinned sides of skirt
Shaping up!

You can see where I’m using the finished edges for my waistband so they don’t overstretch/so I don’t have to add elastic to the already-stretchy fabric.

I stitched the base of my skirt together.

sewing side seams
Stitch those sides!

Remember those sleeves?  I cut them off…

sleeves cut off
Owie Owie!

then I cut those guys apart like so:

cut off fabric
Disection in Progress!

I pinned my fun flappy leftovers around the wast…

Flappy Bits!
Flappy Bits!

Then, I stitched them down!

zig zag stitch
It’s the stitch that Zigs!

Okay.  I THINK I may have solved this problem, but sewing the flappy bits on was a real struggle.  :/  My thread kept breaking off and doing this:

broken thread up close
Over. And Over. And OVER AGAIN. :/

I THINK it was just that the thread guide behind the needle had somehow gotten too tight and was pulling the thread (Everything SEEMS to be okay now), but do any of you guys have any idea what could have been going wrong?

Despite a rather frustrating experience (with lots of internal screaming), I still somehow ended up with a fun & creative addition to my wardrobe!  ðŸ™‚

The Final Chapter!
The Final Chapter!
A lil sloppy, but still cute!
A lil sloppy, but still cute!
Le back!
Le back!  And YES I did a quick fold-over take-in.  :/  But it looks okay with my sweater over it…I guess.

I was honestly just happy to be done with this one, you guys.

But my new skirt sure had a fun time seeing Zoso (a really fun Led Zepplin cover band) that night!

Zoso onstage
Hi Zoso!

Mark seemed to have an alright time too!

Jillian and Mark
Yes. He’s a full head taller than me.
One Dress, Three Ways III: A Dress to Skirt Refashion before and after

But enough about my social life!  What I really want to know is…

Which version of this dress is your favorite?????

All three refashions

Here’s the winner of this One Dress, Three Ways Challenge!

Cheers!

Thrifty Ways to Make This Valentine's Day More Special Than Spendy
One Dress, Three Ways II: No-Sew Dress to High Low Top Refashion

152 thoughts on “One Dress, Three Ways III: A Dress to Skirt Refashion”

  1. Problem with the thread . . . could it be the thread is to large for the size of the needle?
    Which of the three . . . lets see I think I like the shirt the best.
    Good job on all you do.

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  2. I would say it’s something to do with your tension, hard to tell if it’s top or bottom without seeing what kinds of stitches it’s making when it does make them. I’d say set them both to a middle setting and then nudge them until it’s right.
    If that does work, I agree with a few other commenters, it really does matter what kind of bobbins you have. Plastic and metal are not interchangeable, and it can cause lots of problems.
    I hope you’re able to figure it out! 🙂

    Reply
  3. Little late to the party with this vote – I like both one and two, but between them, I’d choose 2. But then I choose based on what I’d get the most wear out of if it were me. Still lovin’ your creativity and willingness to take chances 🙂

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  4. Loved the shirt. The skirt did not look like a skirt and the waist perhaps could have used elastic to give it more definition. However, loved the creativity and I’m sure some new creation using similar techniques down the line will be fantastic.

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  5. The shirt! After seeing that I took a t-shirt dress that I wasn’t really feeling and did the same thing! Now I have a new shirt!

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  6. while all three looks were wins, i am on the #2 train! WOO WOO! (that was the sound of a train’s whistle, if you couldn’t tell.) although part of what made that top so adorbs was the styling — cute necklace: CHECK! cuffed jeans: CHECK! ruffled hair ‘do: CHECK!

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  7. Number one was the best for ingenuity and boldness, you can definitely wear that dress well. However I was very intrigued by number three half way through the post, but disappointed with the final piece. I too have hidden unsightly errors but I always fear of being exposed. 🙂 Thanks for entertaining and educating us onlookers. You look happy, wish you continued success.

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  8. Number two. Number one genius idea but I’m just not an asymmetrical fan. Number three not so much. By the way, I truly enjoy your sewing adventures and your blog — thank you!!

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  9. I liked your first option the best. I don’t know a single other person who would dare go out anyplace with their arm and shoulder through the neck of a dress! And it looked fantastic! 🙂

    About the breaking thread: You’ve probably already done all of these things, but just in case you haven’t, this is what I do. I re-thread my machine, and I always use good thread. My machine is moody and snobby about cheap thread, so if I ever try to sneak some through she either breaks it or skips stitches to show her angst.
    Next, re-wind the bobbin. Sometimes bobbins are just cross and need to be smoothed.
    Next change her needle. Even an imperceptibly bent needle can cause havoc. My machine loves having her needle changed regularly.
    I hope you can get it figured out. You really must keep sewing. I love this blog!

    Reply
  10. #1 is my fav because it’s so outrageous that you could get away with wearing it to a nice event and the joke would be on everyone. As for #3 I totally thought you were going to sew the sleeves into the side seams of the skirt and tie them in the front for a sort of knotted-belly-band-yoga pants waistband look. You still could–Refash #4? LOL.

    Reply
  11. A big toss up for me between 1 and 2 – No 3 is not my favourite piece to be honest.
    I think it may be no 2 – I would have liked the front of the top longer (for me and my mummy belly – or is that old age tummy?)~

    Reply
  12. This is a fun skirt. As regards the thread breaking… it could be any of a few problems. It could be the bobbin flipped the wrong way as some other people pointed out. It could also be a problem with tension being too tight. From your picture it almost looks like you have a burr in your needle… I learned this year after becoming a bridal alterations specialist that you have to change your needle even if it isn’t broken because burrs can grow in the hole that will snap your thread, especially if your tension is too tight as well. Your picture reminded me very much of what my thread looked like when I needed a new needle.

    Reply
  13. Hélène

    the number 1 is my favorite refashioned.
    The third is the only refashioned I didn’t understand.
    Hope reading you soon

    Reply
  14. My vote goes to #1, simply because it was so creative! The other two are definitely cute, but maybe sort of “expected.” Your first creation was just that…..a beautiful creation!

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  15. #1 Was my favorite! I loved the dress, and it fit you so well! I was heartsick to see you take it apart for parts 2 & 3! I’m going to be looking for a plain dress like that to make my own version of #1, even though I hate sewing, but you have inspired me!

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  16. 2 was my fave. It could be just that you had something caught in one of the tensions or that your tention was to tight or your bobbin was in backwards. That is a weird achem that just kind of goes away after a few re threads. And yes, Achem is a technical term. it is the ball of thread you make after you machine goes chunk chunk chunk.

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  17. I vote for #1. The dress was so simple, yet elegant. Did not care at all for the skirt. Too sloppy looking, did not flatter you at all.

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  18. I love one and two. They fantastic. You inspire me even though I barely know how tp use my sewing machine. Thank you for all you do. God bless.

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  19. The shirt was really cute but #1 was YOUR look! I agree with most everyone else- the skirt was very creative but paled compared to other two.

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  20. Hi Loved the dress- oh so creative. The refashioned outfit is awesome but more importantly you look awesome in the dress!! Keep on re-fashioning – like forever and ever!!

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  21. About the thread, almost every time this happens to me it’s because it’s getting caught in the little notch on the spool where you tuck the thread when your not using it. Try flipping the spool a different way so that the notch is not on the end where the thread is being pulled from.

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  22. #2! In regard to your question about the breaking thread…are you using the correct bobbin for your machine. I had this problem. I had picked up some bobbins somewhere (bobbins are bobbins, right?) The connection of different bobbins and breaking thread didn’t occur to me. I took it in to be repaired where I had purchased it and found out. Yes, I had to pay to find out. Hopefully this is your problem and it will be cheaper than mine!

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  23. #2 was really cute on you! Not crazy at all with the flap thingie on the skirt! Look ok maybe on the front but back was odd.

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  24. #1 is great! Love dresses. The shirt is so wonderful though. Love the fact that it can be casual or dressed up. Great job on all three!!

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  25. My favorite is #2!!! It is such a fun top that could be dressed up with pearls and a blazer or be a comfy go to top with shorts in the summer! So versatile and that’s what amazing must have peices like that should be, fun, versatile, well fitting and classic! I actually plan on finding a similar dress to copy this no sew top! Keeping my eyes open!

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  26. Love the Transformation 2. The skirt was really odd looking in the back, but with the hem covered by your sweater it looks nice. 🙂

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What do you think?