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Vintage Dress Restyle

9/6/2014

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Finally, I have something to share!  Friends and family have kept me busy (in a good way) for the last few weeks and I feel like I've been struggling to get anything crafty done.  A couple months ago I found this dress at the thrift store.  
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A little too matronly for me. But what an awesome border print!
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Button-up back? Really? My elbows don't bend enough to get those middle buttons.
Immediately I fell in love with the vibrant print and the cool belt, but didn't really care for the style.  It is a total '80s dress complete with shoulder pads, giant dolman sleeves, and a turtleneck.  But I could see that this dress had potential.  And for just a few dollars I was willing to experiment.  I have never tried to restyle anything, but I was willing to give it a go.

I took it home and gave it a good inspection.  I discovered that the belt was several inches too small; which made me realize that this dress is probably an x-small and meant to be oversized.  

I unpicked the release tucks in the shoulder area and found that I would have enough fabric to shape the body into small extended cap sleeves.  I carefully cut off the turtleneck, being aware of the button placement, and changed it to a scoop neck.  I finished the neck edge with single fold bias tape.  I tried on the dress and pinned the placement for the new side seam and extended cap.  After several try-ons I got the fit just right.  The finished the sleeve openings with a narrow hem.

The belt was not so easy to fix.  I cut off the buckle and grommets to make a symmetrical piece.  I tried doing a whole thing with elastic in the back but it didn't work out, so I ended up using the sleeve fabric to make ties and carefully sewed them to the front belt piece.  I say carefully because on the first try I was not careful, and my machine fell apart trying to go through the plastic belt backing.  Whoops.  After using the World's Smallest Screwdriver to put my machine back together, I removed about 1/2" of the backing on each side and sewed through just the fabric.

And now for the final dress....
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Ta-da!!
Pretty snappy, eh?  I really like it now.  Let's compare before and after: 
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Looks much more like a 40's housedress now, and that is much more my style.  
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    Cassie loves to knit, read and cook.  She sometimes does all three at the same time.

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