Saturday, January 26, 2013

Refashion: 2 Cowls to 1 Dress


I'm so excited. I finally got my sewing area cleaned up and my new sewing machine set up for my refashions. And I had a great idea for my first (sewing machine) refashion. First, take a look at my brand new toy.



Isn't it pretty? It's got so many cool buttons. I can't wait to get to know all of them. I actually had to read the instruction manual to make sure I understood it before I launched into my project. It's a bit different from my old machine, but it didn't take us long to become good friends. I got it threaded and practiced on one of Cliff's shirts that I needed to stitch. It works great, and I was so happy to begin my refashion. So, here is where my project began.


Apparently, I have a thing for shirts with cowl necks. But because of my weight loss (yea!), these shirts are now too big for me. It's funny because I actually just wore the purple shirt this week. But when I noticed it kept hanging over my shoulder, I knew it was time to retire it. But instead of donating it, I decided it would  make for a beautiful refashion.

First, I started with the black shirt. I needed to sew through the shoulders a little so it wouldn't hang on me so much. I took in each shoulder by 2 inches.




Then I made it permanent with a straight stitch through my machine.





Next, I had to take in the sides. I pinned each side in by 2 inches.



Then, once again, I sent it through the machine. Since this material is quite stretchy, I opted to do a zigzag stitch to allow for a little give.

   

After I got the shoulders and sides taken in, I had to trim off all the excess.



Next, it was time to take care of the pink cowl shirt. My plan was to turn this whole ensemble into a dress, so the pink cowl shirt was going to become the bottom of the dress. First, I chopped off the top part of the shirt from the bottom, right under the sleeves.



Then I placed the raw cut edge of the pink shirt against the finished edge of the black shirt with the inside of each shirt touching and pinned them together.



Next, I sewed these two pieces together to create one long dress. Again, the fabric is stretchy, so I once again used a zigzag stitch for it.



After I connected the bottom of the dress to the top of the dress, I got out my trusty (rarely used) iron to press all the newly sewn seams.



I tried on the dress, and I wasn't completely happy with the way it was hanging. I didn't want to put on a sash because I wasn't sure that would give me the effect I sought. So, I grabbed my dragonfly brooch to make a gather around my midsection. After getting dolled up and putting on some jewelry and boots, I was ready to show off my new dress.



I was all dressed up and ready to hit the town. So, Cliff and I opted to go to dinner at Edwards Mill Bar & Grill.



After a slightly disappointing meal, we stopped by Starbucks so I could get a skinny mocha. Luckily, I had the willpower to avoid getting a tasty-looking pastry from their display case.



I'm happy with how this dress turned out. I wasn't really sure it would work out, but I believe the dragonfly brooch saved it.


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