Maxi skirt to Dress Refashion # 2

Arrrggg, this is me first thing in the morning.

So... we are being hit with a heat wave at the moment, so something light and breezy was the order of the weekend.  I bought this cheapy 'Valley Girl' skirt last summer, but it was lined with the most hot and sticky synthetic fabric I have ever come across, so it hasn't had much wear.  I suppose I could have just chopped out the lining, but like I said last post, I'm not really into the maxi skirt these days.

So after debating with my family what this should become, I ignored all their suggestions (leave it as it is, or make harem pants) and decided to make another dress.

I chopped off the waist band, and the attached lining.  Then I cut the elastic out of the waist so it can be used in a future project.

I wanted to take out some width, so I decided to take it from the back seam, as the side seams had a gathered detail I wanted to keep.  So I folded it in half and drew a line in chalk 15cm in from the edge.

I sewed along the chalk line.

Chopped off the extra fabric, which will be used later.

Then I used a top I liked as a template for how I wanted the top of the dress to look.

And chopped around the lines.

This is the back.

The strap is one long piece that will thread through the front and back and then be sewn together, so I had to create a channel to thread it through.

I created two of these from the offcut fabric.  One is used for the strap, the other a sash for the waist.

I didn't manage to make it to the beach today, but this was still perfect for a hot and sticky sunday at home.

I made this necklace a couple of years ago, from felted beads and up-cycled glass beads.  

My 7 year old was my photographer today... she requested this pose.

I'm not sure how to price this outfit.  I can't remember what I paid for the skirt originally, and I have no idea what the cost of the necklace was.  The sandals are also old... lets just say my new outfit was no cost ;-)

Maxi Skirt to Womens Dress Refashion

I seem to have a bit of a collection of old Maxi Skirts in my wardrobe - a carry over from a life lived in tropical Queensland where maxi skirts seemed to work for me in the hot and humid climate.  I don't know why they have remained in my wardrobe since I moved nearly 2 years ago, but the upside of my apparrent hoarder tendencies is that I have at least 6 skirts that I bought years ago that had fabric that appealed to me at the time of purchase, and although the maxi skirt style doesn't really appeal to me now,  I do still like the some of the fabrics.

Although my girls declared their love for this skirt when I asked them to take some 'before' photos, this skirt was about to get the chop so it could become a dress.

The skirt was lined and because I didn't want a see through dress, I needed to keep the lining in place.  So before I cut the top off the skirt I ran a stitch around it, just below where I was planning on cutting.

Chop.

I turned what was left of the skirt inside out and layed this top over it to use as a guide to where the shoulders seams, and the arm and neck holes would sit.

Chop, chop, chop...

After sewing the shoulder seams in place to keep everything lined up, I cut the neckline lower at the back of the dress.

Then I whizzed around and 'hemmed' the raw edges on the newly cut arm and neck holes.

I added a belt to give my new dress a waist line, and there you have it, a simple summery dress....

Womens Skirt to Girls Dress Refashion

I was given this womens size 16 skirt yesterday and it seemed like a logical item to make into another girls dress refashion.  It does however look pretty awesome with rollerblades and pyjamas ;-)

After getting my daughter to try the skirt on, I was able to work out roughly how much to take off each side.  I then pinned the sides, and drew a line in chalk to follow when sewing the new side seams. 

 I left the skirts original side zip in place, and turned it so it could be used as the back zip on the dress.

After sewing the new side seams, I cut off the excess fabric, and then zig-zaged the raw edges to stop fraying.

I wanted to make thin brown straps from the excess fabric.  But M had other ideas, and insisted she wanted the straps to be made from the blue parts of the offcuts, AND she also wanted them to cover her shoulders.... say what? I had no idea how to make sleeves to fit a dress that was supposed to have strappy staps, but if I'm being honest, I'm not sure I could makes sleeves at all.

But I was willing to give it a whirl.  I threaded elastic through the top of each 'sleeve', still not knowing exactly how this was going to come together.  

On trying it on, M declared that she wanted 'air flow' and didn't want the sleeves sewn together under her arms.  So I sewed the 'sleeves' on the front and rear like this. And the request for 'air flow' actually made the whole 'sleeve' process much easier, and the sleeves now have a 'cape' look about them.

Oh, so much fun was had posing for these photos.

And this is yet another no cost refashion - cotton and elastic used was already in my stash.