Vintage Pink Polyester

Hello Readers. I love finding vintage clothing at clothes swaps. I also love finding handmade items. This pink polyester dress was both. I was thrilled at first.

This was the original thick, heavy, scratchy kind of polyester from the 70's. It wasn't very comfortable at all. The dress was a little big but that was a problem I knew how to fix. How could I make scratchy polyester less scratchy?

 The dress also had an interesting key-hole type opening. It didn't really look right to me, or on me. 

When I find hand-made clothes I try to respect the design, style, and the work of the person that made it. But my #1 goal is always to make the dress wear-able and keep it out of the trash.

I decided to disconnect the two sides and fold them inside the dress. It would be easy to make a V-neck. It would open up the neckline of the dress and be more comfortable for me to wear. 

I stitched down the neckline and cut off the excess material. This polyester was very easy to work with. I could see why people liked it so much.

I thought maybe 3/4 length sleeves would be more comfortable. I made the dress a little shorter and a little smaller as well. 

To be honest I still wasn't in love with it. There was just so much pink everywhere. The bodice was lined with soft fabric,  but the sleeves were not. They were still scratchy.

So... I decided to remove the sleeves completely. I think I like the sleeve-less version because the color is less overwhelming and because the lining makes the rest of this polyester dress more comfortable to wear without the sleeves. 

 The denim jacket helps with the pink over-load too.

Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

  *Year end update- I refashioned this with hope the polyester would not bother me. It is like a blanket in summer. It is only wear-able in cool weather.