The Black Beaded Skirt?

Hello Readers. Look at this beautiful linen skirt I found at a clothes swap. I fell in love with that bead work. And I always love basic black.

The skirt was a little too big. I thought about taking it in on the sides so it would fit better. It would still be so long on me I didn't think that would work. And there was no way I was going to cut into that beading to make a new hem. I had to find a way to make this skirt wearable without hurting even one bead! Look at the beads!

  

*No beads were harmed during this refashion.

 

The only idea I had was to make a dress. Could I make a dress? I could try! I started by adding straps made of some black grosgrain ribbon I had on hand. That was good but the body of my new dress was really shapeless.

I thought adding a sash in the back would create some shape and make it look more like a dress. I liked it but the top was really baggy on the sides as you can see. This makes sense because the skirt was cut to fit some hips and backside in that area. I tried to make it fit closer without being tight. The skirt had NO stretch, it had to stay loose fitting.

I turned it inside out and removed some of that excess fabric. I removed more than you see here, but this photo shows the Lego toys my little guy was playing with as he "helped" me with my sewing.

There was a zipper in the back so I folded the sides in and made a deep V in the back. This gave me room to get in and out and it looked so elegant. I loved it. There was problem with this, how would I wear a bra with this low back? I didn't have an answer. 

(I am 47 y'all, I am not going bra-less!)

I also closed the slit down at the hem. It made it easier to walk when this was a skirt but now it was dangerously high cut.

I added a small piece of stretchy black material to fill in the V. I thought this would cover my back and let me get in and out. It didn't look nearly as good though. It pulled and felt uncomfortable. The back of the dress was sooth and flat before I added this extra piece.

 This picture is overexposed so you can see the added piece of fabric.

I love this dress, and I will remove the stretch piece. I can wear the dress over a fitted T-shirt. It would have a casual vibe to it and I could wear normal undergarments. That's a win-win!

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

 ***Year End update-I loved the way this looked with the open back. I put it away for winter but I still like it.