Dress to Peplum Top

 Hello Readers. Sometimes clothes just don't work. They can just sit in our closet and waste space. When I notice I am not really wearing a piece of clothing very often, I try to refashion it and make it more wearable. Let's refashion this dress into a fun peplum top.

Before and after a quick alteration.  

This dress was a nice neutral navy blue. I love navy blue and I love stripes. I just didn't love this dress. It was very thin material and it felt like it would be sheer in the skirt and therefore, too revealing. I want my bits and pieces covered. My lumps and bumps are personal. I don't want anyone to see any part of my  southern hemisphere. 

 

This dress fit well and it had an elastic waistband already. My new peplum top is almost finished before I even get started. I cut about 12 inches of length from the skirt. I left about 7 inches for the peplum. You can make the peplum as long or as short as you want. It's up to you. Using a cutting mat like this makes measuring and cutting super easy. They are used for quilting a lot but I love them for garment sewing. 

 

I turned my cut edge under twice and stitched along the edge using a straight stitch and matching thread. You can pin the folded edge or iron it in place if you like. Every sewist has different ways to do things. Do whatever works best for you. When I was done sewing, my peplum was a bit shorter. I folded it under twice and each fold was approximately 1/2 inch so my peplum is an inch shorter. Make sure you allow for folding and sewing your new hem when you cut the length for your new peplum. 

 

I used my sewing machine and a straight stitch to make my new hem. I like to stitch from the outside of the garment because it looks neater when I am all done. Don't sew too fast, slow and steady wins the race. 

  

 I used matching thread to sew my new hem. Sometimes it can be difficult to choose what color thread to use when a garment is more than one color. I usually pick the color that the manufacturer used in the original seams or the color that is most prominent in the fabric. This choice for this dress is obviously navy blue thread.

 

Here is my new peplum top. It was so easy because that elastic waist was already in place for me. This was so simple but so effective at changing the dress. 

 

Navy is such a great neutral color. It goes with everything but isn't as harsh as black can be. If you feel washed out in black, navy blue might be a better choice. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.