Blue and White Dress

Hello Readers. I am a sucker for a blue and white pattern. A lot of my house is blue and white and when I see clothes with blue and white I am bound to like them. That is what happened when I saw this little dress.

This dress was great but the top of it was too tight. A gallon of Crisco and a crow-bar wouldn't get me in there. I really loved that skirt though, and it fit great. I decided to remove the part that didn't fit. I had this light blue shirt to wear with the skirt. I just needed to remove the teeny-tiny lace top. I think if something doesn't fit, you can cut it off and work with what you have left.

 

First, I cut the top off. Next, I turned the lace edge under and stitched it down. Guess what I had....a lumpy mess of a waistband. It was not pretty. I think if its ugly, cover it up, no one needs to know it's there.

Here is my cover up idea. This ribbon was a great match for the skirt and it was in the load of sewing stuff my mother-in-law gave me recently. (Big thanks to her!) I stitched the ribbon over the lace edge at the waistband. It covered the lumpy lace waistband and gave the skirt a nice pop of color that accented the flowers in the skirt.

The dress had a zipper that I cut in half when I cut the top off the dress. I zipped it down, and then cut it. I tucked the cut ends under and stitched them down when I stitched the lace waistband down. The ribbon covers it all.

That's all folks. I was done in no time.

I didn't want to waste the pretty lace top. But what could I do with it?

I decided to use the shoulder piece as straps to make a bralette. You know those cute bras that women wear under clothes when they know their bra straps might peak out. I used a zig-zag stitch to connect the straps to a very simple strapless bra.

The criss-cross straps in the back are cool nice too.

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

 ***Year End update- I loved this skirt and shirt together. The top is perfect under low-cut things. All of these are winners to me.

The Seersucker Shirt

Hello Readers. My husband put this in the give away pile and once it's there, it's all mine. It's hard to tell from these pictures but it is a light blue and white striped seersucker fabric that is great for summer. It will be cool in the heat.

I considered making it into a skirt but thought the light colors might look like an old school tennis skirt. I haven't played tennis since junior high and I wasn't any good at it. So, I made a top. I cut off the yolk and the sleeves to start with.

I folded the top edge under twice and stitched it in place. I put the front pieces in place, one behind the other and sewed them together. I also put a few stitches between each button all the way down the shirt to keep the front flat when its worn. I can pull it on over my head.

I also removed the pocket. It wasn't in the right place anymore and I liked the top without it. It was more streamlined with no extra details like the pocket.

I cut the ends of the sleeves off and used them as ties for the front of my new top. I cut very close to the seam that was already there so it will control any fraying. If I see any loose threads after washing I can just trim them off.

I pinned then sewed the ties on the front of the shirt where the bra straps were and tied them around the back of my neck.

Here is a picture of all the fabric I cut away. It looks like a science class dissection. I haven't done that since junior high either. Eww! (I wasn't very good in science class either.) 

I wore it tucked in and pulled out so you can see the difference. I like it tucked in best I think. But a belt around the untucked shirt might be nice too. It's nice to have options.

I wore this when I was touring the historic town of Harper's Ferry in West Virginia. It is a National Park and an active town. It is on a small peninsula with the Potomac River on one side and the Shanandoah River on the other. It was beautiful.

***BONUS TRACK***

When I got the idea to make a halter neck top with straps I almost didn't do it because I didn't have a bra with those style straps. Then I decided to alter a bra I already had. If you don't have it, make it.

The gray fabric is to make it easier to see.

I started by simply cutting the straps off in the back at an angle.

Then I put them together so they would sit behind my neck. I was careful to get the measurement correct so it would fit my neck comfortably. I cut off the excess. It worked great with the new top. I think this will be a very useful item.

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