Use Ribbon to Make a Dress Bigger

 Hello Readers. I found the most amazing dress. It was a maxi dress with the painting "The Wave" on it. I have always loved this painting. When I saw this dress at a thrift store I just grabbed it. I didn't check the fit I just knew I would work it out somehow. If it was too big I could alter it. What if it was too small? I have an easy way to make the dress bigger.

All I need is some wide ribbon to make this dress bigger.

I started by cutting the side seams off the dress. There was a seam on each side of the dress that went from the hem to the under arm and sleeve. I cut along the stitches of the seam. It is a lot of work to use a seam ripper for such a long seam. I just think it's easier to cut it away. 

Next, I cut along the other side of that side seam. I just wanted to cut the stitches out. I didn't want to remove anything but those stitches. 

Here is a look at the stitches of the seam after I cut it out of the dress. We need it out of the way.

I cut that side seam out from both sides of the dress. Now the dress is totally open on both sides. 

 

I put the dress on the dress form to show the open sides better. I have a few yards of this beige ribbon that I am holding and I am going to sew it into the open sides to add more space in the dress.

 

I folded one end of the ribbon under twice and sewed that down. 

 

I clipped the ribbon in place. You can see the folded end of the ribbon is up at the sleeve. The dress is inside out and the right sides are clipped together so all the new sewing will be hidden inside the dress.

 

I sewed the sides to the ribbon. I removed the clips as I sewed to get them out of the way. I used my serger but you could use a sewing machine as well. 

 

Here is a look at the ribbon sew into the side of the dress. The ribbon added about 2 1/2 inches to each side. That should give me more breathing room. 

My dress needed to be shorter so I cut off about 5 inches. Not everyone would need to shorten the length of the dress. I am fairly short so I am always hemming my clothes.

When I was done sewing the sides together with the ribbon. The end of the ribbon was folded under twice and sewn to hem it.

 

The dress fits so much better now. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

 

***Year End Update***- I love this dress so much. I just wore this a few days ago. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sweater Weather

 Hello Readers. It is Thanksgiving this week in the U.S. and that shakes up the schedule a little. I didn't have that much time to sew but I did finish 2 small projects that made these 2 sweaters wearable again. It is getting chilly out there. I need warmer clothes.

Today is 2 posts in 1.

The first project was this purple shirt. Well, I only had part of it. I used the bottom of the shirt to make a skirt back in April 2022. But I don't throw away scraps so...

I had this very short shirt. It was just the sleeves, shoulders and neckline. I saved it because I loved the fabric. I thought maybe I could use the sleeves for something. Then I had an idea!

 

I decided to use my serger on the cut edge and use the shirt under sweaters. It would be sort of a dickie but with sleeves. 

 

The serger would keep the cut edge from fraying in the wash. 

 

This was a great partner for this purple sleeveless sweater. Let's look at sweater #2. 

 

This green sweater is a little too small but I love that acid green color. 

 

I cut the sweater open on the sides and along the inside of the sleeves. I did this so I could sew some wide ribbon into the sweater to make it bigger. This is just one long cut and I can add one piece of ribbon on each side. This is my favorite way to make sweater larger. It only takes 2 cuts and 4 new seams. Easy as pie!

 

This is a weird pose but it shows where the ribbon is. The ribbon gave me just enough extra room to wear this sweater comfortably. That's all for today. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.
*Year End Note From Chickie- These are 2 great fixes to give me more work clothes. I forget to make basics so when I do make them, I love them and they get a lot of wear. 

 

 

 

 

 

Fix a Wide Neckline

 Dear Readers. Do you have any weird fitting clothes in your closet? Sometimes things just don't seem to look right or feel right when you wear them. This orange shirt was one of those items. I loved the orange color, but the shirt just didn't fit in a way I liked.

 Before and after.

 

This orange color is so warm and cheerful What's not to love? The weird neckline. I didn't love it. I had an idea to fix it though. 

I wanted to use this silk ribbon to keep the shirt from falling off my shoulders. I have been waiting a long time to use this piece of ribbon. I save everything because eventually I will find a way to use it. Today was the day for this ribbon.

The new shirt was bright and fun and unique with the addition of the ribbon. I just needed some bright, fun and unique pants to go with it.

 

The fabric was so pretty but they are miles too long.

 

I needed to cut off a few inches to make these pants fit better. I turned the cut edge under twice and stitched it down with  straight stitch.

 

My daughter gave these pants to me and they are so wild and colorful. I couldn't resist. They just needed a hem because I am super short. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

*Year End Note From Chickie- I loved these pants but they didn't seem right for winter. They will come back in spring for sure.  

The Red Ribbon Sweater

Hello Readers. It is finally February! Did January seem 17 week long or is it just me? February always makes me think of Valentine's Day so I decided to make a date night outfit in case I get taken out to dinner or something. (If my husband needs a hint, I like Chinese food and dark chocolate.)

I started with this pink sweater. I used the lace from the back in a refashion last November and the sweater was just sitting waiting for some love and attention. The sweater was pretty simple in front and had a deep open V in the back.

I wanted to find a way to make this sweater wear-able and I surfed all over Pinterest to find an idea. I saw some sweaters with ribbon accents and I decided to try that. I had this dark red ribbon in a stash of sewing notions and trim that my sweet mother-in-law gave me. I only had a little so that determined what I did with the ribbon.

I used some pins and then stitched the ribbon in place on the inside of the sweater.

What would I wear with the sweater? I found these wonderful dark red corduroy pants at a clothes swap and fell in love with the color and the sheen the fabric had. I have short scrawny chicken legs and these long pants looked horrendous on me. But they matched that ribbon perfectly. 

I did my basic resizing technique of taking fabric off the sides of the pants. It worked pretty well. I made them into skinny jeans. The fabric had a lot of stretch to it and it was easy to make them fit.

Sometimes when I remove fabric from the out side of a pair of jeans or pants the back pockets can get shifted into a weird placement on my backside. I took the pockets off the back with my seam ripper and re-positioned them into a more central location.

I reattached the pockets and I was ready to go. 

I am ready for a casual dinner date with my Valentine. He is coughing and feverish at the moment so I am hoping he is better by the 14th. I am also really hoping he doesn't spread his germs to me and our kids. I will keep hoping for the best.

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