The Strange Sweater Dress

Hello Readers. I said in the title that this sweater dress was strange, I wasn't kidding. It was a weird one. Read on, I will tell you all about it.

OK, y'all. What is this? I found this sweater dress at some clothes swap, I think. When I tried it on I could see why someone gave it away. It was super tight but also super low cut. I wore that pink shirt to keep myself covered in this photo. The dress came with all these "extra" white fabric pieces and ruffles. They took the time to add the white fabric at the chest, but it was still VERY low cut. The arm and hem ruffles were not working for me either. They felt like wings, very strange wings.

If I was 6" tall and 75 lbs, this dress might fit.

I knew I needed to fill in the deep V-neck with something. I had this pretty green blouse with a ripped sleeve. I really liked the lace front. I thought I could use that.

I removed all the white fabric with my seam ripper. Next I put the green blouse under the dress but the dress was still too tight. I don't like baggy clothes but this was going to be way too tight to wear in public. If this dress wasn't stretchy I couldn't have gotten into it.

I cut the dress down the middle to open it up. I wasn't sure what I was doing at this point. (I often do not know what I am doing, but let's focus on the sewing.)

That deep V opened up the dress really well, but then I didn't know what to do with the cut open lower half of the dress. I just cut it off. Now I had a super short shirt. It was bigger, but I don't show my mommy tummy, so a cropped top wasn't really what I wanted.

I had this wide knit waistband in my scrap pile and I thought it would cover the raw cut edge and make the shirt at least 3 inches longer. I added the waistband with my machine.

*Save your fabric scraps, they come in handy.

I ended up with a light sweater top that was perfect for something high-waisted.

Like this skirt that I already owned! It looked like a dress when I put them together. I love dresses so I was happy with this one.

 

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

*Year end update- This strange dress became a favorite top.

Lining a Lacy Tank

Hello Readers. I was given this pretty tank top. It had a beautiful lace back. I thought the shirt could be a winner. But it needed some serious adjustments before I could wear it.

The floral design was pretty and the length was great, but it was totally see through in the back. This caused me some problems. There was no way to wear any kind of a bra with it. (I'm 46. I've had 3 kids. I don't go bra-less. You know what I'm saying here?) The straps would show through and ruin the look of the pretty lace. It needed a shirt under it but it was already a little too tight. There was no room for a second shirt under it. There was barely room for me in there.

     

I had this light weight vest in my sewing pile. It was a little worn out. It wasn't fit for everyday wear anymore but some of it could be used as a lining under the lacy tank. It already had the right shape in the back. It would be easy to stitch it into the back of the lace shirt to fill in behind the lace. I just need to get that metal buckle out of there.

     

The tiny stripes were a nice contrast with the floral pattern in the lacy shirt. And the additional fabric covers all the open lace in the back of the shirt perfectly.

The shirt was still a little too tight. I cut it open on the sides and put in a little strip of the striped fabric on each side. That little bit of fabric on the sides made the shirt fit so much better.

    

I liked how the shirt fit and it was just loose enough, but not too big. This is a great shirt for eating donuts and drinking coffee.

It's a great shirt for going outside with the kids on a hot day.

 

It's also a great shirt to go see a movie. (I saw Ant-Man and I liked it a lot.)

  

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

*Year end update- This is one of my all time favorites.