Halter

 Hello Readers. Do you remember this silk dress? I got it from a swap because I loved the color. And everyone love silk right? The halter top of this dress was very skimpy and low cut. It wasn't my style. What was I going to do with it?

 

The dress originally was a low cut halter style that tied behind the neck. It was SO LOW that I was not comfortable even modeling it. (I have 3 kids. I nursed them all for at least a year. This is not a good style for me.) 

I made the skirt of the dress into a shirt. But now that top was actually just what I needed. That's right. I needed a skimpy backless halter top. But why? Don't get too excited, it was actually pretty boring.

I finished the bottom of the halter top so it would look nice and neat. When I cut it off the skirt of the dress I left about 1/4 inch extra fabric. I tucked that extra fabric under and used a zigzag stitch to cover the cut edge. 

Here is a close up. The was an elastic seam already in place so I pulled the fabric smooth while I stitched to make sure I was getting all the fabric together.

The elastic gathered back again when I was done sewing. This made a nice elastic band at the bottom of my new halter top. It was still so open and low in the front. I wanted to fix that too.

I folded the top together and stitched the v-neck closed. I wanted the top to be less low cut. I made sure all the ruffles were flat and sewed the v closed from the inside.

Doing this gave me more coverage in the bust. The ruffles hide this and it just looks connected.

The top is still has that classic V shaped neckline but it will stay closed and nothing will pop out that should stay closed. 

I know lots of people would wear this out dancing or to a fancy date night. Where did I wear my new halter top? The doctor. It sounds weird but I had to get allergy test and I knew I would have to be backless for a little while. My youngest was with me so I thought if I wore a halter top I would be less uncomfortable and naked during this whole changing/testing/getting dressed process. They did give me a paper jacket to wear but the halter top made me feel more comfortable. (Is that a tattoo? Yes, I was young once. And I got the smallest tattoo I could. It is a very faded shamrock. )

This silk top doesn't have to just go to the doctor. It deserves an evening of disco dancing. I don't know if that will happen but maybe someday. 

 

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

***Chickie's Year End Review-This top was really useful but I have not worn it again.

 

The Crazy Low-Cut Dress

 Hello Readers. My last post was about an ultra-marine dress and this post is too. I really love this color! This dress was 100% silk. I knew I wanted to try and make it into something, I just was not sure what. 

This dress was so pretty but it was the lowest cut dress I have ever had in my life. It was crazy low. It was also completely back less.

 

 I did not even know what to do with all this lack of dress. The fabric was thin and there was no way to wear a bra for some extra coverage. What would my 49 year old mom-of-3 body going to do with this dress? It would not be good that's for sure. 

So... I decided to make a top I could wear with a normal mom bra. (That's who I am. Normal. Simple. Vanilla. It's fine. I'm at peace with it.) This beautiful silk would be sure to make a pretty top. I cut the halter top off the skirt. I was going to use the skirt piece to make a new shirt. (I will get to that halter later.)

I wanted to keep that ruffle at the hem so I cut the skirt of this dress into a loose flowy top with wide shoulder straps. There was not enough fabric to make sleeves. That was OK. Sleeveless silk would be great for summer. I went over the edges with a tiny zigzag stitch to reinforce the ruffle.

The only complicated part was cutting this silk because it was so slippery. I had to cut the lining and the outer layer. Neither layer was cooperative and I may have called it names.

I connected the 2 layers around the neckline and around the armholes. This gave the shirt finished edges all around. Then I connected the shoulders. There was a lot of turning it inside out and then right-side out, back and forth to do the sewing from the inside. 

It was like 2 shirts really. It came together well and I liked how it turned out. It had a nice shorter modern length that was long enough to cover my stomach. And it was so soft and light.

 This top was pretty but I could dress it down with jeans and flats and wear it casually. 

Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. And if you are wondering about that halter part of the dress, we will get to that project very soon. 

***Chickie's Year End Review-This silk shirt is a favorite. It feels so good to wear and it so light in summer.