Altering Vintage Without Damage

Hello Readers. Hello Readers. It is time for the annual Dressember Fundraiser. What Is Dressember? They are an organization that works to fight human trafficking and forced labor in the U.S and all around the world.   Since 2013, Dressember advocates have raised over $20 million to support International Justice Mission (IJM) and its partners. I will be wearing and refashioning dresses all month in honor of this mission. You can learn more at Dressember.org

 I found this fabulous red dress at a local charity shop for $1. I didn't realize it was a dress at first. I thought it was a long skirt. When I got home I realized that the dress was a vintage dream. The color and the style were so fun.

Before and after. 

Look at the amazing one-sided cape? Big open sleeve? Let's just call it a sleeve. This sleeve is so long on me. It covers my hand, I can't push the sleeve up in a way that will stay. I wanted to fix it but did not want to damage the dress or change it dramatically. Vintage is so fun because it is different than what you find at stores today. I didn't want to ruin it by making it something it wasn't.

I had an idea. I could use some matching satin ribbon and tie up the dress. 

I gathered the sleeve at the top where the shoulder seam was. The was very sheer and delicate. I didn't want to sew or pin it because it would leave pin marks and possibly damage the fabric. 

 

This fabric was thin so it was easy to pinch it all together at the shoulder. I made it into a little pile of fabric right on top of the shoulder. 

 

I used a piece of ribbon. I slid the ribbon under the shoulder of the dress and pulled the ribbon ends up and over all the gathered sleeve fabric. I didn't need much ribbon to tie around the gathered fabric, only about 5-6 inches. I think matching the color was important though. I am actually going to hide the ribbon. If it was a different or contrasting color to the dress, it would be much more difficult to hide.

 

I tied the ribbon in a knot to keep it all together. Just a basic double knot, nothing fancy. But look at the long loose ends of ribbon. That is not good, I want that hidden. 

 

I carefully cut the extra ribbon away with some sharp sewing scissors. I didn't want those ends showing. I made sure not to cut the fabric of the dress. One snip and the dress would be ruined because that sheer fabric would fray a lot and quickly. 

 

I wanted hide the ribbon if I could. I am going to use this pin that I had on hand. (It means happiness.) Any pin would do, a special holiday pin would be fabulous to wear at this time of year. 

 

I positioned the pin so that it would be under the ribbon but NOT through the fabric itself. I wasn't sure if the pin would leave pin holes if it went through the fabric itself but I thought it would. I didn't want to damage the fabric at all. The ribbon will hold the pin in place and the pin will hide the ribbon nicely.

 

These tags cracked me up. There was a tag in back of course but there was also an extra tag so I would know where the front was. They were helping me get dressed.  

 

The pin stays in place and hides the ribbon. That is just what I wanted. The gathered fabric is out of my way but it is still loose and flowy. I liked the new shape. 

 

That's it for me. I need to find a dressy holiday party to go to ASAP! Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dressember 2018; Dress 3

Let's look back a past refashion.

Hello Readers. This is the third dress in this series in honor of Dressember, a non-profit organization working to fight human trafficking. Dressember estimates that every 30 seconds someone becomes a slave, 71% are women and girls. We wear dresses all month to represent them.

Today's dress is a vintage find from a clothes swap. This graphic black and white design really caught my eye.

This knit dress fit well but this ruffled collar and these wrist cuffs were way too much for me. I hate things around my neck. I feel like I am being strangled. These seemed like they belonge in a Shakespearean play. "Be gone foul ruffles!"

Look at the cute worm on the tag. I wish he was bigger, he's adorable. And this dress was made in Italy. That had to be good. It seemed to be a vintage dress, I love finding vintage clothing. They are always such unique pieces.

The first thing I did was cut that collar off. There was no way I would wear it with that collar. I thought a V-neck would open the whole dress up a little. I also cut the sleeves to 3/4 length. This print design is so strong, I thought a little less of it might be better.

I cut off some of the length at the bottom and gave it a new hem too. I wanted it to be knee length.

 Here is a look at all the scraps I cut off. I wound up cutting more off the bottom than you see in this picture. But you can get the gist of it.

I liked this dress in the new simpler form. I think the bold fabric is great without big ruffles. The dress is simpler and the fabric gets to be the star.

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

Refashioning Vintage Polyester

 Hello Readers. It took about 3 years but I finally decided what I wanted to do with this vintage polyester dress. It takes me a while to get my thoughts together sometimes. This dress is a pretty blue but the top and sleeves are very scratchy on the skin. I put off refashioning it because it was so uncomfortable to wear. Then it finally became clear....just cut off the itchy sleeves. It could be sleeveless. Duh! So, let's go.

Before and after.

This dress was so long on me. It would need a cut in length for sure 

I put the dress on my dress form inside out. I started marking where I was going to cut the dress. 

I cut the sleeves off at an angle so I could have a halter look. I also cut the skirt into a much shorter length.

I turned the edges under and stitched the fabric down. I also turned the hem under and stitched it down. 

I liked the new sleeveless look and the length was much better. Now, I had to style it. I wasn't sure what I should do.

 

Should I wear black with it? Black always works.

 

Or maybe neutrals would be a good idea? I like neutrals.

 

Casual style with white sneakers and a hoodie? What do you think? Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

***Year End Update- I love the color of this dress but the feel of the polyester was not the best. I haven't worn it again.

 

 

 

Vintage Pink Polyester

Hello Readers. I love finding vintage clothing at clothes swaps. I also love finding handmade items. This pink polyester dress was both. I was thrilled at first.

This was the original thick, heavy, scratchy kind of polyester from the 70's. It wasn't very comfortable at all. The dress was a little big but that was a problem I knew how to fix. How could I make scratchy polyester less scratchy?

 The dress also had an interesting key-hole type opening. It didn't really look right to me, or on me. 

When I find hand-made clothes I try to respect the design, style, and the work of the person that made it. But my #1 goal is always to make the dress wear-able and keep it out of the trash.

I decided to disconnect the two sides and fold them inside the dress. It would be easy to make a V-neck. It would open up the neckline of the dress and be more comfortable for me to wear. 

I stitched down the neckline and cut off the excess material. This polyester was very easy to work with. I could see why people liked it so much.

I thought maybe 3/4 length sleeves would be more comfortable. I made the dress a little shorter and a little smaller as well. 

To be honest I still wasn't in love with it. There was just so much pink everywhere. The bodice was lined with soft fabric,  but the sleeves were not. They were still scratchy.

So... I decided to remove the sleeves completely. I think I like the sleeve-less version because the color is less overwhelming and because the lining makes the rest of this polyester dress more comfortable to wear without the sleeves. 

 The denim jacket helps with the pink over-load too.

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

  *Year end update- I refashioned this with hope the polyester would not bother me. It is like a blanket in summer. It is only wear-able in cool weather.

A Disco Jumpsuit to A Modern Romper

Hello Readers. I found a vintage 70's knit jumpsuit at a clothes swap. Check it out.

I can't lie, I was feeling groovy. Someone made this themselves. I could tell from the inside seams. I love finding homemade clothes. They are so special. In a world of fast throw-away fashion, someone spent a lot of time putting this together. It was so drastically out of style and unflattering on me. It had the standard zipper up the front that all jumpsuits seem to have and wide leg trousers. It was in great shape, this poly-knit material really held up well through the years.

It had a belt too, I was not able to find it until later.

 The jumpsuit is able to show every bump and roll perfectly.

I thought maybe I could make a romper out of it. I thought that would update it and make it more wearable and modern. I wasn't sure, but I thought it might work. I used a pair of shorts as a guide for how much of the pants to cut off.

I hemmed the shorts and I found the little matching belt. (It was in a pile of fabric scraps.) I decided to remove the sleeves. I thought that it would be more comfortable for warm weather if it was sleeveless. This fabric doesn't breathe very much. Why was it so popular again?

I cut off the sleeves and left 1/4 inch of the sleeve as a seam allowance. I tucked the extra sleeve fabric under and into the armhole and stitched it down.  It was very easy to manipulate and sew through this material. Is that why it was so popular?

Here is my more modern romper. This was a big improvement but I think it fit my dress form a lot better than it did me. So, while I liked the romper idea, I kept working on this. Check back next time to see what this romper turned into.

Here is a look at my sewing closet. This is a before and after cleaning. You can see why I lost the belt for a while.

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

*Year end update- I think this jumpsuit is my favorite vintage find. I altered it again in the next post.

My closet didn't stay clean for long.

The Vintage Compact Case

Hello Readers. It's time for a project that doesn't involve clothes. My sister-in-law gave me this vintage compact and told me to find something to do with it. I love projects like that. It took me a few months to decide what I should do. And then it came to me, keep reading to see.

I don't often use a beaded bag and gloves when I go out, these were my grandmom's.

This little compact was so pretty and built so sturdy. Things are not made this way anymore. I don't know how old the compact is and I couldn't find anything like it online.

The mirror was not attached anymore but it was still in one piece. It had a few spots and imperfections like old mirrors do. It made me love it more. The lower side of the compact probably held powder a long time ago but now it is empty.

I used glue and a glue gun to secure the mirror to the top side. Easy-peasy!

OK, now I had nice mirror and nothing else, what else should I put in here.

I took this roll of magnetic tape. I cut 2 pieces. I measured to make sure I had the right size.

I used the self-adhesive side to attach the magnets to the compact.

Here is the finished compact. I used it to hold Bobbi pins. If my hair gets crazy while I am out and about, I can use the mirror to fix it. And if I need a pin to pick a lock, I will be ready.

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

*Year end update- I still love this compact. I still carry it in my bag. I have used the bobby pins for my hair and to "pin" someones pants so I could hem them later.