Consciously creating a beautiful life.





Tuesday 10 July 2012

Dress re-fashion


One more week and we will be flying into the summer!

So when I walked past a cheap and cheerful yellow dress with butterflies (while Eva was doing some spying
in the mall), I couldn't resist.
It was a bit on the short side, but I was wearing thick thighs when I tried it on and it seemed ok.

Before packing it, I just quickly wanted to see what it would look like with bare legs.

This was a quite a shock.
There is no way I can get away with wearing it without thighs.

As I am still hoping that it will actually be warm in Germany (despite having lived through many cold and wet
summer there), I went looking for fabric scraps to use on the dress.
The only thing I had that was long enough was a Chinese 'lace' tablecloth.
I have a whole stack of them. Some got turned into pillows, and a couple are hung up as curtains.

When I want to do something, I can be a tiny bit impatient.
Instead of buying new fabric, I decided the curtains would add a retro-cool edge to the dress.
They also had the added advantage that they don't need to be hemmed.

My sewing machine is still unraveling the threads as she sews them, so I had to sew it on by hand.

Here is a quick how-to, in case you also have dresses that are too short:


Here is the original dress:




And here it is laid out on the tablecloth:



I cut a strip off and pinned it onto the dress, then sewed it on by hand. If your machine is less of a primadonna, I would suggest sewing it on with the sewing machine:



My assistant wasn't interested in sewing by hand and rather took a nap:

 


 



Summer, here I come!



Lots of love to you, have a fabulous day.



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41 comments:

  1. I would love to be as handy as you are! It looks great! Hope you have many sunny days on which to wear it!
    S

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    Replies
    1. Thank you dear Suzi :-). It is really simple to do, and my stitches are not exactly pretty, but they are doing the trick so far...

      Delete
  2. Liebe Jutta,

    das ist eine tolle Lösung das sommerliche Kleid zu verlängern! Ich bin der Meinung, dass Deine Beine sich durchaus ohne Strumpfhosen sehen lassen können :)
    Ich wünsche Dir erholsame Urlaubstage in Deutschland und hoffe, dass die Sonne sich doch noch blicken lässt!
    viele liebe Grüße,
    Duni

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  3. Beautiful!! Will soon be bringing over some clothes for you to re-invent for me!! lol xxxxx

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  4. Very cute re-style! I wish I could hand sew (too scared to make the sewing machine mad)! What a creative way to add length, without the heaviness of full fabric! Thanks!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks so much dear Morgan! in my opinion it is much more fun with the sewing machine :-)

      Delete
  5. I love this! And kudos for having the patience to hand-sew it! Your puppy is sooo cute too!

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  6. Nice job Jutta! I think the lace makes it look even more summery. Those blue butterflies are gorgeous too! I'd say your impatience paid off!

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  7. Hello fashion designer! You always have a way of taking something and making it even more lovely. This is no exception. This curtain adds the perfect finishing touch for your new dress.

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  8. Very cute, your re-fashioned dress. I like ist so much!

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  9. Cute dress, great refashion!

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  10. Very cute!! I love adding a lace edge to anything.....

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  11. Uh I like it! It's quite a lovely refashion! Have a great time in Germany! Summer, here we go!

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  12. das hast du gut hinbekommen-gefällt mir sehr! und ich kann das mit sehr kurzen röcken gut verstehen, im winter mit ganz dicken strumpfhosen mags noch gehen, aber im sommer fühl ich mich auch nicht mehr recht wohl damit (obwohl ich eigentlich bei kleidung keine direkten altersbeschränkungen gut finde). alles hat eben seine zeit im leben;)jetzt wäre eine zarte kette mit ganz wenig spitze noch nett dazu!?
    herzlichst birgit

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  13. Amazing!! Beautiful refashion! LOVE your blog, your photo's and all the things you make. Have a great summer!!

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  14. Clever, and I love your new little dress (:

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  15. That looks so pretty! What a great "fix"!
    Thanks for sharing with my Super Link Party! :-)
    ~Susie~

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  16. I love this! You did a great job. Haha aww the doggy is adorable too!

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  17. cute refashion!

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  18. What a great idea! Great job upcycling your dress! I'm popping by to visit from Katherine's linky!
    Cheers,
    Char
    http://1epicmom.com

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  19. Awesome idea - thanks for sharing! (Visited from Katherine's link)

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  20. how adorable, I wish I could create something as cute as this!
    New follower from the Blog Hop
    -Buffi
    My Wonderfully Dysfunctional Blog

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  21. You are so creative. I love visiting your blog. Thank you for sharing at the Thursday Favorite Things hop. XO

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  22. Jutta,
    This is fabulous! I love the addition of the lace. Perfect for skirts that have gotten too short over time and washing :) Thanks so much for linking up to Creative Thursday this week. I can't wait to see what you link up next. Have a great weekend.

    Michelle

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  23. Fantastic! I stop by from the piece o' cake linky! I keep this idea for later! thanks so much

    http://sparkleandco.blogspot.com

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  24. That lace worked really well!

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  25. Love the way it turned out...amazing how just adding a little bit of lace can really dress it up!

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  26. Jutta!!! This is HOT!!! I'm loving it!

    Thanks so much for sharing this at The DIY Dreamer.. From Dream To Reality!

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  27. Cool! I love how a simple addition of lace, made that dress look elegant and stylish.
    Thanks for linking up at Friday Fun Party. Have a nice weekend!

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  28. Cute idea and a good save! I do have a dress that's too short unless I'm wearing as a swimsuit coverup, so this gives me some ideas!
    CAS

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  29. Love this! You gave me an idea for a dress I have that is too short and and abundace of lace curtains.

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  30. I love your dress refashion! Your assistant is pretty cute too :)

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  31. How cute did this come out?? I love the lacy add on:) Thank you for sharing this cute idea at Freedom Fridays.
    Have a great week!

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  32. I am loving the lace! It looks great! Thank you for sharing at our
    Pinteresting Party.

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  33. Wow..........Amazing!! Love the pattern & color.
    www.blissfulsewing.blogspot.con

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  34. Aw, this was a really nice post. In idea I would like to put in writing like this additionally – taking time and actual effort to make a very good article… but what can I say… I procrastinate alot and by no means seem to get something done.###

    iTrip Wisata
    iTrip Travel
    iTrip ID

    ReplyDelete
  35. Howdy! This is kind of off topic but I need some help from an established blog.
    Is it tough to set up your own blog? I’m not very techincal but I can figure things out pretty quick. I’m thinking about making my own but I’m not sure where to start. Do you have any tips or suggestions? Cheers

    Google.com.tr
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    Maps.google.co.cr

    ReplyDelete

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