I was fortunate enough to inherit a lot of my grandma's clothes when she passed away a few years ago. Most people may think, " you want to wear your grandma's clothes?" Yes!! This woman had extreme style and class. I never her saw her not put together...even when she was working outside in the yard! (And yes, I got some of the cool gardening clothes, too.) This particular dress was one she wore in the late 80's early 90's, I believe. I LOVE the lace and floral print and the unexpected color combination! I had a vision for making this pretty, flowy dress a little more fitted so that I would be able to wear it all the time. This could apply to any dress that needs a little tweaking. This is how I did it:
I chose a dress that I already had and used that as kind of a pattern for the top and the length.
I left an extra inch or so at the bottom because I wanted the length to be a little longer, and to allow extra fabric for hemming.
Then I cut off the excess fabric from the length.
Using the top of the dress as my guide, I cut around the edge leaving 1/2" of extra fabric all the way around the edge of the top and stopping where the waistline began.
I then flipped the dress inside out, connected the armpit and the waistline using pins as my guide. and then sewing in a straight line through all layers from the armpit to the waistline. I then trimmed the excess fabric to 1/4".
Next, I ironed around the armhole edges folding down 1/4", and then another 1/4" and sewed 1/8" seam all the way around on both armholes.
Doing the same pressing method of 1/4", and then another 1/4", I sewed both the lining and the lace hems of the bottom of the dress.
Using the extra fabric that I had cut away from the length, I folded and hemmed at 2 1/2" sash to go around the waist.
I like to finish the edges at an angle so they look like a ribbon.
Here is the finished product!! I love how twirly this dress is! It looks like a vintage inspired piece that I would buy, but this one happens to be priceless! I like to think that my grandma had a hand in helping me make this little beauty. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial, I would love to see what kind of dress redesigns you come up with!!
