Go-To Dress

I have to confess, I wasn't sure about writing a post on this particular refashion project. At first it just didn't seem impressive enough to warrant it! But then it occurred to me that not only has it become a bit of a wardrobe staple for me, but it's also actually a good example of how sometimes it doesn't take much effort to turn a festival of frump into a bona fide favourite.

Here's what was huddling in the op shop rack:

It was in pretty good condition; no stains or fading. And the fabric itself was exactly the shade and weight that I'd been looking out for. That, and the fact that it sat nicely over the shoulders, was what sold me. The cons? It was almost completely shapeless - other people may be able to rock the smock look, but I'm not one of those favoured few. Plus, the sleeves were way too wide, and the armskyes started almost at waist level. All happily fixable, however!

The first thing I did was to unpick the side seams down to about hip level, then the sleeve seams. I also unpicked the armholes to roughly 3" down from the shoulder on both front and back. Then I cut off about 2" of width from the sides and sewed them back together. This made the armhole much higher (and more flattering). I cut off the same amount from the width of the sleeves. I had to unpick the sleeve hem either side of the seam, just enough so that it would sit flat enough when sewing the sleeve seam. Then it was just a matter of sewing the sleeve back to the body and sewing the sleeve hem back in place.

After that I positioned long darts in the front and back, just enough to shape it slightly, but not so much that it couldn't blouse out a bit when it's belted. And that, as they say, was that!

I love a good shirt dress :)  And I think this one will be a really good transitional one; it's light enough for warm summer days, but with boots, tights and a cardigan I think I'll get a satisfying amount of autumn wear out of it too. Definitely a go-to dress. Yay for refashioning!

Thought I'd give a sneak peek of what's on the needles at the moment too - Still Light Tunic for me. I'm using Cascade's Heritage Silk yarn, which I love. It's so soft to use and has a beautiful sheen. It's been a few months now ( but knitting always tails off a bit for me during summer) so I'm ready to move on to another project. Nearly there...

Have a wonderful week :)