One Woman's Trash is Another Woman's Treasure: Week 1

In the pile of clothes my sister gave me was this blue dress. I'm a sucker for blue. I just love it. I especially love how this shade of blue looks against my skin. And the brown makes a nice addition. So while I was in love with the fabric, I was not liking the style of the dress. I am a very small person and anything that doesn't have shape makes me look like I'm wearing a sack.

First I made a sketch of how I wanted the dress to look. I figured a band in the middle would add the shape I was looking for.

Once I had finished my sketch, I took out my scissors and started cutting. I removed the brown band from the bottom. I measured the band and found it to be the exact size of my waist so I put it aside to be used for later. I then cut the top from the bottom. I sewed the top portion to the brown band, creating a new bodice for my dress. The bottom part, I sewed godets in to add some flare. I then sewed the new skirt to the bottom of the brown band.

The end result was a dress with enough shape to make me look good. I did run into some problems. My serger went on strike. The foot pedal stopped working so I couldn't serge my seams and edges. My sewing machine has a fit when I work with knit material. So in the end I used my mother's machine. It's a Husqvarna Viking and it made quick work of my dress.

The cost to make this dress was $0. Since I like blue so much I tend to keep blue thread on hand. It also helps to keep a stash of black and white threads as well.

Because of the serger issues, it took me a day and a half from start to finish to complete the dress (that's including sketching and cutting).

The finished product.

Now I just need this rainy weather to clear up so I can wear this beauty.

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