tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233689341516923676.post4405605894483488854..comments2016-03-12T16:53:34.631-08:00Comments on A Valuable Season: Simple Dress RefashionAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00929711586393183290noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233689341516923676.post-12829210515612341502015-02-23T06:29:01.702-08:002015-02-23T06:29:01.702-08:00We are not very experienced in this area, and have...We are not very experienced in this area, and have just started dabbling in it, so I know and understand that our experiments are going to be full of trial and error. I was aware of a few of it's faults, but I didn't know about some of the facts of it's old style. So thank you for your insight.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00929711586393183290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233689341516923676.post-12075607334324839632015-02-22T22:51:20.723-08:002015-02-22T22:51:20.723-08:00Refashioning clothing is a time-honored, fun thing...Refashioning clothing is a time-honored, fun thing to do. I wish you girls lots of luck and success and fabulous thrift-store finds. Half the fun is in the hunt, right?<br /><br />Now for the pedantic lecture, meant kindly, of course, from someone who has done a bit of sewing in her time. If you like that dress, and that style, I suggest you do some basic research on it. It's called a shirtdress (surely you know this?). It was quite popular in the 40s-50s, and is a classic style that has maintained presence in the fashion world for decades. It's a shirtdress precisely because it's constructed (in idea) like a giant shirt....only tailored into a dress. Meaning that "slit" in the bottom is a natural result of a dress meant to be put on and buttoned down exactly like a shirt. So from a practical standpoint - of a dress that is slipped on around the shoulders and then buttoned closed, your sewing it closed only at the very bottom front is rather silly. I understand why you've made adjustments for modesty, and if that's what you like it's quite proper to do so, but I have to speak up for the dress design, because I (and many others) simply adore shirtdresses for their versatility and practical nature. It is a classic for a reason.<br /><br />Make sure when you add buttons up top that there's enough fabric around the neckline/collar so that your alteration doesn't pull the dress/shirt out of shape - you'll know if you make wrinkles and/or tightness where there was none before, and it'll hang on you differently.<br /><br />And that belt it came with is commonly referred to as a "self-belt" - meaning a belt in the same fabric and color, meant to match and blend in, to pull the dress into shape around the waist without calling attention to itself. This visual trick allows the dress to take its shape without being "cut in half" by a different colored belt. It's simply a design thing. Bright belts tend to split the body into two visual halves, and on some figures, this isn't really a great thing to highlight. You're young and slender, so it works. After a few more decades (or a few children) you very well might need a corset to pull off the same shape in clothing. And that's ok too.<br /><br />And for what it's worth, don't overlook wrap skirts. One seam up the side and a length of elastic run through the top, and you've got a quite-modest a-line skirt with very little effort. You can hand-sew the entire thing in an hour, easy, even as a beginner. Have fun and remember women sewed for thousands of years without sewing machines, so there's no reason you can't just pick up a needle and see what happens. Thrift store clothes are so great for practicing on, even if you just buy them for the fabric and chop it up into something else entirely!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233689341516923676.post-42016145965122191162015-02-16T06:43:26.627-08:002015-02-16T06:43:26.627-08:00Thank you. :) It is fun to see what you can do wit...Thank you. :) It is fun to see what you can do with old clothes.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00929711586393183290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233689341516923676.post-58843323706104592062015-02-16T06:16:00.393-08:002015-02-16T06:16:00.393-08:00Very cute! Great job on the re-make!Very cute! Great job on the re-make!Jessicahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06121040081487860599noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233689341516923676.post-45325873404253539442015-02-09T10:52:20.863-08:002015-02-09T10:52:20.863-08:00I enjoy new sewing better, but it is cheaper to re...I enjoy new sewing better, but it is cheaper to re-do!Southern Ladyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02854732663299482276noreply@blogger.com