Now that the busyness of the holidays is passed, I can get back to refabbing!! A couple months ago, I found this polka dotted top at a local thrift store. Let's just say that it leaves much to be desired.
I tried to strike my most 80's pose. I think I succeeded. Why did I buy it? Because I like the white with navy polka dots, and because it was cheap!
First things first, I removed the shoulder pads. I mean, that's a given. I also made the key hole a little bit bigger by removing about two inches of stitches.
Next, I removed the sleeves to make bringing in the body a little easier. Also because they were terrible.
Now to make it fit! Also, how do you like my dress form?! I love it. It makes these projects so much easier! I would also like to give a shout out to Jo-Ann Fabrics and their Black Friday sales as well as to my husband for being the first one in line to get this for me! Back to work. I started pinning the sides to make this thing fit.
Time to sew it in place!
In full disclosure, I ran into a problem here. Because the fabric does not stretch at all, I could not get this top on. Solution? Put a zipper in!! I got to work pinning and sewing the zipper to the inside of the back center seam. After I sewed the zipper in place, I removed the back seam. Voila! I could get it on me!
There was a little gaping across the chest, so I put the top on inside out and pinned the darts where needed and sewed them in place.
Now for the sleeves. I decided on very short cap sleeves for this one. I started with the original sleeves and cut them to 2 1/2 inches to have enough for the seam allowance. Then I sewed them in place.
And the final product!!!
I think it turned out great!! Dexter seems to love it, too!
So, here it is.
$1.99 for the top, $3.99 for the zipper
Total cost=$5.98
That's pretty great, too!
I have a question. What would you do with a dress from about the late 80s/early 90s that is full length and has one of those little jackets, made of the same cloth as the dress, that comes only to just above the elbow. The whole thing looks so square but it's made of beautiful material. I'm thinking of shortening the hem and using darts to tailor the fit. Right now it's the potato sack look. But, the jacket? Not sure what I'd do to make it look better.
ReplyDeleteI would shorten it to a tea length and definitely tailor it for fit (having something actually fit your body does wonders!) As for the jacket, you could shorten the sleeves, remove any shoulder pads, and tailor the shoulders and the body of the jacket. Depending on what you're working with, you could add some lace or other accent to the ends of the sleeves, too! Send me a pic; I'd be happy to take a look at it!
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