I bought this dress in March to wear to a wedding, bonus it was $4 on sale at Ross. After wearing it with a cream colored sweater, I wasn't really that enthused with it.
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| Excuse my mirror pic... |
The dress is a little too busy for my liking and wasn't the most flattering (I've also lost a bit of weight since March - so it is a little big on me). I loved the ruffle v-neck still, so when I got a chance, I decided I would alter it into a shirt I could wear with a sweater for casual fall attire.
Step #1: Turn the dress inside out. This dress actually had 2 layers, so I knew I would have to do the under layer (black) first, then the patterned layer.
Step #2: Use pins and pin the dress up to desired shirt length. For me this was 12" (actually first I tried 8" but I didn't like the length once I put the shirt on, so I had to redo it at 12"). If you press this new seam, it will make it easier to pin and sew as it will stay in place much, much better.
Step #3: Sew along your new "hem line". I used the 5/8" mark on my machine as a guideline.
Step #4: Repeat Step 2 and 3 for the next layer (this happened to be the floral pattern in my case).
Step #5: Trim off all your excess fabric and use a zig-zag or blanket stitch to make it all neat. IF you have a serger, you can use that too!
Voila, a simple - 1 hour alteration project to get a super cute new shirt! I added a thin belt for a little extra flair.
