From This to That

I just entered PatternReview's recycling/refashioning/reconstruction contest. My neighbor gave me this black dress from the GAP that was brand new. She couldn't take it back b/c it was bought from the sale rack. She decided she didn't like it so yours truly ended up with it. Here's it's shown with a top on it for a size reference.

 

Did you realize that the straps are reinforced with clear elastic? I didn't until I cut them off.

This was what was left after I created my new Jalie top. Notice my trashy soup can "pattern weights" to the left.

Here she is; another Jalie 2804 top.



Look at the great notions I cut off this dress. I used the straps for the shoulder ties on my new top. Don't you love the black jersey knit-covered buttons?

 

I kept the original hem.

Here are shoulder ties from the right side.

and the wrong side. You just sew on a little scrap of fabric and make two channels in it. Then you thread the ties through there and viola, there ya go!

 

Burda 10-2008 #103 Pleated Skirt

This is the skirt I made from the wrap dress I was blogging about a few days ago. The pink is showing you the pleat details because it is a bit hard to see with this busy fabric.


The rear pleats.


The inside. The weird seam is from the original wrap dress seaming.


Fuzzy front with the top tucked in. Not sure if I like this.


Fuzzy picture of the shirt over the skirt. Like this better.


The skirt is pretty high.


The back.


I decided to do a casual double fold hem.


The review from PatternReview.com.
Pattern Description: When pleats are properly placed they furnish feminine swing without optically adding pounds. This skirt in printed stretch satin is a brilliant example, sporting an ultra-wide, shaped waistband for a smooth fit.

Pattern Sizing: 36-44. I made size 36.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes, it looks like the line drawing and the model photo except for the changes I made.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes, they seemed easy to understand. I've done lots of skirts and pants with this type of waist so I found it pretty easy. I always, always, alwasy use the Fashion-Incubator of putting in the zipper and attaching the facing.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I love the shape of this skirt and the cute pleats. I like that it didn't take a lot of fabric because . . .

Fabric Used: I recycled a wrap skirt that I did not wear very often. It was long, dangerous (exposure issues), and a bit tight in the waist. I loved the fabric on it though. It is a Geoffrey Beane skirt I bought years ago. I probably only wore it a handful of times but I'll wear it more now that it's a shorter skirt.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made: Since I was recycling a skirt there are several weird seams because I could not cut it out without cutting into the original seam areas. You'll see them if you look closely. And the seam on the inside here is one of them. I also reduced the number of pleats on the front to four instead of six and on the back to two instead of four. I had to make the pattern piece a bit smaller and that seamed (ha! get it? okay, lame, I know.) to do the trick. I cut off two inches and them hemmed it up two inches for a grand total of four inches off the bottom. This is the longer version. I did a simple fold-up and sew hem.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I might sew this again. There are so many cute skirts in BWOF. This is just one of about 760 cute skirt patterns. I highly recommend it to others.