Thrift Flip: Lace Curtain to Gorgeous Boho Fringe Dress
I found a beautiful lace curtain for three dollars at a thrift store and decided I was going to make it into a flowy upcycled fringe dress. Keep reading to see the process and the gorgeous results of this DIY fringe dress project.
Tools and materials:
- Lace curtain
- Dress (to trace)
- Rope or yarn
- Scissors
- Pins
- Paper
- Pen
- Measuring tape
- Sewing machine
Optional:
- Black tea
- Large pot
- Crochet hook
Cut
I folded the fabric in half so I can cut the front and back pattern pieces at the same time. I laid a dress that fits me well on top of the fabric, and cut around one half of it, leaving ample spare fabric on the sides.
Then I folded over the cut fabric, and cut around it to make the pieces symmetrical.
Next, I separated the layers, folded one in half lengthwise, and cut the neckline on the back pattern piece.
And then I cut the neckline for the front piece. You can hold the pieces up against yourself to get a better idea of how you want to cut the neckline.
Sew
Once I was happy with the shape of the dress, I sewed the front and back pieces together at the shoulders.
Pin
I tried on the dress, and pinned the sides, making the dress as loose or tight as I liked it.
I also decided the length and marked where I wanted the hem to be with a pin.
Cut
Next, I cut the excess fabric from the sides and the bottom.
Sew
Then I sewed the side seams together.
Sleeve pattern
See 3:27-4:11 for instructions on how to make a pattern for the sleeves.
Cut
I folded my fabric and cut two sleeves, leaving a ½-inch seam allowance around the edges.
Once I cut around the top, I measured out how long I wanted my sleeves to be, and cut straight down the sides of the pattern until that point.
Sew
Next, I folded each sleeve in half and sewed down the sides.
Step: Adjust
At this point, I realized the armholes of the dress weren’t quite big enough, and the curve of the sleeves wasn’t exactly the right shape, so I made the appropriate adjustments.
Pin and sew
Once the sleeves and arm holes were fixed, I pinned the sleeves in place and sewed them down.
Bell pattern
To make the pattern for the bell of the sleeve, I cut a rectangle the same length as the circumference of the sleeve. Then I cut strips almost to the top of the rectangle and spread out the strips.
Then I taped the strips to a second piece of paper, and cut around it.
Cut
Then I folded the fabric over and cut out two bell pieces by cutting around the pattern.
Fold and sew
I folded both pieces in half and sewed them down along the side.
Pin and sew
I pinned the bells to the ends of the sleeves and sewed them in place.
Dye
I realized I didn’t want such a white fabric, so I decided to dye it with black tea. For instructions on how to dye fabric with tea, see the video from 8:47-9:52.
Make the fringe
I used rope to make the fringe, but you can also use yarn. I decided to crochet the base of the fringe. I made a row of chain stitches as long as the bottom edge of the dress, and then another row of double crochets. You can also just make a thick braid, instead of crocheting.
Then I cut pieces of rope of the desired length for the fringe and threaded them through the base, and knotted them as close to the top as possible.
Then I grabbed two strings from one tassel, and two strings from the tassel beside it, and tied a knot a bit lower than the first row to get a net-like look.
Adjust
I adjusted the length of the fringes.
Sew
Then I sewed the fringe to the bottom of the dress.
Finally, I hemmed the neckline and sleeves. I used a folded hem for the sleeves and a bias binding hem on the neckline.
And the dress was complete!
Isn’t this a beautiful transformation? Let me know what you think of this thrift flip fringe dress.
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Comments
Join the conversation
WOW!!!
I love this! Great job!
You did great, I like it. Is the lace polyester or cotton? How does it hold the color from the black tea after washing it? Regards,