How An Old Dress That Didn't Fit Got A Red-Carpet Makeover

Ms. Melior
by Ms. Melior
2 Materials
$10
1 Hour
Easy

My friends are moving away to Portugal. I'll miss them dearly, BUT I did get some new clothes because they can't take everything with them.


One of these new pieces is this green maxi dress. As you can see, it's too loose for me...


At first, I thought I'd just show you how to make it fit better. But then I figured that you'd want a tutorial for something much more fun!


So I'm going to show you how to turn this dress into one that I saw on the Red Carpet recently.

Here's the dress we'll be upcycling today...

...and from the back.

With the dress on inside-out use pins to create the shape of your body. Then draw this shape with chalk. Remove the pins and then the dress.

Stitch along this chalk line and cut off the excess fabric.

If you have a serger, you can use this along the chalk line instead (as I have here).

Try on the dress and stop here if all you wanted was a better fit!


Read on if you're in the mood to give your dress that WOW factor.

Draw some circles onto your dress (inside-out) as I have here.

Have fun with placement, but remember to draw the circles smaller than you want them to end up.


Also note that this will be revealing... if you want a more modest look, use smaller or less circles. You can still get a really interesting dress without having to show as much.

Cut these circles out and hem them. Use a matching thread color and a short zig-zag stitch to allow for stretch.

Strut around and own your creation!

Never stop having fun with fashion and your sewing projects.


Love,

Ms. Melior

Suggested materials:
  • Secondhand Dress   (From a friend)
  • Sewing Machine

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  • Janice Janice on Oct 09, 2021

    Wow! That is SO cute! If I had your youth and your figure, I would SO do that! You look great in it! Love your shoes, too! Thanks for sharing!

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