Refashioned Shirt Dress Aka I Hate Bubble Hems!
I love a good shirt dress. Let me rephrase that … I am ADDICTED to shirt dresses. I mean, its the dress version of a button down shirt (my other love). Its so easy, just throw it on and go. I got this grey shirt dress a LONG while back from Urban Outfitters. The style was super cute, but I just wasn’t wearing it that much. I was cleaning out my closet and tempted to toss it, but decided to rework it and give it another try. I swear I’ve worn it at least three times since I finished it last week!
Lets talk about why I wanted to change it up. First, the under ams. Y’all know me and my under arm issue. I don’t like anything tight up in my armpits. Sure, tight armholes make for a snugger, more feminine and flattering fit. But form over fashion people – I hate them. Also the length of the sleeves compared to the length of the hem was a conflict for me. The fabric is so light and the hem was so short I wanted to wear it in summer, but no way I’m wearing those sleeves in the heat of a Texas summer. Lastly that dang bubble hem. Am I the only one that hates bubble hems and finds them completely unflattering? This is the second hem I’ve un-bubbled. Besides being unflattering, this particular bubble was really constricting my movement – no squatting, crouching, or running in this baby. Changes needed to be made.
The changes I made were all pretty simple. I removed the sleeves right at the seams and cleaned them up with bias tape. I “un-bubbled” the hem to let it swing freely. Lastly, I added pockets using the fabric from the removed sleeves (gotta use up that scrap waste!) I really love the way it turned out. Its so much more comfortable and much more seasonal. I want to wear it all the time.
Above are the close up details of my clean finished armholes using bias tape and my little patch pockets I added up front. Below you will see a peek at how I fixed the bubble hem. This dress was made with a hem band. To release the bubble I removed the hem band, pulled out all the stitching and pressed the dress straight, measured the new hem, cut a piece from the extra sleeve fabric to extend the hem band, and re-attached the new hem band. I could very easily have just removed the hem band and hemmed the dress but it was already pretty short and I didn’t want to loose any length.
I am so much happier with this dress now. It’s so refreshing to take something that has been gathering dust in your closet and make a few quick changes to make it something you actually wear. I am going to be tackling more quick projects like these so stay tuned!
What about you.. whats in your closet that needs a little gussy-ing up?
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