Altering a Faux Leather Dress

I loved the dress and the pleated skirt was amazing. It seemed a little too long on me so I knew I would shorten it. The more I looked at it, the more I thought I would like the top as a jacket. It would make a great light-weight jacket. That meant it was time to start cutting. 

I was really afraid I would mess this dress up but I tried to be brave. I cut the top of the dress off. There was a little waistband between the skirt and top. I kept the waistband attached to the skirt. The pleather had a bit of stretch to it. It allowed me to pull the skirt on and off easily. The material did not fray at all so the waistband of the skirt was done. It was like cutting butter.

The skirt needed to be shorter so I cut off about 6 inches from the hem. The skirt of the dress was originally not hemmed. It was just a raw cut edge. That made it easy for me. I measured and cut it carefully with very sharp scissors. I folded the cut portion of the skirt over and onto the skirt to make sure I was cutting the same length. I made sure the hemlines were all together so that I was cutting off the same amount all the way around the skirt. I left the cut edge of the new hem just like it was originally, I just cut material and left it with no hem. This was turning out a lot easier than I thought it would be.

The top needed something to finish it at the waist. There was no snap or any closure at the waist because of the changes I had made. Luckily the dress had a sash/belt to tie abound the waist of the dress. I had to use that finish the jacket somehow.

I thought I could sew the belt right on to the cut edge of my new jacket. It would look nicely finished and I could tie it in front of the jacket to close the jacket at the waist.

I was afraid that this pleather would stick to the presser foot. I thought it would jam up my sewing machine. I thought it would be a battle to sew this. It was fine. This was so easy. I was so nervous and anxious about it and it was all for nothing. I made sure to leave the ends of the belt hanging in front of the jacket evenly so I could tie them closed when I wore this jacket.

I liked how the tie at the waist worked out. It closes the jacket and is a little different.

I stitched over the stitches on the belt. I wanted my new stitches to blend in with the old stitches. The universal sewing machine needle went through this material so easily. I don't know why faux leather has a bad reputation, this was easy to work with.

I like the 2 pieces together. The shorter skirt is going to make the whole outfit less overwhelming.

I can break them up and wear them separately too. This material was easy to cut, easy to manipulate and easy to sew. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy! Don't be afraid to try to work with it. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

Chickie