How to Remedy a Shrunken Dress

If you've been reading my ramblings for a few years, you'll know that I bought this awesome embroidered dress at a vintage/second-hand kilo sale, back in 2014.
If you didn't know, you do now ;)

Anyway. Over the years, this dress - which, it turned out, is partly made of wool - shrank when I washed it.

Every. Damn. Time.

No matter how I washed it, that outer later got a little shorter, a little slimmer.

Until the underskirt stuck out a good few inches, and I couldn't zip it up anymore.

It's sat in my project box for a while as I tried to decide what to do with it. I couldn't bear to get rid of that lovely embroidery!

So I made a shrunken waistcoat from it, instead. :)

Though this refashion was simple in theory, in practise it was time-consuming and a bit of a challenge!

I completed this a couple of weeks ago, but until today didn't get around to blogging about it (I know, I'm a slacker.)

The skirt was fraying away from the bodice, so unpicking all that stitching took ages, and because the seam allowances were tiny, it was fiddly work to create new hems.
I also had to remove the side-zip, and create new seams for the outer and lining. Originally I was going to leave the little red tie on it, but after I'd finished sewing, I decided it didn't look right, so cut it off!

Though I can't easily do anything about the slightly shrunken armholes (that wool is a pain in the ass and I am lazy), I've still managed to get a cute, wearable garment from something that I would otherwise have had to get rid of.

Plus it goes nicely with a shirt I have!

With this refashion I complete a goal from The List, so colour me doubly happy!

080. Refashion/upcycle 3 items of clothing

My other refashions have been:
01. Refashioned Retro Dress (another kilo sale find!)
02. Customised Glitter Boots

Seems I've inadvertently refashioned myself a new outfit!

I did the first refashion back in 2014--took me long enough to complete this goal, didn't it!
Having griped in my post about the dress that I messed up the bodice, I fixed it last year--fits much better now :)

So....how to remedy a shrunken dress? Turn it into a waistcoat!

DIY Glitter Boots

 
Do you ever find a pair of shoes that you can't bear to leave in the shop--only to discover they don't have your size?

That happened to me when I wandered into Primark during my trip to Portsmouth, and again a few days later when I went to the Crawley branch of the same store.

Alright, so Primark isn't a designer store or even a fancy one, it's cheap and cheerful fashion.

But damn, if I didn't want those glittery gold canvas boots.

Unfortunately the racks in both branches were filled with size 5-6, and little else.

I have big feet, and though Primark do my size, it's usually 'in selected styles only' (and usually sold out).

It was clear that I couldn't have those beautiful boots.

If I wanted some, I'd have to make my own.

Which is what I did.

I bought some plain boots from the men's shoe section (£10, don't mind if I do), then went online and ordered some fine iridescent gold glitter.

Though I had a vague idea of how to stick the glitter down, I googled for some tutorials to find out what works best.

Eventually I found the Step-By-Step DIY Glitter Sneakers tutorial on about.com, which appeared to have the best end result!

It worked pretty well; there are very few places where the glitter has come off, which is where I didn't spread it on evenly. It was fiddly to brush it on around the eyelets and I ended up using the applicator sponge to wipe it over them, cleaning them up before the mixture dried.

The hardest part is getting a photo of them in all their iridescent sparkly glory. They look amazing in sunlight, but it hasn't been sunny since I peeled off the masking tape and laced them up--so you'll have to take my word for it!

Am counting this DIY towards a goal from The List:

80. Refashion/upcycle 3 items of clothing

Smothering boring not-quite-white-not-quite-grey boots in glitter totally counts as a refashion!

If I had space (or need) for more shoes, I would absolutely be making more of these in different colours!

This is refashion 2/3. The first was a refeshioned retro dress...

A Skirt for Autumn

Earlier in the year, I added a new goal to The List:

089. Make three items of clothing from patterns

As I explained before, the idea was to challenge myself to put more effort into sewing, as usually I'm very lazy, and avoid patterns if I can help it.

After making a dress for winter using a pattern from Burda Style magazine, I intended to use some of the remaining fabric to make a skirt from the same issue.

Now autumn has arrived, I finally made that skirt! (It's only taken me nine months to get around to it!)

The pattern is from Burda Style issue 01/2015, style 109:

As with the dress I made previously, this skirt was presented in two 'views' - one in multiple colours, as shown above, and one entirely in white.

I was inspired to make one using patterned and plain fabrics:

• Thick paisley cotton left over from making the dress (purchased at a charity shop).
• Liberty fabric. Possibly left over from somebody's interiors project (also charity shop).
• Red suit (I think) fabric, left over from a project so old I no longer own those trousers. (Tip: triple-check how much fabric you need, else you end up with masses left over!)

Despite my goal being to stick to the patterns, I did make some tiny changes:

1. Lengthened pattern

The original was too short! Also, the Liberty fabric I used was a skirt I'd made previously (and never wore). So I used the length of that as a guide!

2. Different fabric

In the view I was inspired by, the magazine had used suede. I used what I already had.

3. Adjusted the waist. Massively.

I will always have to adjust the hell out of garments I sew, because the bust-waist-hip ratio in pattern sizing never matches my body!

4. Different zip placement
The zip was in a weird place on the magazine's version, and the skirt I was cutting up had a zip at the back centre, so I used it! 

Time Taken:

1 day. I'm rather impressed with myself for that! 

Good Things:

1. The fabrics

I love patterns, and I love reds. This skirt combines the two

2. Coordination

It goes with other stuff in my wardrobe! Including the green waistcoat I never wore because nothing matched it! Yay!

3. Waistband interfacing

I have never heard of this stuff until now. It's amazing. The waistband turned out so neat!

4. Two down, one to go

Only one more garment to sew from a pattern before I've completed this goal!

What's Next:

I have no idea what will come next. A skirt? A dress? Trousers? A top of some kind? Maybe by next autumn I'll have made it!

A Dress for the Winter

A couple of weeks ago, I blogged about my goal to make three items of clothing from patterns.

Yesterday I finished sewing this dress! Getting pictures of it was a nightmare, mostly involving rubbish lighting and my face. (Anyone else manage to pull awful grimaces when they try to smile on demand?!) But I did manage a few reasonable ones, with help of my family.

The dress is made from a pattern Burda Style 01/2015 issue, style 105:

The magazine included two 'views' - one with chiffon (seen above) and the other with batiste and embroidered tulle.

My goal is to stick to the patterns. I did make a couple of changes, but still within the bounds of 'using the pattern':

Retro Refashion

Last week I added another goal to The List, bringing it to a total of 80 so far!

080. Refashion/upcycle 3 items of clothing

At the weekend, I finished the first one, and I'm dead chuffed with how it turned out.
I started off with this retro dress, purchased last year at one of To Be Worn Again's kilo sales.

Vintage Clothing Kilo Sale

Yesterday, I went to a kilo sale at the Worthing warehouse of vintage clothing retailer To Be Worn Again. With clothes being priced at £15 a kilo, it wasn't something I was going to miss out on! Also as yesterday was my birthday, I was able to go armed with lots of birthday money to spend. Hurrah!
I went there with Dad, who has a liking for their selection of shirts.

Keep reading for more about the kilo sale, what I bought, and my tips on how to shop at one of these events.