Last week, I went through my wardrobe and discovered this dress (shown below) which is really lovely, but the top didn't fit me very well and the skirt was a little too short for my liking, so I thought I would change it into a skirt and show you how I did it.
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| I love the print of the dress - cutting off the top means I can keep some of the fabric! |
Firstly, I measured and drew out a line using a tape measure and tailor's chalk, 2cm from the top of the waistband, the whole way around the dress.
Then, with large fabric scissors, I cut along the line very carefully, through the zip and making sure that I didn't cut through the ties attached to the waist band as I wanted to keep these for the skirt (I've drawn a quick diagram below in case I haven't explained it very well).
Next, I folded down the 2cm part by 1cm, so that the raw edge was on the wrong side of the fabric and pressed this into place.
Once I had done this, I folded this over again by 1cm, so that, from the front, only the waistband was visible. I pressed this with the iron.
I then pinned the hem down. For the zip, I unpicked the stitches which held the zip to any fabric which was above the waistband, and then folded it down, and then folded the hem over it so it was neat and concealed.
Using slip stitch, I sewed down the hem, meaning that it is comfortable to wear and neat on the inside. You can use a sewing machine for this stage, if you would like. After doing this, I pressed the hem again, as well as the whole thing.
And there you have it - a pretty skirt made from a dress!
The fabric of this dress means that the skirt is really light and floaty - so perfect for this summer (and made just in time!) and the tie at the back looks really pretty.
Helen xx
