Project Restyle: Shift Dress

I've got another Project Restyle to share, this week I re-styled a black shift dress.

The first thing I did was decide how long I wanted it to be, just like in the Bow Dress Re-style.

I'm 5'8", I like to wear dresses at a total length of 35" from shoulder seam to bottom hem.  So I usually cut it off about an inch longer, to include the hem.

The dress was too long, so here's what you do to shorten it:

1. Measure 2 inches up from the bottom, and pin all the way along

2. Cut the bottom off, following the pins

3. Roll the hem about 1/2" up

4. Roll the hem another 1/2" up so that the raw edge is hidden

5. Pin the hem down

6. Sew the hem in place.

The dress was too wide, so here's what you do to take it in:

7. Turn dress inside out

8. Place another dress, in a similar style over top of the dress as a guide

9. Place pins as a guide to where you should sew

10. Sew just beside the pins on the side further from the edge.

I also cut the sleeve about 6 inches shorter, and added a cuff that I made.

Now that I've got the ball rolling on my re-styling projects, I'm really enjoying bringing them from start to finish, the final product is well worth the work :)

Reposted by Heidi-and-Seek Boutique

Project Restyle: Bow Dress

Happy Friday everyone! I'm here today to share a 'Project Restyle' I did on my blog a few months ago.

I love finding dresses at the local thrift store and altering them into something trendy! Here's how I restyled this bow dress.

I currently have 3 of my storage shelves FULL of these 'projects' waiting to be done.
Here's the before and after!

First thing I did was decide how much shorter I wanted it. I took hem allowance into consideration, and it came to 35" total.

Here's what I did:
1. I realized that the dress kind of curved up on the sides, so I folded the dress in half
2. Because the hem was curved, I measured 4" up from the bottom at a few different spots and put a pin in as a guide for cutting.
3. Cut extra fabric off

4. For the hem, roll bottom edge up about 1/2 an inch
5. Roll it over again so that you don't have any of the raw edges showing
6. Pin the hem down, one pin about every 3 inches

7. Sew down the hem

8. Iron hem to ensure it is straight

Voila!

Reposted from Heidi-and-Seek Boutique

PS. If you have a restyle or tutorial you would like to share, let us know or post your request in the blog update thread on the Etsy page! We'd love to share what you're working on :)