Maxi Dress Makeover

The Maxi Dress. Remember when the maxi dress made its grand reentrance into the fashion world just a couple of years ago?? Suddenly, every store in the free world had racks and racks of these long, comfy dresses for sale and had all of us comfort-loving consumers dashing to grab a few of them. I bought a few and loved wearing them. But there was one I bought without trying on {because surely a maxi dress is a maxi dress and looks good on everyone, right??} and when I got home and excitedly tried it on I came to two very quick conclusions. 1} Horizontal stripes? Not very flattering - even in a maxi dress. Think big, fat cow with a jersey knit sack on. 2} Just because it looks comfy and you love stripes of all kinds doesn't mean it's right for you. {Speaking to myself, of course.} My maxi dress dreams were dashed as I stood there looking at myself in the mirror. {I have since bought a great one that is flattering, it's very nice quality and stylish. Yay! But I DID try it on before I bought it.}
Even though I never wore this one out in public except for once with a cardigan and felt self conscious the entire time, I decided not to return it. This dress only has one seam - a side seam. So, my mind had that dress completely altered and appropriate for my oldest daughter in no time. I'm pretty happy with the results and it only took about 10 minutes. Here's how I did it in case you get over the maxi dress phase and start wondering what on earth to do with all these things...

 {No need to finish the edge on this hem because knit will not ravel, it may roll up just a tad on the bottom, but that doesn't bother me with this type of dress.}

 

I hope this inspires you to think twice before giving away/thrifting/selling clothing you already have that can be madeover into something useable for free! I love upcycling clothing we already own.

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Spring Fashion

It is definitely Spring here in the South. {I think it's been Spring now for at least a couple weeks with all the warm weather we've been having.} I don't know about you, but this weather makes me 'need' a whole new wardrobe! I have been focusing on some different projects I wanted to make for my girls {skirts, etc.} and now I'm looking for more projects to do for my own wardrobe. I have big plans {maybe even crazy plans} but I thought I'd share some of the things I have seen recently that I like. I'm in the middle of some sewing projects for friends, so enjoy these fun links and I'll be back with more fun tutorials this week!
The Maxi Dress. I love these. And I might make myself one if I don't find any cute ones at Ross for less than $15. I hear you can score some right now for great deals at Ross if there is one near you. I'm heading over there this week. Here's a tutorial I found for a cute one! LOVE the fabric! It's a vintage sheet!

This is a quick way to make a maxi dress. Check out this 10-Minute Tutorial! You can do so much with this. Use your imagination!

And last, but not least: The Chevron Maxi Skirt. {Swoon} My favorite fabric pattern right now {and 5 million other people}. This isn't a tutorial, just one for sale. But it sure wouldn't be hard to make one like this!

What do you love this Spring??

Maxi Dress {Tutorial}

My girls love to wear dresses and I love all the beautiful fabric that I keep seeing in my fabric store! So, I decided to make maxi dresses for my girls. So far, I have two done. One left to go! If you love them as much as I do, you'll want to make your own. It's easy {only a little time consuming} and the result is very satisfying. You could take these directions, and make yourself one - just adjust the measurements to fit yourself. {And you might need to tweak it a little near the end to make it a more custom fit.}

Sew the bottom of the bodice all the way around from one opening to the other, be sure to match the opening on both sides and sew it together. I sewed a reinforcement seam about an inch long across the opening just above the seam to make sure it won't get ripped open when my daughter is changing clothes.

 

 

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