Skirt To Dress Refashion

Yesterday's project was a dress-to-skirt refashion.  Today's is a skirt-to-dress refashion.  I found this very long, but not quite maxi, knit skirt in my recent closet purging.  It was desperately out of fashion and very unflattering, but I still really liked the fabric.  Thinking I might use the fabric to make some kind of a top for myself I hiked the dress up over my chest to see how much fabric there was and saw...a dress.  Not for me.  I just don't pull off strapless well, but my daughter has a cute little figure that I thought it would be perfect for.

Here is the skirt before the refashion:

See how thrilled my daughter is with the style?  haha!

Here is the refashioned skirt-to-dress:

So sassy cute, right?

We just pulled the elastic waistline up under her arms, tied some 1/4" elastic under the bustline to make the empire waist and marked it.  She didn't want to have the back be too blousy so the elastic is higher in the back than in the front.  This makes the hemline longer in the back than the front, which mimics the trailing back hem trend that we have been seeing in the stores. We stretched and stitched the elastic to the inside with a zigzag and - a new dress was born!

She wanted to be able to wear a regular bra with the dress so I happened to have a black t-shirt (also a closet purging find) that I am refashioning into a pillow for my son's college apartment.

Here's the T-shirt:

I borrowed a section from the bottom of the T-shirt to make the straps and even had enough left to make a cute little rosette for the bodice.

It's so hard to see details on black, but that is the rosette on the right there.

She went back to school today wearing the dress so I'm calling it a refashion success!  

Have you ever remade something that you liked even better than the original? 

 Leave a comment and tell us about it.

Now...Off for more fun with fabrics - and maybe even one feast tonight!