Hey guys! Ready for another before & after project?
It’s been a while since I put one of these together but a recent trip to my local thrift store (some of you may have seen it on Instagram Stories) inspired me to get crafty. I’ve been so missing these transformations! A recent outfit of mine was met with many of you asking me to create my own take on it, and so I thought why not? But rather than putting it together from scratch, I wanted to show you how you could do it yourself using something you might already have, or something from a thrift store. Scroll down to see how easy it was to do!
To find the right item for this before & after project I just focused on finding the right pattern in a simple design that could be easily deconstructed.
Turn A Shift Dress Into Ruffle Shoulder Dress
What You'll Need
1
Begin by cutting off the bottom of the dress - to shorten it and also to use to create the shoulder ruffle. Mark the new length of your dress, remember that this piece will be used to create the ruffle, so its width needs to be at least 1.5 times the measurement of your upper bust. Cut the bottom portion from your dress after marking.
2
Undo the bottom hem of your dress. Because of the length of the original dress it was important to salvage as much fabric as possible to create the ruffle.
3
The next step is to alter the top of the dress. The actual amount you cut away depends on how low-cut you'd like your dress to be. Remember to leave a seam allowance before cutting!
4
This is what your dress would look like after you cut away the top and bottom pieces.
5
Iron the seams in the ruffle pieces open before you sew them together to create a long rectangular ruffle strip.
7
To find out how long your elastic should be, loop the elastic around your shoulders until it is at a comfortable fit. Then thread the piece of elastic through the tunnel in the ruffle, and even out the gathers. It should look like this. Then, sew it onto the dress, by aligning the front and back centre of your ruffle to the top of your dress, then sew.
Of course I’ve been wearing this dress a lot in Ibiza, it’s the perfect throw on piece that feels a bit fancy without being over the top. I’ve been accessorizing with piles of gold jewelry and straw bags. And yes sadly my hat as seen better days… Searching for a needle and thread to mend it as we speak!
Like this before & after DIY? Pin it on Pinterest!
