Dress Renovation! Plus a Sweet Fabric Find

 Hello all,

Thank you so very much for stopping by the blog today! 

I have discovered a fun way to use my creative sewing energy. I have begun to rescue clothing items I've sewn that were uncomfortable or dissatisfying in some way, and give them a second life. 

My first renovation project was this pink dress. I probably made it 1-2 years ago, and it needed some help. The idea of hydrangea fabric paired with eyelet deserved a second try! 

What was wrong with the dress:

The collar was crooked. 

The waistband was crooked.

The sleeves weren't crooked, but I didn't care for them.

What I changed on the dress:

I replaced the collar with a simple facing. Another time I might attempt a sewn-in collar. I had better success with a detachable collar, like the sailor collar in my beach dress post.

I re-did the waistband. I unpicked it and re-used the material to upgrade it.

I replaced the sleeves with fun, eyelet cap sleeves. 

I replaced the ties in the back with a strip of elastic.

I apologize for the poor quality for a few of my photos!

The back

After doing this dress renovation, I think I'll keep going with some of the other dresses in my shelf. There are a lot of them waiting for me :)

Before I end this post, I wanted to show you some new fabric I found at Joanns...I intend to turn it into a cute summertime garment!

Isn't that a gorgeous print?

to God be the glory,

Miss Humphrey

An exciting end to my project...

 Hello all,

I have another circle dress to show you! If you remember, I showed a sneak peak of the fabric in this post, and I finally got around to sewing it up recently. 

It was a project I worked on for awhile, and I would say it's definitely success from a failure...this free-hand/homemade pattern dress was NOT working out for awhile! A change in design and some prayers later I am really happy with it :) 

I used the sash and sailor's collar in this photo from this dress.

The bodice is lined.

I do apologize for the finger-printed mirror;) 

My grandma says that ruffles are my signature. Maybe they are! I love a good bit of eyelet lace!

This is another no-zipper dress. Unlike the earlier version of this dress that I was working on, it is very comfortable and easy to get on!

The 2/3 circle skirt was cut too big for this particular bodice, but a few carefully placed pleats worked well to fix that problem. Free-hand sewing can be very frustrating...and very rewarding!

I did a simple puffed sleeve, gathered at the bottom by elastic.

to God be the glory,

Miss Humphrey

How About Some Beach?

 Hello all, 

I apologize for this post being late!

I decided to show you my beach dress this time. I made it free-hand last year, and I like the end result.

Makes me want to do some beach dresses in different colors!

I'd also like to experiment with a different collar design.

 

The collar is separate from the dress. It is attached by a hook-and-eye in the front of the bodice. I like that I can take it off when I want to wash the dress.

I also like that the collar covers my zipper closure.

In case you are curious about the sleeves

 

 

What have you been creating recently?

 

to God be the glory,

 Miss Humphrey

 

The Easiest Circle Skirt I've Ever Made....

 Hello all,

Happy May! I thought I'd show you a neat project I did recently. How would you like to see a skirt made out of a tablecloth??

My neighbor bought the tablecloth and gave it to me along with the idea to make it into a skirt. 

I cut a hole in the middle of the tablecloth, and a straight line down to the hem to make a seam; that way I could insert an invisible zipper. My favorite part of a tablecloth circle skirt is the fact that it is pre-hemmed!

There was not enough material left for a waistband...but similar fabric was to be found in my mother's stash. I did a narrow waistband, inserted the zipper, and I was DONE!

With a belt

Isn't this cheery fabric?

Hopefully you enjoyed this post...keep checking back! 

Thanks so much for visiting the blog...I really appreciate your views and comments.

to God be the glory,

Miss Humphrey