Refashion: Green Dress

 I bought this dress at Target about four years ago. I loved  the color and the swingy skirt. But alas I never wear it. The reason is that I have to wear something under it because the neckline is low and then I also have to wear something over it since it is sleeveless. That is just too much work for one little dress. And for Christmas I got a new green dress that is way better so this one went into the refashion pile.

 So I knew I wanted to turn it into a skirt since I really like the ruffly, swingy detail at the bottom. First I used a seam ripper and removed the existing zipper from the side of the dress. I reused this later in the skirt. Then I cut the bodice off the skirt and threw it away. I also trimmed about 1.5 inches from the top of the skirt to use as a waistband lining for later.

 I used this tutorial on installing an invisible zipper. (That website is a wealth of knowledge and helpful tutorials on sewing, you should check it out.) Mine isn't perfect because I don't have a zipper foot but it turned out good enough. I also moved the zipper to the back of the skirt by opening up the existing seam. Having the zipper in the back allowed me to take in the sides for easier fitting.

 Here is what the inside of the skirt looks like on the side. See where I used trial and error to make it fit. In the future I will have better instructions but I did this tutorial before a request for more thoroughness was made.

  I then serged around one side of the waistband strip, you could just finish with a double rolled hem. I then attached it to the top of the skirt once it was fitted. Here is a view of it attached to the inside of the skirt. I would have loved to have a wider lining but I needed to maintain the length of the skirt.

 I hand sewed the edges of the lining in place by the zipper. My hand sewing skills are pretty lacking but they get the job done. I guess I am lazy since no one is going to see the inside although I guess you all have seen it now. And since the hem was already in place, that is the last step.

 

Ta Da! A full and swing skirt that is easy to wear and will be heavily utilized once summer hits.

 Oh and hey, look what I got. That's right. A wireless remote for my camera. It been on my list for awhile. Finding an amazon gift card in my inbox from last year spurred me into purchasing action. Refashion pictures are now easy breezy. I'm breezy...

 It comes with no delay and...

two second delay. I made Steve play around with it last night with the promise that none of those pictures would ever make it to the blog.