Thrift Store Couture #2: Floral Easter Dress
cou·ture
noun
the design and manufacture of fashionable clothes to a client's specific requirements and measurements.
I picked this dress up a couple of weeks ago when I was in Ventura, CA for Craftcation (a business and maker’s conference). I thought the fabric was GORGEOUS, but it was way too big and it had this gold trim that I felt just didn’t go with the dress.
This dress was way too big, had some gold trim that I wasn’t a fan of, and I didn’t care for the sleeves, but it had loads of potential.
Step 1: Remove the sleeves and the gold trim. I grabbed my seam ripper and went to town! It was actually easier to remove the trim than the sleeves. Then I hemmed up the sleeves so there weren’t ugly raw edges flapping around there.
Step 2: Make it fit! If you’re an experienced seamstress, look away for this one.
I put the dress on and pinched in on the sides to see about how much I needed to take the dress in. I lined up my ruler with the mark I made and with an area of the dress where I liked the fit, and I drew a line so I would know where to sew. Easy peasy! I did make sure to try the dress on before trimming off that excess fabric.
After I took my dress in a bit, the shoulders were still a bit wide for my liking. I got the idea to create ruched shoulders, but I had no clue where to start. Thanks so Sew Geek Mama on YouTube, I got it done! Check out her video here—it was so helpful and I appreciate that she got right to the point without a bunch of extra fluff!
I was too impatient to go to the store, so I used the only elastic I had on hand.
When I finished my alterations, the dress was fantastic, but I felt like it needed a little extra somethin’ somethin’, so I picked up some inexpensive costume satin from Wal-Mart and made myself a belt! I wanted it to be pretty long, so I cut two pieces and sewed them together, and then folded it in half lengthwise and sewed it up, leaving one end open so I could turn it. I have all of these decorative stitches on my sewing machine that I NEVER use, so I decided to use one for a pretty topstitch on my belt!
I feel like it got some definite Bridgerton vibes, but I’m ok with that!
And here she is folks! I paid around $3 for the dress, and $2 for a yard of the satin (of which I have some left over). I wore this dress to my cousin’s wedding and also for Easter, and I got lots of complements. Not bad for a $5 dress!
Thanks to my 9 year old for helping me take pics…he found it hilarious and giggled the whole time 🤣