Red Polka Dots

Hi Everyone!
  

     I think this is my most sophisticated project yet. And not too difficult!

     I have always been a bit envious of my sister's wardrobe. She always has classy looking dresses in her closet. When I found this red polka dot dress at the Salvation Army, a sophisticated dress wasn't what I saw. I was actually going to cut off the top and make a skirt. But, I tried it on and began to play with it. The major problem with the dress (besides the length) was that it didn't fit right on top. This dress is a size 14W. I am a 14P from the waist up. From the waist down, I am average to long. Strange. But, that is what I have to work with.

Anyway, here is the dress before.

To make the dress fit better, all I had to do was take about an inch and a half from the shoulders. I just restitched the tops of the shoulders, that was all. It fit much better! I then took several inches from the length, bringing it from near ankle length to knee length. I really could have been done at this point but I decided a sash would look cool.  I used what I cut from the length for the sash. I used a purse stitch to scrunch the sash and sewed it onto the dress, at the empire waist.

I attached the sash to the sides of the dress and sewed it onto the front just from the top of the sash, so as to not disturb the scrunch.

I didn't want to show the attached sash on either side of the zipper so I left one side a little long. After a trip to the store, I will add some small snaps to the longer side so I can snap it over the zipper.

A little more like my sister's style now.

Next time, I may just buy one.