REpurpose: SUNDRESS to SKIRT

I bought a sundress for my then-8-year-old daughter. She wore it and looked so cute in it.

She really was darling in it. Good color for her.

So when it got too short for her, I put it in my "Mending/ Projects" basket and planned to add a ruffle to lengthen it. Which would have been cute. But time went on and it sat neglected. Tell me I'm not the only one who forgets about timely projects like this and years later regrets it.

A few weeks ago, I was embarking on New Year's Resolution #1-of-Them ("Decreasing and Even Eliminating the Mending and Projects Piles"), and felt the sadness at my neglect of this one. Did I mention my daughter is now 13?

I was ready to toss it to charity, but then I got a brilliant idea all of a sudden!

This would make a CUTE SKIRT!

So I set to work. Ooops! Forgot to take BEFORE picture of the sundress. Got too eager to cut into it. So I smooshed it back to it's original state as best I could and took a funny BEFORE picture for you. You get the idea...

I decided the "smocked bodice" of the sundress could just act as a waistband. AL I had to do was cut off the "strappy" upper parts.

Following the upper line of the back bodice, I just cut off the top part of the front bodice to make it all level and even. My cut was just above that level line of smock-stitching.

The back straps simply got cut off at point of contact. The bias binding edge kept everything else intact.

Now it was no longer a sundress.

But my front edges were not finished.

I had to do something about that. To keep that top edge from unraveling and fraying in the wash and with wear.

So I did a simple zigzag stitch, overcasting the edge. Voila! My new waistband was finished! And the whole thing took me about 5-10 minutes tops!

Now she can wear it a little longer and Momma feels guilt no more!

Please don't go through the guilt I did - I actually forgave my self already ;). You can purchase a sundress (or other such item) that may be the not-quite-right size for someone you love, and with a little imagination, repurpose it into something just as great or better!

What can you RePurpose?




I am linked up to:




~If you are interested in receiving updates and future posts from this blog, please sign up to "FOLLOW" on the top right of this page. Let's keep in touch!~