Seamstress in the Family

 Honestly deciding to sew isn't a good decision. Likelyhood is you will be only one in your family and friend groups with a sewing machine and therefore everyone suddenly decides you MUST sew for them. And who am i to say no. Roll onto the week of a big family wedding and I have two dresses to alter, a dickie bow to make FOR A DOG and still my own dress to make.

Time management is usually my forte, but this month I had to move house again and that throws everyones life into chaos. This especially pissed me of because it was the second time we had moved in three months, no-one wants to be doing that lets be honest.

Anyway, three days to go until the wedding and this refashion was still staring me in the face begging to be done. All i wanted to do was crawl up on the sofa in my fresh new home and watch Stranger Things season 2. But no I made a promise to myself that I was done with fast fashion and I would make all my clothes. So I forced myself up and I finished the damn thing. And Im really glad I did.

I bought this two piece in my favourite charity shop, Helping Hands in Halifax, for £2.99. I loved the fabric because it reminds me of Reformation stuff and it was in a good condition. On a side note, I have started to buy more dresses and stuff now when I see them in charity shops because when the day rolls around and you need something dressy it is sooooooo hard to try and find something second hand, and so easy to fall back into Topshop. So buy it while its there!

This poly crepe fabric didn't really work for the off shoulder design I had in mind, that really called for a heavy weight kind of fabric- like a neoprene or scuba would be perfect. But did I let that stop me... of course not.

I cut up the shirt and unpicked the waist band from the skirt and the seams to see how much fabric I really had to work with. I then laid on a bodice pattern I made up that had one shoulder and cut the pieces I needed. The women in work helped my fit it on me the next day. I added a panel, that was the skirt, to the original sleeve head and then gathered the sleeve head and fitted it into my new armhole. Then I sewed up that whole side, right through the arm. I left the other side of the bodice open, gathered the remenants of the original skirt to my waist measurement and attached it to my bodice. I placed an invisible zipper in the side I left open, finished all my edges! By this point I was done (emotionally).

When i tried it on again I realised the fabric pulled to much (the fabric weight issues coming back to haunt me) and I needed a strap to balance the pull. So I took the button facing from the original shirt and used it as a strap. I also extended the front bodice darts into the skirt. I lined the bodice to finish the top edge btw... And by this point I was actually done.

The wedding was incredible and I got no actual photos from it because I was way to present (and drunk). My boyfriends mum spent the entire night telling people I made my dress and by the end of the night I was not only Maria anymore, but Im now Maria the girl who will sew up everyones issues. Great.