The Pink Dress Challenge

 

This pink dress, which is over seven years old, has languished in the corner of my closet for the last few years.  It had become a little too short, and didn't fit very well.  Furthermore, it was sleeveless, which isn't my preferred style and meant that I was always searching for a cardigan to go over it. 

The fabric, however, was beautiful, and enticed me to a challenge.  Could I make the dress over, resulting in a more modest, better fitting, yet still gorgeous outfit?

 

Thankfully, I had a secret weapon to help me out in my challenge: Mikaela had an identical dress (one of the many perks of having an identical twin sister!).  Hers, however, had been languishing in her closet even longer because it was several sizes too big for her.  With her permission and only a slight bit of trepidation, I ripped apart her dress and got busy!

Next, I cut a strip of fabric from the bottom of her dress to add length to the bottom of my dress.  However, as you can see in the top photo, I couldn't just add the strip on to the dress, because the bottom of the dress was wider than the top of my strip!  So I simply sewed up the side seams of my dress 1 1/2 inches on each side, gradually easing off before the hip area. 

Every challenge needs its challenging moments.  In the top photo, you can see my length addition sewed perfectly onto my dress.  Perfect, except that I later realized that the trim I wanted to add needed to be sewn into the seam!  So I ripped that whole seam out, and prepared to make the trim, which would hide the addition to the dress and serve as a stylish element as well. 

 

I wanted the trim to be an exact match for the trim found on the waist of the dress, but wasn't sure where I could get that same white fabric.  Amazingly, I didn't have to look any farther than the lining of the dress--perfect match! 

 

I simply cut several strips of the white lining on the bias, sewed them together into one long strip, folded them in half lengthwise, and sewed a quick seam to hold it in place.  Next, I pinned the trim to the bottom edge of my dress, and then the addition (right sides together) on top of that.  One more seam, and the skirt was done!

 

I also had to add an addition to the lining, since the eyelet fabric addition would be see-through without it.  So I cut more fabric from Mikaela's dress lining and followed the same steps as above to add the required length. 

 

 
Next up: I decided to tackle cap sleeves, without a pattern!  First, I googled.  Second, I had to sew up the center seams of the straps to adjust the bodice fit.  Then, I measured around my upper arm, and cut two rectangles of fabric about an inch shorter than that measurement (since I didn't need the sleeve to go all the way around).  I made my sleeves about 4 inches wide, but they could be even wider.   

In the middle photo above, I sewed the eyelet to the lining wrong sides together, turned it right-side out, top-stitched, and had a beautiful finished sleeve edge!  I finished the other edges by zig-zagging them, then trimming them. 

Next, I folded the sleeve in half and held it up to the armhole of the dress.  I traced that curve along the sleeve, and cut it out to end up with the half-moon shaped piece in the upper right. 

 

I then gathered the zig-zagged edges, pinned them into the armhole, and sewed them up (and tore out the weird gathers and tucks that I always manage to sew over). 

 

Finally, I wanted to create a few flowers to add the last touch of elegance to the dress.  I decided to try out a new technique I had seen on Pinterest, which turned out quite wonderfully!  You simply trace a disc on a piece of fabric, then cut the circle in a spiral shape.  I found that rolling the first few inches to form a loose bud, then randomly gathering the rest of the length to form petals worked beautifully!

 

 A cluster of posies adorns the waist.

 

My finished pink dress!  Challenge met!

 

 Even though that trim required seam-ripping, it was worth it! 

 

 The dress made its debut only a few days after completion at my dear cousin's wedding.  Here I'm on the left getting in on the bouquet toss!

 

Next week, Mikaela will have more from the wedding to share with you all!  But for now, although my room is still strewn with pins and pink threads, I love my "new" dress and know one thing for sure: it will not be a closet languisher in the future!

The Dress that God Gave Me

It was the beautiful cable-knit that first begged my notice.  Haphazhardly hung amidst cast-off 80’s dresses with stripes plus daisies and 90’s evening gowns of a weird holographic purple at a diverse thrift store, this dress was different.  I rescued the dress from its place of scorn and examined it.  Brand new; seemed to be the right length and size; quite simple but somehow lovely; but was grey my color?  I tossed it over my arm to try on. 

 

A few minutes later, I pulled the grey dress over my head in the fitting room, and I knew I loved it.  But as I rotated in front of the full-length mirror, a question niggled in my mind.  Was it too small for me?  I stepped out of the fitting room, and a friend gushed, “Oh, grey is definitely your color!” 

 

Mama agreed, and, in fact, everyone loved the dress, except for the very question that I had had—it was definitely too tight.  Although the tag clearly stated my size, the fit of the dress on me was simply too form-fitting to be modest.  With some sadness, I hung it on the rack of “discards,” and tried to forget about the dress that had almost been perfect.  I knew I wouldn’t want to wear it as it was, but I still had one of those moments in which I mentally ran through the far-fetched options of a fabric-stretching machine or a wonder-slip to try to make it work. 

 

But the day sped its way on.  A happy blur of trying on, laughter with friends, finding finds, and chatting.  Soon enough another store, another town.  Another rack of clothes, but the same grey cable-knit fabric beckoning to my astonished self.  I was convinced my eyes were lying to me, but I pulled it out and held it at arm’s length, and had to admit that it was the very same dress I had seen at a different thrift store!  With trepidation, I pulled at the neck and peered at the size, only to be floored by the realization that it was several sizes bigger than the other dress I had tried on. 

 

I could not keep this secret to myself, and with excitement bursting out of me, ran across the store: “Guys!  Guess what!” 

 

 The fitting room mirror confirmed that this dress was a perfect fit, and as I stood in front of the mirror, smoothing the fabric down with my hands, I had to be overwhelmed with this gift from my Lord.  Because, really, what are the chances of finding the same dress in the perfect, larger size at a different, random thrift store?  Statistically—I’m sure the chances are small.  But the chances are not small when you are loved by the God who created the world.  In that moment in that 3 by 3 fitting room I was humbled to realize that my Father is one who delights in giving His daughter a gift like that to bring a smile to my face and refreshed faith to my heart.  It was as if He were reaching down from Heaven with a hug and saying, “Because I love you!”  He was living out Isaiah 43:4:

“Since you were precious in My sight, You have been honored, And I have loved you; Therefore I will give men for you, And people for your life.”

 

And He was fulfilling James 1:17:

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”

  And naturally, I wanted to share with you all that wonderful present from God that I opened last week!  What gifts has He given you lately? 

 

P.S. Melanie is the photographer responsible for the photos.  Didn't she do a great job?  She sweetly agreed, and we had such fun doing this photo shoot in our beautiful backyard!

 

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Meeting Michael

We had just departed from another wonderful church family camp, where I was convicted and challenged by the Spirit through the preaching, and where we all enjoyed a weekend together of transparent fellowship and memorable fun.

As we left camp, we took advantage of our close proximity to the Pacific Ocean, and stopped by the beach with another family to enjoy a half hour of salt, sand, and crashing waves--a combination I never tire of. The anticipated became the unanticipated when an older gentleman with a thick accent and a young girl came up to Micah and began asking him questions about his kite. Before long, though, he asked, "Are you Christians?" as he took in our group of people strung hither and yon along the beach.

By this time, our fathers had joined in on the conversation, and they eagerly told the man we are indeed Christians. With joy, the man explained that he and his family were also Christians, and that he had guessed our identity by the clothes and manner of the women and girls.

Left to right: Micah, Julie, Susanna, Jonah (front), Mr. M. (back), Lauren, Mikaela, Papa, Gideon, Michael, Michael's wife, Christina, and Esther

What followed was a wonderful time of getting to know our brothers and sisters in Christ. Soon we had all met Michael and his daughter Christina, who translated for her father when he was trying to convey a particularly difficult concept and couldn't find adequate words in English.  We stood on the beach, shivering (because the beaches in the Pacific Northwest are never warm) and conversing about our mutual love for the Saviour, their coming to America from Kazakhstan, and witnessing and preaching to a nation who says "we know God," but does not obey God. At one point, Michael asked us to sing an American song of praise to God, and as we began "Come Thou Fount," he readily joined in with us--singing in Russian.

Family Camp 2012!

We exchanged phone numbers and left with an open invitation to visit his home any time we wished. I walked away with a warmness in my spirit and a heart of gratefulness to God for a weekend of fellowship with believers, some of whom I had known my entire life, and others--like Michael and his family--whom I had known for only a few minutes. Many have been the times when unbelievers have asked about my attire, but it was a delightful surprise that our choice of clothing when we got up in the morning led to such a Spirit-filled meeting. The world digresses daily into androgyny and cross-dressing, but what a privilege we have as women of God to dress femininely and modestly for His glory. We stand out as different, unusual, and peculiar! What a good thing this is, for the deeper into darkness our world plunges, the brighter our light shines in the corner in which God has placed us.

No Auditions For Role Modeling

I remember the moment of climax in the battle for modesty in my life. I must have been around fourteen or fifteen, and, believe it or not, I wanted to dress like “all the other girls” around me. I was confused as to what modest standards were, and my wise mother took me aside and we had long wonderful talks on the subject. “What are the godly older girls around you wearing?” she asked at one point in the conversation. My oh-so-on-top-of-it sin nature immediately searched through my acquaintances filed under “godly role models” and I named a few whose attire supported my desire.

“Yes,” my mother consented, “But what about this girl and this girl and this girl?” She proceeded to name several young ladies whom I highly respected and whom I had to admit I had never seen in anything less than modest. We eventually finished our important discussion, I talked to my father on the subject, and I now look back at that time as the moment when I truly took on convictions concerning modesty for myself because I realized that was what God wanted me to do.

But I also look back on that experience and think about those young ladies that I looked up to, and I wonder if they knew to what extent I was willing to go to emulate them? I wonder if they knew that I was using them to rationalize my desire for “looser” standards of modesty? The fact remains that this desire was my sin nature, and I alone was to blame--I should have been strong enough in my convictions not to be swayed by what others were doing.  But I was, and my mother knew that.  All those young ladies that my mother and I discussed were my role models, whether they chose the role or not, and they had a serious impact on that time in my life, whether they knew it or not.

I cannot, of course, reflect upon those that were and still are role models to me without reflecting upon those who look to me as their role model. When I recall my detailed mental files on the state of modesty in each of my role models as a teenager, I get worried. And I shudder at the thought that any of the girls I know might use me in a discussion with their mother: “But Lauren does that!”

It makes me contemplate the “weaker brother” concept all the more: would not younger girls--baby Christians--be weaker sisters? Romans 14:12-13 expresses my state of mind perfectly:

“So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother's way.”

One of my favorite verses is I Timothy 4:12:

“Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.”

Being a role model is not a role that we audition for or even choose. Instead, we all are role models (even if unwilling or unknowing ones) to our siblings, to those who read our blogs, to the bright-eyed little girls at church. There is no way that we can abandon this responsibility--we will either be bad, careless role models, or we will be purposeful, virtuous ones.  On the flip side of the coin, we all have role models as well—whether we choose them well or slip into them because the rest of the world bows down to their whims is up to us.

Girls look up to us. They note what we do or do not wear. They note how we talk about the Lord, how we interact with young men, and how we treat our parents. If for no other reason than the fact that young ones in the Lord are observing, we cannot afford not to walk circumspectly in all that we do. Their eyes are upon us, and we live righteously not for a show of our great maturity, but so that if they indeed choose to follow in our footsteps, they will find that our tiny footsteps are planted firmly within the unblurred outlines of the footsteps of Jesus—the entire journey through.

Picture Credit: ultrakickgirl

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Almost in Real Life

We enjoyed ourselves immensely while making this video for you all and are so excited for you to watch it!  Now, start loading the video while you read these three disclaimers:

    1.    It is long.  Very long.  Amazingly long.  We didn't realize we had such a talent for endlessly jabbering to a camera until we tried it yesterday.  But we were answering your wonderful questions, and talking to our delightful readers, and we're obviously good at talking on and on, so... You don't have watch all of it.  You don't have to watch any of it, although we certainly hope you do.  In fact, let's make it simple and we'll just leave the choice up to you! 

   2.     We were extremely on top of the video yesterday, and quite proud of ourselves for our efficiency.  Until we struck the brick wall of actually saving the video and uploading it.  (And I quote: "Youtube says it's going to take 10 hours to upload!!")  And that, you see, is clearly why the video did not go up yesterday. 

   3.    We've never attempted anything like this before (unless chattering as a three year old in front of your Daddy's video camera counts!), so bear that kindly in mind as you watch this our first foray into this medium of communication. 

With those disclaimers, hopefully your video is all buffered and ready to go, so enjoy!

&

                          

Fuel for My Fire

Lauren hit upon the perfect summation of the concept of brightening one's corner this morning--we are firebrands. Some of us are "revolutionary; one who agitates against the current situation; a torch or other burning stick with a flame at one end [1]." Some of us are "flaming or smoldering material such as leaves, pine cones, or glowing charcoal that could start another fire [2]." I hope that you are a firebrand too, whether you are just beginning to smolder with the possibility of starting many a future fire, or whether you are flaming with a revolutionary glow for God. I'm always talking about what I can do and what you can do to brighten our corners. The truth is, however, that none of us can do this alone. We must rely on the fellowship, accountability, and inspiration of other Christians that God has provided; we must depend upon God Himself; and sometimes, we are bolstered from a total stranger or a random event. These things keep me going, renewing my courage to do all I can to brighten this corner God has given me. So what are these things this morning (they change daily, weekly, monthly)? I'm so glad you asked!

Modest, pretty clothing always brightens my day, and I just recently renovated this skirt. I had made it wrap-style five years ago, and while I was still in love with the fabric, I had grown tired of the skirt itself, so I ventured into the world of sewing without a pattern--that's right, ladies and gentlemen, I "winged it" and am completely happy with the results (which said happiness may or may not have involved dancing and spinning like a five year-old to test the essential "twirl factor"). Don't underestimate the power of dressing beautifully and modestly--it will not only make your day infinitely better, but it will also show respect to all you see and may even brighten their day as well!

I'm listening to Handel's Water Music right now. The peaceful yet vibrant, joyful music seeps into my soul and makes me simply blissful. How incredible is it that a man who lived 325 years ago is still illuminating the darkest, dankest crevices of the world?

Only one life, ’twill soon be past,only what’s done for Christ will last. And when I am dying, how happy I’ll be,if the lamp of my life has been burned out for Thee [3].
Now that's the epitome of a firebrand!



The steaming hot Yorkshire Gold tea I'm sipping right now from a teacup gifted to me by a special someone. Well, how can my morning not be brighter?



The passage I memorized and have been meditating upon has been convicting me greatly--and what better way is there to reach into the ravines of my soul and turn them inside out into mountains for God's glory than to immerse oneself in Scripture? Deuteronomy, in particular, is a powerful book, and Deuteronomy 8:11, 12, 17, and 18 has something for everyone: "Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, lest--when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them....then you say in your heart, 'My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.' And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day."

These shoes...ah, these shoes. An utterly vainglorious, gratuitous picture of these amazing shoes. Alright, so these certainly don't brighten my corner in the truest, most noble sense of the word. But they make me happy every time I wear them or look at them, so I thought I'd spread their happiness to you!

The sixteen children I'm teaching these week--nine of which are today--brighten my corner immensely. Short or tall; big blue eyes or small, shining brown ones; five or sixteen--it really doesn't matter. The pleasure of passing on the art of playing violin or piano; and the delight of learning to know who they are and what they dream of and think of and do; and the honor of being their sounding board for whether or not twelve year-olds should read Twilight or how to deal with loss--I am teaching these people so much more than music lessons, and the challenge of it all delights me. Ultimately, however, these children are so much more than passive students, because they are my teachers as well, and having sixteen teachers brightens my life extraordinarily!

I feel that I could go on and on. I haven't even touched on specific people. The woman who embraces me in her arms every time I see her and reminds me exuberantly that "We are God's girls!"; and the man who spends hours working to make some upcoming projects of mine excellent with his ideas, inspiration, and skill; and the friends with whom, just this week, I have discussed stimulating topics ranging from cinematic worldview to growing up; and my family; and my church; and the little girl with big eyes who smiled at me last night at the Y. It never ends, does it? Is it any wonder, then, with all these firebrands bolstering and fueling me, that I should strive to brighten my corner? In fact, to waste these resources, to hide my light, to live in egotistical slothfulness would be the terrible sin Deuteronomy 8 talks about. Even though my world is so light-filled, no one but I can brighten my corner. I am a steward of this corner God has given to me, and I will be called to give account one day. So please excuse me, will you? I'm a firebrand--and I have a corner to brighten!

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

[1] Wiktionary

[2] United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service Southern Region, February 1989; Technical Publication R8-TP 11 Bugwood

[3] Studd, C.T. Only One Life, 'Twill Soon Be Past.

For Glory and For Beauty

These days, one brushes shoulders with a lot of different people in one trip to the grocery store. There’s the goth girl dressed all in black, her face smudged in soot-like makeup. A man walks by looking out of place next to the refried beans in his sharp argyle sweater. A woman in sweats and a sweatshirt stands in line—right next to the girl wearing a miniskirt (in the dead of winter!), and talks to the cashier dressed in his bland white polo uniform. In addition to taking in people’s attire, we also look at their faces—and whether we like it or not, we tend to make snap judgments of their beauty and handsomeness. Although the world certainly has their standard of beauty—and it seems to involve an ever-shrinking waistline, steroid-pumped muscles, less-is-more clothing philosophies, and Barbie-plastic features—beauty is not as subjective as we’d like to think, because God Himself has set a standard of beauty for both our outward as well as our inward appearance.

Beauty is most certainly not subjective. In II Samuel 14:25, we see the kind of gushing statement we might not have expected from Scripture: “But in all Israel there was none to be so much praised as Absalom for his beauty: from the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him.” God obviously has a measuring stick by which He gauges beauty—and that measuring stick is Himself. Ultimately, God has defined beauty by order, perfection, and virtue—the more something exudes the characteristics of God, the more it is beautiful.

It is our responsibility, you see, to reflect God’s beauty in the way we dress, in the way we do or do not apply our makeup, and in the way we arrange our hair. I Corinthians 14:40 says, “Let all things be done decently and in order.” Thus by dressing femininely or masculinely so that there is no mistaking our gender, by enhancing our features if necessary with makeup (but never distracting from our features with garish application or colors), and by avoiding androgenous hairstyles, we can bring glory to God. God Himself detailed everything about the Jewish priesthood, right down to their attire and the purpose of their attire: “And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty (Exodus 28:2).” Since we are now the royal priesthood, I can only conclude that it is our responsibility to wear garments for glory and for beauty. Beautifying oneself and one’s surroundings is both good and right.

We must beware, though, because beauty can not only be a tool with which to glorify God, but it can also be an unseen tripping hazard by which we fall flat on our face. Ezekial 16:15 condemns Jerusalem’s weakness in this: “But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown….” If ever we dress ourselves in the complementary colors of a modest pink skirt and green jacket, adorn our face with just enough makeup to please, and succeed in achieving the perfect updo, and then walk out of the house feeling oh-so pleased with ourselves and oh-so condemning of that goth girl and that sloppy girl and that bland guy and that immodest woman, then we have missed the point. We have achieved God’s standard of beauty on the outside, and missed the inside completely. God said to the King of Tyre, “Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee (Ezekial 28:17).”

Remember Absalom, handsomest of the handsomest, and perfection personified? Sadly, his life ended much like the King of Tyre, Jezebel, Satan, and anyone else who has taken the glory for his beauty and become ugly and shriveled inside. Absalom cultivated bitterness towards his brother, eventually murdering him, before rebelling against his father King David, and leading a revolt against his rule. Ultimately, however, Absalom died the most ignominious death possible, his beautiful head catching on an oak tree as he passed under it on a mule, and his beautiful body left swinging in the air between heaven and earth (II Samuel 18:9).

Because God’s likeness and character defines beauty, it is not only our outward features and attire that make us beautiful, but also our inward spirit. “Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised (Proverbs 31:30).” In no less than four verses is holiness called “beautiful” in Scripture: “Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness (Psalm 29:2).” This week, won’t you consider dressing not only for your King, but also like your King? Put a little extra time, effort, and thought into your morning routine, knowing that feminine and beautiful modesty pleases God and brings glory to Him. But don’t neglect putting a little extra time, effort, and thought into your morning devotional routine, because one without the other creates a pig with a ring in her snout. Make your surroundings and yourself for glory first and for beauty second.

All quotations are taken from the King James Version.
Picture Credit

Camisole Couture

Every other blouse, shirt, dress, jacket, and sweater in my closet requires a camisole to augment its low neck--and, even worse, every single blouse, shirt, dress, jacket and sweater in the stores requires something to provide coverage (or at least, that's what it seems like to me). Wearing a camisole under a low neckline, however, is a frustrating and fruitless exercise, it seems, because most camisoles themselves are too low, and so I end up "settling" for something less than modest.

I strive to dress modestly not because I am forced to, or must "work" my way into being a good Christian, but because I want to, and because I take joy in beautifully modest clothing, and because I desire to have people focus on my countenance and not my body parts. However, that camisole quandrary? I haven't been so successful at that. You see, my ideal camisole is made of a light, dressy knit somewhat thicker than jersey, with no lining, rising up to the vicinity of my collar bone, and going down to my hips, smooth and close-fitting, but not skin tight. Oh, and did I mention that I refuse to pay more than $15 for one, and I grimace at anything over $10?

It goes without saying that I have not been successful thus far in my camisole quest.

Until last week, when I suddenly got smart and realized: "Why don't I make myself a camisole?" So, off I went to Jo-Ann's Fabrics, where I acquired a suitable pattern (New Look 6571) and a light-weight knit fabric.

Over the weekend, I put together the camisole with adjustments here and tweaks there, and I thought I would take you along in case you want to try your hand at this easy creation!

Prep: Although you'll probably have enough fabric, you might want to get between 1/8 to 1/4 of a yard of extra fabric beyond what the pattern calls for, because you will be adding length and height to the camisole. Don't forget to wash your fabric in order to preshrink it! When sizing your camisole, I suggest going to at least the size below your measured size (but remember that dress size and pattern size are entirely different entities, so do measure yourself). By my measurements, I would have been a pattern size 12, but I ended up making a size 8, and it turned out just to my taste--not too tight, and not too loose. Before you cut the pattern pieces out of the paper, add some height to the front piece (I did about 1" this time, but I think I will do 2" next time) and some length to the front and back pieces (I added 3 3/8" this time, but I will do at least 4" next time) and shorten the long straight piece (your future straps) by 1 to 1 1/2" (take the length out of the middle instead of one of the ends, or you will mess up the markings on the pattern piece that you are supposed to transfer to your fabric).

Now, lay everything out according to the layout guide in the pattern, match the grainline to the selvages, pin, and cut!

If you have a stitch on your machine for stretch fabrics, then use it. Otherwise, a zigzag stitch or a regular straight stitch (sewn while stretching out the fabric) can substitute--experiment with what looks best and follow your machine's guidelines for needle size.



Now, it's as easy as sewing up the back and side seams, hemming the neckline, and sewing each strip together and pressing one end under to create a binding.


Pin your binding to the armholes, stretching it to match the dots to the armhole edge, and sew. Press the binding over the raw armhole edge and press the binding above the armhole to create a finished strap. Sew it up! (The stretch stitch did not work well for me on this step, so I am contemplating using a regular straight stitch next time, since there is enough thicknesses of fabric to keep the whole thing secure.)

The hem is as easy as can be; since knit fabric doesn't fray easily, you just have to fold the bottom up once and sew it!




Next time I make it to the fabric store, I'm going to pick up some lace to add to the neckline. Other than that, however, my camisole is finished! I plan to make my next one a bit longer and a bit higher, but overall, I am very pleased with the end product. The total cost (not counting lace) was $6.96, but the next cami will be $4.00 cheaper, because I will be able to reuse the pattern. $3 to $7 is right in my price range! So what are you waiting for?

Project Wardrobe Makeover

This summer, I have resolved to rid my wardrobe of the clothes that rarely, if ever, see the light of day. Some of these articles are ill-fitting; some are worn; some are just not my style. However, rather than handing down, giving away, selling, or throwing away these clothes, I have also resolved to look at each article in a new way and challenge myself to redesign it. Project Wardrobe Makeover has officially begun!

My first challenge was this dress:

Believe it or not, I've had it for seven years! I've worn it often, but lately, the prairie-simple style just has not meshed with my more romantic-feminine style. It's modest, in good condition, and in a classic style, though, so I can't bear to get rid of it. Thus it is the perfect candidate for Project Wardrobe Makeover.

First, I trimmed off the hem. This dress is a lovely length, but the skirt is so straight that two buttons have torn off from the stress of my strides; hopefully a shorter length will mend this problem! Next, I cut 2 1 1/2" strips from the bottom of the skirt.

From these strips, I cut four 12" long strips and two 19" long strips. I sewed down the middle of the six strips (3/4") using a basting stitch and leaving long tails on either side.

Then I ironed each strip in half, using my seam as a guide.

Depending on your personality (or the day of the week), this part could be the thrilling chapter or the hair-pulling segment: gathering! Gather all the strips by taking a long tail of thread hanging off your basting stitch and pulling it while pushing the fabric. Gentleness is the key to avoid snapping threads! I gathered the short strips to 6 1/2" and the long ones to 10".

I have ruffles! You can use these basic principles and ruffle anything and everything--who doesn't like a good ruffle?

The funnest part of the whole project was arranging these ruffles on the dress and sewing them on. It's taking shape!

To finish up, I shortened the sleeves to a more flattering length, took in two back darts 1/2", and hemmed the bottom.

Now I feel as though I have an entirely new dress--for free! What could be better?

I plan to add this to Tea Rose Home's weekly link party. If you've never visited Tea Rose Home, check it out--it is full of creative, resourceful, and ruffly ideas!