DIY Upcycled Dress

"Quick Fix..."

 

It was time for another Lolita Meet, I really wanted to go, but I was not prepared. Luckily this was an informal one since it was a swap meet. If you're new to the EGL Community it's not necessary to dress up for this type of event, but it's encouraged or you can get your first items there. Being plus size. it's hard to find nice clothing (even regular ones). I can always count on thrift stores to find neat items.

I had found this retro dress a while back at a thrift store. I believe it's from the 70's. 

I thought the colors were fun, so I tried it on and it fit! Thank goodness. 

I purchased it for under $8. hoping I would use it some day. And now I am! 

 

The length of the dress was a bit long, it was down to my shins. Definitely not a Lolita length.  I measured it to above my knees and cut it. Watching sewing videos on YouTube, they always mention to leave just enough fabric to hem. If it's a Lolita/doll style dress, you'll be wearing a petticoat underneath which may make it a little shorter so you won't want to cut off too much.

 

To tell you the truth, it was a bit challenging to cut this dress because it spread out pretty wide.  I didn't realize how much material it had, but that's perfect so my dress can puff up nicely with the petticoat. 

I'm always eager to finish projects, I like to cut out steps. As you can see I didn't pin the bottom, but I had faith in myself in sewing it straight. I use pins sometimes, so use your best judgement.

 

The hemming turned out great, now on to adding ribbon. I used the extra fabric that I cut off. Since I'll be doing a ruffle hem I cut extra pieces to have for back up just in case I ran out of material.  

 

I couldn't show you a picture of how I did it because that was the hardest thing I've ever tried sewing. Haha.. But you can YouTube it. That's where I got several techniques and tried what would work best for me. Here is a close up of the final piece. I'm wearing a petticoat underneath. 

I purchased this hand made cameo pendant from one of the Ladies at the Lolita swap meet.

 It matched my dress quite lovely.

I didn't have time to buy or make a belt so I just pinned this bow that I already 

had to the front of the dress.

Here's my final look! I wore my cute knee high socks that I got from Rue21 and

don't mind my shoes, I didn't have anything that would really match.

 

I had so much fun at the meet, getting to know people and best of all, shopping! 

I scored on some clothing and cute accessories. Here are most of the gals that attended.

 Can't wait for the next one!

Thanks for checking out my blog post. Hope I inspired you to get creative and upcycle 

your old dress or skirts. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. 

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