When i started sewing and just ruined fabric like a 4 year old can solve math equations, I used a lot of old clothes and upcycled them. I have always kept clothes I don´t wear/like anymore, hoping they´ll someday be part of my closet again. Magda from House of Estrela is once again hosting her Refashion Month and i´m so glad to be a part of it! So hop on over and check my upcycling project!

I´ve bought this dress at a sale about two years ago, when I still did some compulsive shopping just because the price was worth it. The dress never really fitted me well, it´s too big and baggy, and I always thought about fixing it. Well, fixing it is way harder than just cuting it up and reusing the fabric, and I knew I wanted to make something I would really wear. I decided on an Alice Top by Tessuti Patterns because of that beautiful eyelet fabric.

Regarding construction, I underlined the yoke and armhole bands with the lining fabric from the dress. This was a necessary step since the yoke is fully lined and if i didn´t underline it all the seams would be visible through the eyelets. I then needed fabric for the bottom part; I was in an upcycling spirit, went through every closet, bedsheets, but nothing matched or was enough, except a shirt from my husband, which I imediatelly grabbed without permission (don´t worry, he didn´t use it). I used the back of the shirt for the front part, cuting it accordingly to the pattern, but for the back I didn´t have enough fabric to make it equal, so I had to play with it. The two sides from the front of the shirt were cut equal as big as I could. I then curved the bottom hem at back and front to make them match lenghtwise at side seams. I didn´t want the front to be shorter than it was, so I ended up with a reversed high low: high at the back, low at the front. The back pieces were overlapped by a couple of cm, just enough so I could feel comfortable with it and assure there was no bra seeing, and let the rest of the back open. I also used the shirt sleeves to cut lining for the yoke and armholes.

By now I still had a little of the dress eyelet to upcycle, but not enough for anything for myself, so I decided to use it for my girl. I love the Purl Soho City Gym Shorts (it´s a free pattern!) and thought it would be perfect with this! I needed to be creative when placing pieces to cut because the eyelet had a direction I had to respect, but it was just about enough. As the top, I underlined all pieces with the dress lining fabric. I used a bit of leftover denim fabric for the waistband, colourful pink bias for finishings (which I beautifully stitched in the ditch if I may brag a little, thank you) and added pockets to the pattern.



So, even if that dress was not horrid, it wasn´t getting worn, but now, well... I´ve been using my Alice non stop and those shorts were a great girly addition to her closet too!

Don´t forget to come back and check all the other wonderful upcoming upcycles (say that fast 3 times)!

From a Box * Rebel and Malice * In a Manner of Sewing * Miss Castelinhos * Threading My Way * Fairies, Bubbles and Co. * Mabey She Made it * Conversas de Hermanas * Lulu and Celeste * Made by Sara * La Folie * Climbing the Willow * HattieLu Handmade * Swoodson Says * Knot so Normal * Friends Stitched Together * Just Another Project * Sew Thrifty