Sunday, October 10, 2010

Butterick 5181: Blue Flowered Maxi Dress


Only two more weeks and we'll be heading to Florida for the winter. I'm so looking forward to seeing my Florida friends (hi gals) and hitting the sandy beaches on the Gulf of Mexico. In preparation, I just finished this comfy and cute maxi dress.

...using Butterick B5181 with some alterations. (see my pattern review below).

...Close up shows the midriff band, a skirt with a bit of gathering (altho I reduced the pattern gathering quite of bit), and halter top (which I modified from the pattern's over-the-shoulder top).

And look what I used for fabric. I cut apart an old short sleeve top and skirt that I made at least 15 years ago and over the years, I wore it a lot. (I always loved the fabric!), but the style is past tense ... a loose fitting top with nice wide shoulders and shoulder pads (I'd already cut the sleeves off in the pic below) and a two tier gathered skirt. So that's the "before" shot.

So I cut apart the dress and layed the pattern pieces on it. I was forced to have less gathers because that's all the fabric I had, but in the end, there are plenty of gathers. (I could even do with less, to tell the truth). Below, I'm laying the pattern bodice and making a rough stab at a halter remake...

...and for the lining: why not an old pillowcase?

More views...


4 comments:

  1. That is so cute and a good use of an older garment. Love it!

    ReplyDelete
  2. great recycling, & such a lovely dress. the fabric is gorgeous so its great you got to restyle it into something more up to date.
    Love it!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Since 10/10/10 was a "green day" you certainly celebrated appropriately. Love the dress and that wonderful fabric. Hope you have a safe trip. We leave in 3 weeks for the Gulf coast as well.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Recycling definitely makes you think outside the square. You're dress looks great.

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...