Rescuing square-dancing dresses, or 'Lolifying the Un-loliable'
Now that I've gotten some practice in, made a few gowns and bonnets from bedsheets, and turned old curtains into coats, I see potential in almost everything. 'Why, are those chiffon curtains for 2 dollars at the Goodwill?' New summer bolero. 'Is that a burgundy men's shirt for 2.99?' Tailor it in and ruffle it up for a custom-sized boy-style top. You get the idea. The possibilities seem endless when you've gotten so intimately familiar with your sewing machine that you've given it a name and pat it goodnight.
However, now I've run out of fabric, and I'm hungry for a new project. I was on the hunt for some deals on fabric from ebay when, just for fun, I decide to paruse the square dancing dresses for spits and giggles. They're usually the wrong shape for lolita entirely, and tend to look like someone threw patterns and colors at it and used what stuck; a sea of rainbow vomit rolled in sequins and plastic lace. The old ita-dress, something once bought during one's earliest days, falls into the same catagory. They are the dreaded 'Unloliable'; those poor creatures that cannot be saved even with hours and hours worth of intervention. One day, I'd like to whisk one of these dresses away; to give it a face lift and a happily-ever-after in my closet.
Then I find this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-ladies-brown-cotton-blend-square-dance-dress-S-6-/170899360175?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27ca6549af
Outside of an applied spider applique and a dropped waist, it has some great potential. Moving the skirt higher by hardly an inch or so, adding a brown ruffle to the bottom to offset the cream colored lace, and tailoring/spicing up the bodice a bit would turn it into a nice daily classic dress without too much effort. Has anyone ever done something like this before personally, and has photos to show for it? This goes for old ita-ish dresses as well.
However, now I've run out of fabric, and I'm hungry for a new project. I was on the hunt for some deals on fabric from ebay when, just for fun, I decide to paruse the square dancing dresses for spits and giggles. They're usually the wrong shape for lolita entirely, and tend to look like someone threw patterns and colors at it and used what stuck; a sea of rainbow vomit rolled in sequins and plastic lace. The old ita-dress, something once bought during one's earliest days, falls into the same catagory. They are the dreaded 'Unloliable'; those poor creatures that cannot be saved even with hours and hours worth of intervention. One day, I'd like to whisk one of these dresses away; to give it a face lift and a happily-ever-after in my closet.
Then I find this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-ladies-brown-cotton-blend-square-dance-dress-S-6-/170899360175?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27ca6549af
Outside of an applied spider applique and a dropped waist, it has some great potential. Moving the skirt higher by hardly an inch or so, adding a brown ruffle to the bottom to offset the cream colored lace, and tailoring/spicing up the bodice a bit would turn it into a nice daily classic dress without too much effort. Has anyone ever done something like this before personally, and has photos to show for it? This goes for old ita-ish dresses as well.