Burda Style For people who sew
Description
So named after the original brand of this dress. The tag read “Branch, a division of Joshua Tree”. The theme over at the Sew Weekly was to find an inspiration garment and “make the look”. Here’s a quick rundown of how I got from the original 70s poly suit to my final dress:
Took off the skirt waistband and the 6″ CB zip, then stitched up the skirt where the zip was. Unpicked the sleeves, collar and the blouse CF placket. Because of the buttonholes, I had to trim one side of the placket. I turned the blouse around so that the CF was now in back, then stitched up the new CB seam, leaving an opening at the back. Due to the aforementioned buttonhole issue, it’s slightly off from the true center, but I’m okay with that. I marked a new neckline on front, then trimmed off the excess. Then stitched down shoulder pleats, followed by armscye pleats with button detail, harvested from the original blouse. This was to prevent gaping at the armscye, as there was no room to add darts where they’d traditionally belong. I turned the armscye under twice and stitched a narrow hem. I then made pleats on the front of the skirt, darts on the back. Next were darts on the back of the bodice, and then stitched bodice to skirt. Bias tape was made from a sleeve, and I stitched this around the neckline rather than make a facing. I then stitched the back keyhole and added a hook and French tack to avoid a zip. The final step was to stitch the original waistband closed, then add a second buttonhole. I tacked this down on the CB, and added two buttons from my stash to the front. I was lucky to find two matching buttons in the right size/color! The original garment only had one button (from the waistband) in the correct size, and the remainder were smaller from the blouse. The “belt” can unbutton, allowing the dress to slip over my head. Huzzah!
A few more photos can be found on my blog
The inspiration piece is the My Favorite Mod Dress on ModCloth
Material Notes
thrifted polyester skirt & blouse, several sizes too small; 2 stash buttons
Difficulty
Intermediate
Categories
18 Comments Sign in to add a post
Featured
-
Editors' Pick
Photo Bombshell: 8 New Plus Size Sewing Patterns
This collection will make you shine in front of the camera!
-
Member Project of the Week
Coral Dress
Get inspired by this lovely coral dress with ties and bows!
-
DIY to Try
Head Bands
Make yourself a lovely hair band this spring!
-
Editors' Pick
Club Tropicana: 11 New Sewing Patterns
Join the summer party this season and make one these colorful styles!
-
Pattern of the Week
Floral Pencil Skirt
This pencil skirt is perfect for everyday wear! We love it in floral.
BurdaStyle - Footer
BurdaStyle is a DIY fashion and sewing community. Our aim is to bring the craft of sewing to a new generation of fashion designers, hobbyists, DIY'ers, and inspire fashion enthusiasts. We offer downloadable PDF sewing patterns, project ideas, tutorials and a community passionate about fashion. Press coverage on BurdaStyle can be found here.
Website Help
About BurdaStyle
© 2009 BurdaStyle. Inc. All rights reserved. Site by AREA 17
Feb 13, 2012, 12.32 AMby nessys
What you have done with this is just FANTASTIC Darling – just fab! The wonderful fabric alone was worth it – love those colours together and they look great on you! Well done! xxxx
Jan 31, 2012, 01.28 AMby threadsquare
Oh hey! I haven’t checked in for a couple days. Thanks for all the kind words, BurdaStylers!!! This project was so much fun :)
Jan 29, 2012, 03.49 AMby urbandon
Brilliant remake.
Jan 28, 2012, 11.44 AMby libra-s
Wow!!! Fantastic job!
Jan 28, 2012, 06.18 AMby smallone
awesome-ness – love a good upcycle…and this is great!
Jan 27, 2012, 10.53 AMby claudinka
Amazing refashioning. Just amazing.
Jan 27, 2012, 07.42 AMby Ralf Schmitz
wow! i am really impressed what you did with this old fashioned 2 pieces!
Jan 27, 2012, 06.11 AMby peppit
Congratulations!!!! Excellent job in matching up the stripes, sooooooo perfectly, on all seams. Now that’s why some of us just sew and others create!!
1 Reply
Jan 31, 2012, 01.29 AMby threadsquare
I can’t take credit for the skirt seams, as I used them in their original form :)
Jan 26, 2012, 10.19 PMby janul
love it!
Jan 26, 2012, 10.07 PMby aileenc
Great stuff altogether! Really love what you did with the chevron for the skirt, looks cool :)
Jan 26, 2012, 09.38 PMby mollykatherine
I’m super impressed with your refashioning skills! it turned out perfect!
Jan 26, 2012, 09.24 PMby elisana
awesome!!!!
Jan 26, 2012, 07.55 PMby Andrea Delesdernier
Nice work.
Jan 26, 2012, 06.08 PMby MXG
It looks comfortable and fun. It takes a good eye to envision such a wow dress out of so ugly original.
Jan 26, 2012, 06.03 PMby Kazmoda
Absolutely beautiful!
Jan 26, 2012, 05.33 PMby machelefranklin
I love it !
Jan 26, 2012, 05.26 PMby jacquipardue
wow, well done! it looks fantastic. i like the colors!
Jan 26, 2012, 05.17 PMby Ljiljan
It is fascinating,magical look on you :)