Tuesday 10 November 2015

Things to Look Out For Before Refashioning a Dress into a Top

I recently acquired some pre-loved clothes from one of my daughter's friends. She's much the same size as me and we have a similar taste in clothes. Instead of donating clothes she no longer want to an Op Shop, she gives them to my daughter. Luckily for me, most of the clothes are too large for my daughter and so I have my pick.


In amongst the clothes was a knit dress. I knew I'd never wear it as a dress, but thought it would look good if I shortened it to wear as a top with skinny jeans or leggings.


Refashions don't get any easier...
  • Try the dress on with jeans or leggings underneath.
  • Mark the desired length.
  • Cut off the excess.
  • Hem with a twin needle.

I rather liked the ruching at the sides - a very flattering look when you don't want to wear a tight fitting top across the tummy. The back had a tighter fit which suited me. There was a bit of a high / low effect  - back to front to normal with the front being slightly longer than the back. 


All good, until I realised...


... it was a maternity dress and now a maternity top!!! I laughed and laughed, not sure why I hadn't seen this straight away. My first reaction was... I can't wear a maternity top. I'm not pregnant, and am NEVER going to be.

And then I thought...   I don't care. I like my new top and it is SO comfortable. I am going to wear it anyway.

So after a photo shoot, I dropped some things off at the Op Shop and then did the weekly shopping in my new top. No one gave me any sideways glances, no sniggers or odd looks (not that I noticed, anyway). My secret is safe. You won't tell anyone will you???

That afternoon I discovered three stains on my new top. Initially I hadn't noticed them, or I probably wouldn't have bothered to take it up. It limits where I'll be able to wear it, as the stains are noticeable. However, I'll be able to wear it around the house. Matter of fact, I'm wearing it now.

One more thing I have to share... Mr TMW likes the top and thinks it looks good, too. He even went so far as to suggest that I shop for clothes in the maternity section!!! LOL!!! He couldn't understand my NO reaction... You like it. It looks good. Why not? That may well be, Mr TMW, but I simply couldn't. NO, NO, NO!!!

Have you ever refashioned a garment, only to find a little surprise after you had finished?

... Pam

12 comments:

  1. I have done what you describe above, Pam, but very much liked the results afterwards, so no, no surprises. But your final "reveal" here did surprise me! So had you not mentioned it, it wouldn't have occurred to me, so I think your secret - though now open to all the WWW - is safe... LOL.

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  2. LOL...if no one notices and you like it, why not!;)

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  3. The only refashioning I do is to let seams out, hehe. Hubby recently suggested to me, while I was trying to buy some shoes with good support, that I try the men's section (I have rather large feet). Needless to say, he now knows why that isn't a good idea, and I'm fairly certain he won't ever make THAT mistake again!

    I think the top looks cute, and I think that you should give hubby a scare by telling him you're wearing the maternity top for a reason ... then pat your belly and look really worried ;)

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  4. The only surprise I've had trying to refashion something is finding that the finished product looks NOTHING like I had imaged it. That top does look great on you! Maybe you could work on the stains?? I've gotten stains out of things even when they've been washing and dried a number of times.

    I've occasionally wandered into the maternity department accidentally while shopping and found things I loved. I've passed on them out of fear that someone would recognize the piece as being maternity wear. Kind of silly, though, when you think about it. It's not as though there are special "only for maternity clothes" fabrics and lots of regular clothes have a bit of room in the middle. With all the nice stretch fabrics used to emphasize the baby bump today, I'll bet smaller sizes look pretty much like regular clothing with just a bit of length in the front anyway.

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  5. Pam, you are so funny, that top looks great on you!! :D
    Try some shampoo on the stains before you wash it, scrub it in gently with an old toothbrush (or use hubby's) and let it sit overnight, then launder as usual. I have rescued so many tops with this tip, I really should make myself a bib....:)

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    1. I'll give the shampoo a try, Sheila. Might pay Mr TMW back with his toothbrush... LOL!!! Thanks heaps for the tip.

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  6. Haha! I have totally done that. I bet no one notices, ever.

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  7. Funny!! I laughed outloud. It looks great Pam. I would have never know. :)

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  8. Can you put some sort of small applique over the stain. And is there a way you can stretch elastic across the tummy area so that it will tighten up the fabric and look like rouching when done?

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  9. Maternity top? I would have never noticed it! I own one maternity dress...that I bought AFTER I gave birth! I really needed a black knit dress at that time, and the best I could find and fit me well was a maternity dress. I bought it knowing it was a maternity dress...yeah, it felt wired, but I bought it anyway. Hoping noone notices, I still sometimes wear it ;o

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  10. Pam, I think the top is fabulous. It is just my style and, honestly, I and probably most anyone else would not have known the difference if you hadn't told us. I would wear it in a heartbeat. Who knows, there will probably be others who will wonder how you got that great bit of fashion flair. You might just have started a new trend!

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  11. You would never know, your secret is safe! Until you're wearing it with company of course and your husband decides it's a funny story to tell! Shame about the stains though, I've refashioned things only to find tiny holes before, sometimes I've been able to use a patch which hides the hole and looks good too. That wouldn't work with the stains would it - in some applique style? Otherwise if you get to a point where you no longer where it, that fabric looks like it would make great, funky leggings for a granddaughter.

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