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Crafting Fix #1 – We’re Not in Kansas Anymore

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We’re not in Kansas Anymore…Vintage recon project - before

For the very first full does of crafting goodness, I’m featuring a vintage recon project that I took on earlier this year.  My roommate gave me this amazing vintage dress that she had bought years ago for a Halloween costume but never used.  Costume?!  All I saw was an amazing opportunity to add yet another beautiful vintage dress to my collection that I could wear on the daily, but then again I would…..

Before this dress was to be LA street ready, there were a few changes that I needed to execute to update Dorothy’s drab dress into a true head-turner.  First to go would have to be the prairie style bodice with the long sleeves and high neck.

The sleeves and neckline took the peasant look a little too far for me…

I was satisfied with the rest of the dress, however, so I carefully cut away the bodice from the skirt at the waistband.  I kept it on the form so that the fabric was pulled taught in order to get a clean cut.  Luckily this fabric easily frays so the excess that was left was easy to remove.  The bodice was stitched into the side seams of the gingham under layer, so I was left with some blue @ the side seams and armhole.  After looking at it, I decided I didn’t mind it too much so I decided to leave it.  When things like this happen I like to look at them as “details” rather than “flaws” :)

Examples of the “details” that were left after I cut away the bodice.
Not too bad right?

I decided to do a little wear test to see how my cutting efforts left the fit of the garment.  I noticed that the blue top layer had kept the wide shoulder of the under layer put on the the body, and without it the shoulder straps were sliding off my shoulders—this was definitely more of a flaw than detail haha so I had to figure out how to fix this fit issue.

A bit too wide :(

I decided to place a strap across the back neck from seam to seam to keep the garment safely on my upper half, which is definitely an important feature considering this dress was now definitely not bra friendly. Dorothy was never meant to work nights at the Spearmint Rhino if you know what I mean….
Back band to the rescue!  Made from scraps of the bodice that I cut away

Lastly, I wanted to make use of the amazing embroidered appliques that were on the bell sleeves.  You can see above that I placed one on the waistband and I turned the other into a hair pin!

All in all this re-con was a true success.  I wore the dress to work the next day and I felt like a kick ass Dorothy :)

This dress isn’t in Kansas, or 1973 anymore, thank God!


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