Awesome diy fashion blog.  She has a ton of refashions.

I’m currently in a refashion competition called Refashion Runway, hosted by the Renegade Seamstress,.  Every week (that I’m still in the running) I’ll be posting a new refashion project. For the first round, the challenge was to combine floral and geometric/stripes.

The before:

Awesome diy fashion blog.  She has a ton of refashions.

This dress is actually a nightgown.  Since I’m always trying to get away with wearing pajamas in public anyway, I knew it was a match made in heaven. I wanted to accentuate the embroidery since part of the challenge is incorporating floral. I originally planned to go over it by hand with black thread, but then lazy/efficient Kara had an epiphany–Sharpie.  Yep, I basically colored over the original thread with permanent marker and it made it look just like it had been done in black. Awesome.  I also removed the netting pieces, and the center of the original collar.
Awesome diy fashion blog.  She has a ton of refashions.
The dress needed a more flattering shape, and I needed more length after an over-ambitious chop.  The solution?  The thick waistband in the center.  It gathers the fabric at the waist, visually narrowing my frame, while also adding about an inch and a half of length.  Please note that the waistband is sewn to the bodice and the skirt separately, as I had previously cut them apart.
Awesome diy fashion blog.  She has a ton of refashions.
Finally, to add the geometric/stripe aspect of the challenge, I used some old bias tape to create eye-catching stripes at the bottom in a coordinating black color that tied the ensemble together.
And just like that, I was done.
Awesome diy fashion blog.  She has a ton of refashions.
Awesome diy fashion blog.  She has a ton of refashions.Now go check out the other amazing refashions and get the chance to vote here.