It’s coming into spring now, and I’m starting to think about my summer wardrobe. Usually, I am on holiday at my parents’ place in the Channel Islands, so this consists of denim shorts, little skirts, and a bikini top.
This year, however, I’ll be working at the school into the summer, and so I need something a little more…. school appropriate!
Instead of looking on ebay, I decided to try to look at my wardrobe with new eyes, and I found a navy ASOS dress scrumpled on the floor and only worn once. This was already frugal enough, as I got it handed down brand new from somebody who had never worn it. But it seems a shame not to wear it, so I tried it on.
Far too low-cut for school. And a bit maternity-looking. And a bit plain. (Sorry I didn’t get a picture, you’ll have to imagine it!)
Time to upcycle!!
I knew straight away what I wanted to do with it. Adding a lace bottom and neckline would allow me to fill in the neckline and yet make it look like it was meant to be there!
The local haberdashery (Sew and Sew, Westbury-on-Trym) had some beautiful thick crochet laces, so I bought 3 types- two possibilities for the neckline, and one thicker one for the base. I also bought some navy blue thread, and it was time to get started!
(Note: Please forgive my lack of ‘sew speak’ – I am new to this and have never been taught all the proper words so I’ll just call it as I see it!)
I pinned the 2inch thick lace all the way around the base of the dress. I wanted the background of the lace to be partly navy, but for the scalloping to stick out past the bottom (otherwise it would look weird) so I pinned it about an inch from the hem.
Then I used my sewing machine on ‘zig-zag’ stitch to oversew the top edge of the lace with navy blue. It wasn’t the neatest in the world but luckily the way the dress hangs means it doesn’t have to be!
Next thing was to pin the neckline. Having pinned it both ‘inside’ (so that the edge of the crochet was hidden by the original neckline of the dress) and ‘outside’ (so the straight edge could be seen) the general consensus was that the outside looked best. A bit of a shame for me, as this looked harder, but I could give it a go all the same!
Whilst in the charity shops I looked closely at how other people sewed lace on. And it turns out my way wasn’t the neatest way, so I tried their way. This time, I used white thread and used the straight stitch on my sewing machine. It turned out far more invisible!
So here are some artsy shots of me wearing it. Ta-dah for meee!
So to re-iterate. A dress that cost me nothing. 3 1/2 m of various laces (£3 or so). A little thread (£1.60 for the whole spool), and a little of my time…. equals a unique, cute and flirty dress! Priceless!
Living Frugal 