Thursday 11 July 2013

Is it a refashion? Is it an FO? It's a floral Charlotte save!

Please don't be cross!

Remember my Joan inspired Mad Men Elisalotte dress? This one.


Remember how I wasn't very happy with it? And that the fit is pretty bad on the top half? And the insides are finished terribly? Well, I decided to revisit it. I hauled it out the wardrobe and tried it on. And do you know? It wasn't that bad. For 2 mins and then I started to see all the things that annoyed me about it. I tried to look at it objectively, from the point of view of an innocent, non-sewer bystander, but all I could see was a badly fitting dress. I didn't feel comfortable, or attractive or confident in it. And no one wants to wear anything that makes them feel uncomfortable, unattractive or self concious.

So, I decided to see what I could do to fix it. Um... OK, actually I didn't. Time to be honest. For ages I've fancied a floral print pencil skirt. I Pinned a good few way back in Spring, with the intention of making a floral Charlotte.

 
When I was making my Elisalotte dress, and was fitting the skirt part, I did think "yes, I really need to make this skirt at some point, this is really nice", so being totally honest, as soon as I realised I wasn't happy with the dress, way back in April, and was vaguely thinking about how to fix it, it did occur to me that I could just remove the bodice and add a waistband....


And so I did! It took me 3 evenings. One to unpick the bodice and the zip (unpicking a zip is time consuming!), one to re-install a new, shorter zip and to properly finish the insides with my sewing machine's overlocking stitch, and finally last night to cut and attach the waistband. And I had a shiny new skirt to wear to work today! Which I LOVE!


In all honesty, it still could fit better. The waistband gapes ever so slighly, so it could probably be taken in just at the very top of the skirt, immediately below my waist. Looking at the top photo here, I do look a little straight up and down, but it's still unlikely that I'll do it. It's not hugely obvious and doesn't look daft, and it's probably comfier this way.

I attached poppers to close the waistband, but added a button for decoration. I had planned to do a proper buttonhole, but at the last minute decided poppers might be easier. It also means that if I do decide to change the waistband fit, I can do so fairly easily.



It's not my best invisible zipper ever, and there does seem to be a small gap between the top of the zipper and the bottom of the waistband (you can see it in the top picture here). Not sure why that is. But if someone is looking that closely at that part of me, I have bigger concerns!

Close up of zip closed. You can see it, but I'm not hugely bothered.
Front, flat view
Back, flat view
Better seam finishing on side seams, and hem tape, which I'd already done.
I really love this skirt. I got a few nice compliments about it today too. It is summery, so addresses my summer wardrobe issues, and it might be OK with tights and a darker top when it gets a bit more Autumnal out there. Maybe. My main issue is that the yellow top I'm wearing here, is the only thing I have that actually goes with it. So you know what that means... make more blouses!!!! :)

I did feel slightly like I was letting you all down by doing this, myself included. You really all were so supportive, helpful and complimentary about this dress, and I did feel that maybe I should have pushed myself to make this good, as a learning experience. However, the joy of having a wearable, gorgeous skirt that I love and will actually wear outweighs all of that! I hope you agree?!

Sources for Pinned images: 1. Preen 2. Oasis 3. Stella McCartney
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27 comments

  1. I love it as a skirt and if you wear it more then it is definitely the right decision! There is no point having items in your wardrobe that you won't wear. Great idea with the poppers.

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    1. Thanks Claire. I agree! :)

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    2. PS, I can't take credit for the popper idea, as By Hand London suggested it in their sewalong!

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  2. Your skirt is gorgeous, it is much better to have an item you will actually get wear out of! I am about to do the same to a dress I made out of the wrong material so doesn't fit properly!

    Alison
    x

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    1. Thanks! I hope yours works out as well. I hate waste, so I was really pleased to be able to do something with this.

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  3. You made the right choice-- turning something you weren't crazy about into a new favorite is awesome! I bet you'll wear this lots (after you make a few more cute tops, especially)!

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    1. Thanks Ginger - and thanks for visiting and commenting! I think and hope you're right about wearing this lots!

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  4. Good choice. I always find that taking the time to revisit a project I haven't been 100% happy with is always totally worth it even though sometimes it means removing or redoing something. Plus your experience with this dress means the next time you go to make it you'll probably be a lot happier with the fit. It's a win win.

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    1. Thanks! Sometimes the thought of going back to something is worse than the reality. Plus it can be a bit soul destroying undoing hours of your own work. But it always ends up good in the end! And yes, I hope my next Elisalex is much more successful.

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  5. It looks great as a skirt! Definitely worth taking the dress apart if you're going to get more wear out of it as a skirt. I love all the colours in this fabric - plenty of choices for making tops that go with it!

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    1. Thanks Kathryn! I'm thinking maybe a blouse in a silky fabric in the royal blue colour that's in the skirt? I think that would look really nice.

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  6. Oh, well done you - it looks fantastic! And you certainly haven't let anyone down - after all, the whole point is to end up with something that YOU love and want to wear. And I'm willing to bet this post will help someone else through a "what do I do now?" dress dilemma.
    Great decision - and brave, given all the work you'd put into it! And maybe you'll even come up with a way to redo/reuse the bodice at some stage!

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    1. Thank you! Hopefully this will help some others. It's a bit if a leap of faith, as is any refashion, but luckily this one worked out for me.

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  7. It's gorgeous! I think you made the right choice, especially if you feel that you'll get more wear out of it. It looks gorgeous as a skirt, well done for make the brave decision! I have a few I should do this with, but I'm a bit scared.

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    1. Thanks Katy! Don't be scared, just go for it! :)

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  8. definitely better to have something you love that something that makes you feel guilty when you see it hanging in that wardrobe! good job!

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  9. Love it as a skirt. I plan on doing this with my Megan Draper dress I did for the Mad Men Challenge. I've never even wore it and I know I'll definitely get more wear out of a skirt.

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    1. Go for it Shanni! It was nice to make something for the mad men challenge, but it's nicer having something that you'll actually wear. Even better if you can combine the two!

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  10. The Charlotte skirt is a great pattern (I have two and plans for a third). I think it looks perfect on you! I loved the fabric when you first picked it out so I'm really glad that you found a way to get more wear out of it. The main question is: will you wear it to the post office? :)

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    1. Ha ha! I'd forgotten about the post office "challenge". Yes, I absolutely can see myself doing that in this skirt! And yes, I'm glad not to have wasted all of that fabric!

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  11. I think it's beautiful! Great save for such lovely fabric from a make that you didn't quite love.

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  12. It's a great skirt - lovely fabric that will go with so many different colours and styles of top. I'm sure you'll get lots of wear out of it - much better than left sitting in your wardrobe as a dress you won't wear :)

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  13. Good for you! I'm a huge believer in doing what you have to do to make something you're actually going to love. And it's so cute, too!

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    1. Thanks Jenny. And I do so love it now!

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