Refashioned 1970's Inspired Midnight Bohemian Skirt

I am going to start by making it clear that this is not a style I usually go for. But when I found out about the #SewFrosting Challenge organised by Heather Lou (of @closetcasepatterns) and Kelli (of @truebias), I knew I had to make this.This sad, oversized vintage 1970's dress had been sitting in my wardrobe for the longest time since I got it. (Why and how I got it, I can never recall or imagine) I love the print of the fabric and the soft, slinky feel of the polyester, and I knew I could alter it easily to fit myself, but I also didn't think I would enjoy it in its very form - a midi length, long-sleeved dress with a pussybow.Obviously, sending this to the donation bin is like a death sentence for the dress (and the fabric). Who would save a dress like this except for someone crazy like me? So, I did what I had to do - I butchered it and then stitched it together again.I wanted to stay true to the era (i.e. 1970s), so I decided on the following 2 key design elements:

• bias drape
• ruffles

The result? A skirt that is 1 part goth, 1 part bohemian, and 100% ready for disco-dancing. Here's how the magic happened:

1. Unpicked stitches for sleeves and pussy bow collar
2. Unpicked stitches for skirt
3. Cut skirt the following ways (while checking that the final measurements will fit around my hips and knees):
   • sloping from back to front along the waist (so that the front will end up shorter than the back, and for that faux bias drape)
   • sloping from top to bottom (so that the width around the knees will end up narrow than the hips)
4. Stitched along dotted line
5. Folded down and stitched along the dotted line to create an elastic casing. Insert elastic.
6. Cut sleeves to get rectangular pieces
7. Aligned rectangular pieces as such and stitched them together to get a long strip of fabric. (This photo shows 4 rectangular pieces - 2 from each sleeve. I ended up getting 2 more rectangular pieces of the same measurements from the fabric from the bodice of the dress.)
8. Gathered the long strip of fabric and stitched it along the hem of the skirt
9. Stitched the unpicked seam of the pussybow collar to get a belt

This project was so fun to make and I loved doing something different on a whim. Anyone else here taking part in #SewFrosting as well?I had been in a weird funk with my sewing since making my wedding dress and I think I finally got my sewjo back with an unusual sewing project like this one! No patterns, no regrets - just all about having fun! xx

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