'MakeOver Monday' - Dressing Gown to Fisherman Frock

'MakeOver Monday' 
... sharing how I cut up & REmake items from my wardrobe 
in the hope you'll pick up scissors & start cutting up yours!

This was a love-at-first-sight-brand-new-off-the-rack-impulse-buy

which has sat in my wardrobe for 3yrs

unworn

because it turns out I actually don't wear dressing gowns...

which made her perfect for my latest REinvention

After much deliberation and the tossing around of ideas

sewing machine cover, bag, jacket, quilt

I went with the obvious choice of 

frock

{my favourite Fisherman Frock}

***

The sleeves were removed and the shoulders opened up 

so I could then lay her flat & folded in half 

so the front, underarms & back could be reshaped to resemble the pinafore shape that is the Fisherman Frock

I decided to keep the front band 

and rather than seam it shut opted for top stitching one on top of the other 
because the extra bulk created by a seam wasn't neccessary or desired

removing the excess band from underneath before any stitching took place was so I could get in with the overlocker before it got too difficult

and at this stage I was thinking maybe that the band would be handy in the straps

once I was happy with the shape,

{trying on at this stage is required}

ie. not too wide across the 'bib', not too deep or shallow under the arms and not too high in the back
it was time to add a facing in the back for some elastic

before I could thread the elastic through the facing

it was necessary to apply the bias binding

ah bias binding 

my friend

REinventors L.O.V.E bias binding

and because there's too many reasons to list here I'll go with

~it does the job of securing raw edges effectively & efficently~
and write a list another day
however in the mean time I did a little video to show you how easy it is
to Ditch Stitch wide bias binding to things
and who says REinventors can't use couture techniques!

I could then thread the elastic through the back

and to work out how much elastic I needed

I held the end of the elastic at my side 

[roughly where the side seam would sit]

and pulled it firmly across my back to the other side [seam]

I ususally find I need to trim another 2-3cm off the end 

as during the act of threading & holding up the fabric it looses some of its stretch

it was about now I realised the bit of band saved from the front 

wasn't going to be enough for straps

so I chose to cut up the belt the gown came with

not an easy decision 

because yellow that close to my face isn't someting I feel comfortable with

[all things that need to be taken into account

 because there's not point if at the end of the day you don't wear it 

because yellow drains the colour from your face 

and you look like you died a week ago]

however lucky for me it's more a wheaty yellow which it turns out's okay 

plus it suited the overall look of the garment 

in this next image I wanted to show you how I work out the length of my straps

turns out it's alot easier to do than it is to photograph

but I think you'll get the idea

there's bound to be some trimming of the straps to get them to the perfect length and angle so it's a good idea to keep them pinned and try on until you're happy

another thing you might notice around this time
is some 'stretching' through weaker areas
added to the inevitable shape required for certain areas i.e. the bust
for me the underarm and top of the bib needed attention
and I figured I had two options
elasticate the underarm or dart and see what effect it had on the top edge
so I pinched in & darted at the bust which magically got rid of both issues

and when it's not 42ºC

I'll wear her a lot 

cos she's not only super comfy

she's perfect for layering.

***

~Next Week~

the plan is to REmake

the unused sleeves from the dressing gown

and a pair of perfectly faded jeans

into a jacket...

If you'd like to see more MakeOvers 

pop over to Instagram using

#sotl_mymakeovermonday