F for Fashion reconstruction #50

Although this is the 50th AFR, the reality is, I have only completed the reconstruction of 49 dresses. So, it is not yet time to celebrate until the 50th dress is completed.

Nevertheless, I am still on track because my aim has always been to complete 1 new dress (or two) a month and so far 43 months have passed since I started this journey in July 2016.

So, moving on....

For this fashion reconstruction project, I could not decide on anything else but a thrifted item bought in March 2019 from my regular flea market for $1 ~ a two-piece traditional Malay dress (baju kurung pesak) ~ because I liked the fabric (chiffon) and its motifs (rosettes). By the way, because of the translucent fabric, the dress came fully-lined (which I disliked).

Instead of making another baju kelawung (FR#39 and FR#42), my idea was to just extend the length of the dress with fabric from the skirt that came with it because I did not have any remnant material that matched.

Also, with the uncertainty of the current health situation (the covid-19, a coronavirus outbreak which started in Wuhan, China in December 2019 and had spread globally), I refrained from stepping outside of my comfort zone to look for fabric, in order to avoid infection.

Hence, I would just have to make do with the resources I had at hand.

I thought I only needed to remove the laceribbon (which had seen better days) and lining material from the dress; and dismantle the skirt and cut to fit the bottom of the dress. 

But, I ended up dismantling the whole dress and resurgered as well.

Anyway, once all of the above was done, before I reattached the dress (minus the two kekek), I worked on the neckline first because (lessons learned) it was the most crucial part of the process, but not my favourite (like the sleeves).

If anyone asked me why the neckline looked the way it did, that was because of a missnip. And that is alright by me because I like it since the new dress was not meant to look like a traditional Malay dress but a full-length dress.


When the neckline was completed, I then continued working on the skirt. Instead of gathers, I opted for pleats on the left and right sides of the skirt.


There was no issue until I started sewing the seam of the skirt. Not sure why but I just could not seem to sew a straight line. So, I gave up on the third attempt and decided that it would probably be better and neater if I were to hand stitch instead.


When I put on the new dress, I knew something was missing and the little birds perched outside my window told me that I should embellish the neckline with some beads.


I actually wanted to embellish the ends of the sleeves as well but realised that, that would be too much (work!). hehehe


Perhaps some other time?


All in all, I finished the new dress within two weeks with some breaks in between.


So, without further ado, I present to you, my first baju panjung (baju panjang kurung) aka a long dress that looked like a two-piece traditional Malay dress...

One good thing about the new dress is, if I wanted to, I could wear it back-to-front as well because when I tried it on, I felt comfortable wearing it both ways.


Who could tell that this was a cut-and-paste project, if I had not disclosed the facts?


I can proudly say that you cannot find this item anywhere.  💃🐒👌🙋

F for Fashion reconstruction #49

2020 marks the beginning of a new decade but I just felt like taking it slow since I have accomplished more in 2019 compared to the previous couple of years.


So, to kick start the new year, I have decided to close my Audrey Hepburn chapter once and for all.


The piece I have chosen for this fashion reconstruction project is probably the prettiest black dress I owned, the last of 3 cocktail dresses I bought from a store in Sydney while on a business trip in 2012.

Initially, I intended to replace the bottom of the dress with a new fabric of Art Nouveau pattern which my sister recommended but just as I was about to go ahead with that idea, she gave me a blouse which she no longer wears.

And just like that, the switch in me flipped and I imagined something much better.


On its own, the blouse looked unattractive and more like a pyjama top but once I turned it the other way around, it just fit perfectly with the dress because like every cloud has a silver lining, so did this blouse.


The black and silver lines, the shiny fabric; all fits very nicely together.


One set back though, if I went ahead with this idea, because the blouse is a stretchy fabric, it would stretch over a period of time. And because the design I am after would be going against the grain of the fabric, it would mean that the new dress would become longer over time.


So, in order to avoid the unnecessary from happening, I have devised a plan. I would anchor the stretchy fabric onto a stiffer one (not the usual iron on stiffener) by sewing diagonal lines.


I would know if this plan works only after I had worn the new dress several times. If it fails, then I would have to consider other options. But I don't worry much because I am after all, a master of manipulation.


And so the work continues...


There was more than enough fabric from the blouse to make a full length dress. I also did not need to alter the sleeves because I liked them the way they were and they fit perfectly.


While I was conceptualising on the mannequin, I thought I should embellish the new dress with laceribbon to make it look even grander. And so I looked and found just the right one.


Like the tortoise, slowly but surely, in the end, she wins the race...


All in all, I took 2 weeks to complete the new dress, just in time to meet the January deadline.

I absolutely love this dress! Love it even more when I tried it on.


Who could tell that this was a cut-and-paste project, if I had not disclosed the facts?


I can proudly say that you cannot find this item anywhere.  💃🐒👌🙋

F for Fashion reconstruction #48

I kicked off 2019 with my first "lbd to Lbd" (little black dress to Long black dress) series, i.e. a sleeveless blue velvet lbd and so I shall close 2019 with yet another lbd.


This fashion reconstruction project would be the fifth and also the final item in my lbd collection to be included in the "lbd to Lbd" series, i.e. a sleeveless black lbd bought together with the other lbds in late 90s.

Because it is lightweight, I initially wanted to pair this lbd with a baby blue chiffon material which I acquired from my sister.


But after second thoughts, I realised that I could actually salvage one of my mom's old pants instead because the material is similar to the lbd but just a little heavier to give the new Lbd a better structure than the chiffon would.


She had two pairs of pants with the same make and model ~ one is navy blue and the other, yellow. Both would make a nice pairing but I picked the yellow one because it gave a better contrast.

After that was settled, I proceeded with the seam ripping. It took me at least three days because the pants had zippers and elastic waistband.


Also the thread used was the same colour as the pants which made it even harder to differentiate between the material and thread.


Thankfully, the lbd was already ripped apart and sergered, well in advance, during one of my idle periods.


Once all the material were laid down and ready, it was time for the mannequin to take over and perform its magic.


After a few rounds of deliberations, I finally decided on the design I was after. It would be a little bit of everything that I have done ~ there would be gathers, frills and pleats, of course.


For the lbd, I removed the back zipper, moved the bottom part of the front skirt to the back and removed the sides of the front bodice because they no longer fit into the new design.


All of the material from the pants would complete the new dress, except for the sleeves because there was little material left over.


Thankfully, I had just enough remnant material that fits well with the colour scheme, for the sleeves.


I even had time to embellish the new dress with beads.


I was distracted by all the excitement of the festive season that it took me almost a fortnight to complete this project (and just over three hours before the year ends).


So, without further ado, here's what the final dress for 2019 looks like...

I must say that 2019 has been a good and laborious year for me indeed; full of ups and downs, but most importantly, I had fun making new dresses and it was all worth it!


Who could tell that this was a cut-and-paste project, if I had not disclosed the facts?


I can proudly say that you cannot find this item anywhere. 💃🐒👌🙋

F for Fashion reconstruction #47

Another week has passed and another dress is born...


At first, I wanted to combine two blouses (bought in the mid '90s) but after much consideration, I decided to just sacrifice one because I thought the other one could be used for another project.


So for this fashion reconstruction project, I chose a floral cotton blouse and combined it with a piece of gingham and to extend the length of the skirt, I added two tiers of chiffon and laceribbon between the joints.

I constructed new pair of sleeves and reused the old sleeves as well. I also used laceribbon to keep with the same theme.


As with previous project, this one also involved a lot of hand and machine stitching.


Also, I had to make sure that the seams are aligned.


Halfway through the project, I caught the flu bug. This time around, it was not as bad as before because it was only due to the rainy season, nothing serious that I could not carry on sewing.


And within a week, I managed to complete the new dress.


When I put on this new dress, it reminded me of "Little house on the prairie". you'll see...

Who could tell that this was a cut-and-paste project, if I had not disclosed the facts?


I can proudly say that you cannot find this item anywhere.  💃🐒👌🙋

F for Fashion reconstruction #46

What's common about the pieces I picked for this fashion reconstruction project? Crepe.


One is a long-sleeved flouncey-collared blouse I bought in Seoul while on a business trip in 2011 and the other, an elastic-waisted floral tiered mini skirt I bought from my usual flea market in 2017.

So, how do I make a long-sleeved full length dress out of these two?


Back to my stash of remnants again...


Thankfully, I still have a few pieces of chiffon remnants that complement very well with the colour scheme of the mini skirt.


I liked the blouse as it is, so I only had to loosen it a little bit by removing the front and back darts, realign the hem at the bottom and readjust the buttons.


More work on the mini skirt though because the new dress will have more tiers.


So, after disassembling the mini skirt, I pinned all the pieces together on my mannequin to get a better picture.


Once I was satisfied with the overall design, the rest was easy.


To extend the skirt further I used laceribbon of different colours that would serve as embellishments as well.


After tacking and stitching many rows of fabric, I finally completed the dress in five days. Phew!

Who could tell that this was a cut-and-paste project, if I had not disclosed the facts?


I can proudly say that you cannot find this item anywhere.  💃🐒👌🙋

F for Fashion reconstruction #45

I think I like this project the most because the new dress is simple to do and looks elegant when worn.


At first I was not really sure what to expect when I picked this sleeveless top (bought in the early '90s) because I did not have anything in my closet to match it with, to make a full length dress.

So, I decided to just let my creative juices flow. When I looked through my stash of remnants, the colours just moved in my eyes like a kaleidoscope.


That's when I realised I could make something different but nice.


Because the fabric is light and flowy, I decided to use chiffon for the skirt and sleeves to have an overall light and flowy dress.


After picking the pieces I wanted, I began conceptualizing and designing a pattern in my head, while pinning the pieces together on my mannequin.


Once I was satisfied with the design, the production process began. I only had to remove the darts at the back and the hem at the bottom, cut pieces according to the required measurements, serger the ends, join them together and in no time at all, the new dress is ready.


It took me less than a week to complete the new dress.


There is no drama for this project either because everything was smooth sailing.

Someone asked me before, how or where I got the idea for all my dresses, and honestly, I did not have an answer because I just went with the flow.


Who could tell that this was a cut-and-paste project, if I had not disclosed the facts?


I can proudly say that you cannot find this item anywhere.  💃🐒👌🙋

F for Fashion reconstruction #44

Prim and proper is the theme for this fashion reconstruction project.


The finished dress reminds me of dresses worn by nurses or maids in the 1930s and 1940s. What's missing is the white apron... hehehe


Anyway, for this fashion reconstruction project, I have chosen another lbd I bought some time in late 90s, together with my other lbds. This will be the fourth instalment of the "lbd to Lbd" (little black dress to Long black dress) series.

The lbd was a little snug on the bodice, so I decided to extend the side seams with laceribbon, which would also serve as embellishments.


And to lengthen the skirt, I sacrificed a mini skirt I no longer wear (bought in Seoul during my business trip in 2011) because the fabric complemented each other (the lbd is made of wool and the mini skirt, synthetic wool) .

Even with the addition of laceribbon in between, the dress came to almost 6 inches short, so I had to add ruffles at the bottom of the skirt to make up for the shortage.


For the sleeves, I reused the discarded sleeves from FR#36 and extended the length by using the same type of laceribbon as the bodice and black chiffon fabric.


To accentuate the front pockets and neckline, I used a different type of laceribbon.


The whole project took me just over a week to complete.

And all in all, I think I wasted almost zerowaste.


That reminds me of an incident... I recently commented on a post for their unnecessary waste of fabric and the owner of the post got a little offensive and defensive by commenting on my amateur-looking garments and offered a free tip ~ my garments would look less amateur if I ironed them before sewing and again, before posting.


duh! here I am, trying my best to go green i.e. reduce waste (and advocating others to do the same) and that means also reducing carbon emissions... so what if I did not iron my garments for the camera as compared to their so-called professional techniques that include unnecessary waste and carbon emissions? People can be so thick sometimes, it is unbelievably appalling.


Who could tell that this was a cut-and-paste project, if I had not disclosed the facts?


I can proudly say that you cannot find this item anywhere.  💃🐒👌🙋