The idea was to combine a printed chiffon modern Malay dress (with polyester lining) which I bought from my usual flea market last year and an old long-sleeved crepe buttoned-up collared blouse which my mom no longer wears because the 2 pieces together were well colour-coordinated.
When I first laid my eyes on this dress, I thought I could easily transform it into a more appealing dress with ruffles and all.
But as I started working on it, I realised that it was not as easy as I thought because firstly, the chiffon is very thin and fluid with edges that fray rather badly.
So, to stop the fraying, my sister suggested I used iron-on stiffener strips along the edges that were to be serged.
Secondly, even though I liked the printed motifs, it suddenly became too overwhelming and rather gaudy on me if I were to take the pieces as-is. So, to overcome this, I decided to challenge myself by adapting a non-symmetrical concept for my new dress.
And for the record, the new dress would be my first non-symmetrical piece of art I have ever created.
Once I have nailed the concept for the new dress, I started dismantling the pieces of fabric. However, I realised that I would need more fabric in order to fulfill the new design requirements. Thankfully, I still have enough stock of remnants that matched.
The reconstruction work went rather well until the flu bug bit me and I had to rest and was forced to lay down the pieces for a while longer.
Once I recovered from the flu, it took me a couple of days to put the pieces together until I reached another stumbling block, the usual, my ultimate nemesis ~ the sleeves.
I was not sure if the sleeves should be non-symmetrical or symmetrical. So, I turned to my mom for advice. Just looking at her speechless reaction told me that I should have matching sleeves instead, even though the concept for the new dress is non-symmetrical.
So, back to the stockpile again and what can I say? I found just the right colour and just enough fabric to make a pair of Juliet sleeves.
In no time at all, I started forming the sleeves. However, in order for the puffs to remain puffy, I needed even more fabric.
So, back to the stockpile again and this time, I did not need to cut out any fabric because I found just the right sleeves which were left overs from my other project (FR#29).
After I finished fixing the sleeves. I realised that the sleeves were symmetrical in shape but not identical in pattern.
Argh! Too late to turn back now because I didn't have enough fabric left to make a new sleeve. Guess I just have to live with it and call it my accidental fashion statement.
I guess, for every sickness, there is always a blessing in disguise, to ease whatever new obstacles that may come our way. And so far, I have been rather fortunate to be able to come up with solutions for all the obstacles that I have encountered.
As usual, my fashion reconstruction project is never complete unless I embellish it. And to seal it off, I added buttons from my sister's collection to accentuate the new look.
All in all, it took me almost a month to complete this project but considering the effort and time spent, it was really worth it!
Oh.... I cannot wait to don this dress for this year's festivities.
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. 💃🐒👌🙋
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