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.  💃🐒👌🙋