The Day and Night Dress Challenge - 2019

Ever on the lookout for a good sewing challenge, whilst browsing for upcoming challenges in January I found the #dayandnightdresschallenge hosted by Elizabeth of Elizabeth Made This which you can find here .  The concept of the challenge is not to make a new garment, but very cleverly, to dig out an old unloved garment, which should ideally be one of your previous makes, and make two items to take it from day to night.

I mused a little over this one, thinking what a great idea this was to bring an unworn garment back to life, and after a rummage in my wardrobe found this dress I made about two and half years ago which had seen little wearing.

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It's a good old shift dress, made using a mix of velvet and lace and with a sassy back slash (saved me from trying to attach a zip to lace)

I'd made it for my birthday and strangely, had made one sleeve too tight at the bicep - either that or I'd been overdoing it at the gym - nah!  The challenge gave me the impetus to rectify the annoying sleeve so the dress would be wearable again, with or without a challenge.

Bug sorted, I thought further on what to bring to the heart of the challenge.  Well, if you know me, you know I have an eye for a bargain and whilst mooching one lunchtime I found a wool and cashmere coat in a thrift shop for the princely amount of £2.99 - yes you read right - CASHMERE
for £2.99.  So - take a look at this coat.

You may wonder what's wrong with it - I wondered what's right with it (OK apart from CASHMERE).  Majorly oversized, big sleeves, sack-like, but I could see it's potential.

After a vast amount of pinning I had an alternative shaped coat with 3/4 sleeves, also narrowed of course, and lots of  newly constructed darts in the front and back and take-ins at the side seams.  The coat had some strange scarf-like appendage which was great for making a belt to nip in the waist.  Lastly, the hem was shortened and some vast shoulder pads removed.  Apart from that there wasn't much to do.....

My intention was to create a coat with a forties style vibe.  I think I kind of managed to pull it off.  The resulting attire will be given a further vintage makeover with the addition of a hat and maybe

some flowers.

But...... enough.  This isn't a refashion challenge, so - onto part 2, take the dress to night time.  Here's how I did it.

I'm a big fan of fake fur - anything to add a splash of glam to my wardrobe.  So I decided the dress could make it with the addition of some furry sophistication.  Enter 1 metre of forest green plush fake fur.  The perfect piece for a vintage style cozy glam collar.  Coming in a £25 per metre this was over 8 times more expensive than the actual coat.  However, it takes the dress from niceee to woweee and perfectly winter pretty.

   

As the fur was pretty thick I lined the back with some floral (including green, obviously) satin that I had lying around in my stash.  It wasn't the easiest to sew with but careful cutting helped, that and picking out the fur around theIsewn seams.

 
So, there it is.  One dress, two looks and a bargain spring coat to boot, all in the vintage style.

I hope I've inspired some of you to have a dig in your closet to find that unloved garment and jazz it up.  I think my green dress will definitely get some more wears now.

Happy Sewing

Linda xxx