Going from a muu-muu to muuuuchhh better.

Last year I bought a dress for $4 which is an amazing price, but when I put it on, it looked like a muu-muu (am I even spelling that right?). So I decided to take my first venture into sewing without a tutorial or pattern and it turned out surprisingly well. Here is a tutorial if you would like to try doing it yourself.

So here was the beginning product:

The dress wasn't quite long enough and really needed a tie to break up the funny design and create some structure to make it more flattering. So my first step was to go buy fabric that coordinated with the dress. Make sure to match the color and type of fabric as closely as possible. I simply took the dress with me when I went to find fabric. Make sure the fabric has the same feel, stretchiness, and color.

THE HEM:
Okay so I don't have good pictures of the process because I didn't take pictures while I did it. But the next thing to do is measure the bottom of your dress (just one side, not the circumference) and add a seam allowance to that number of 1 inch (this number is your width). Then figure out how long you want your hem plus 1/2 inch, then double that number (this number is your height). Hopefully that makes sense.

Take the height and width and cut out two pieces of that width and height.

For both pieces, fold the height down so that you don't have to do a hem, because the fabric will just be folded. Then sew the two pieces together on each side with 1/2 inch seam allowance. My dress kind of flared as it went down, so I sewed the pieces at a slight angle so they flared a little too.

Then iron those seams flat so you can sew over them (look left). Then match the bottoms of your dress and hem (the non-folded side) together and pin really well. Make sure to match the two together at the seams on the side of the dress. Then sew.

Now that I have a serger, I would also serge afterwards. If you don't have a serger, just zig-zag stitch

THE TIE:
Figure out how long you want the tie and how thick, then double that number and add a 1 inch seam allowance. Turn inside out and sew it along the long edge to make a long tube. Flip right-side out.


Iron the tie so that the seam is on the backside of the tie. Then tuck in the edges on both ends and sew over to close up the tie.

So I was really scientific about the placement of the tie (and I'm totally being sarcastic). I tried the dress on, held up the tie, marked with an erasing ink marker where I wanted the top of the tie to be on the side (where the dress seam is). Then I took off the dress, measured down from the bottom of the sleeve seam to where the tie was, then marked that length on the other side. I honestly could have put the tie a little taller on this dress, but who said it was perfect? :)

Now you're going to pin the tie to the dress where you marked (make sure there's a pretty even tie on each side leftover). Also make sure you pull both tight so that your tie isn't too loose. After you've pinned it really well, just sew over the tie starting at the top, making a huge rectangle to do the bottom and sides also. Make sure you separate the two layers of dress before you sew so you you're not sewing the insides of the dress together! And make sure where you're sewing on the sides is right along the dress seam.

And wah-la! You're done! With a dress like mine, when you tie it in the back, the fabric back there will naturally bunch together and look nice. And it gives you a nice silhouette!

If you learn anything from this I hope it's that you can easily alter a dress to give it a fresh look or to make it more modest or stylish. All it takes is a little guts and a sewing machine!