Lola loves… altering a summer skirt

Today’s post feels a bit of cheat. By now, I wanted to tell you all about the amazing dirndl skirt I’d made. Unfortunately, I haven’t. (Roll on the weekend so I can get busy with the sewing machine!) Buuuut, I did manage to adapt a too-short dress into a skirt. Here are the pics (apologies for the blurriness, I really must sort this camera situation out).

Here’s the dress in its original form

I liked the fabric of the dress, which is why I bought it (and it was a Primark cheapy), but the dress was too short. Also, it fell in ruches from under the bust which wasn’t at all flattering on me (did I mention it was a Primark cheapy?

So, I unpicked the top section (which is in a pretty black lace that I intend to sew into another dress later), leaving me with the bottom section which was the perfect length for a skirt.

I pinned ruches that fallen out when I unpicked the skirt and then sewed it to an elastic waistband with strong zigzag stitching. Of course, with firm stitching the elastic had less give so I made sure I used my usual waistband measurements, the bit of give that’s left allows me to get the skirt on and off.

If I was a good girl and had more time I’d have added a proper waistband and zip, but I’m impatient and wanted to get in quick to catch the uncharacteristically hot weather (four consecutive days of sun, am I still in England?)

I think it sits a lot better now and is far more flattering on my waist and legs. I must have worn the dress only a few times until I pushed it to the back of my wardrobe in frustration, but now it’s a skirt I’m sure it will become a staple.

And here’s the skirt I made it into