This is what happens to a vintage handmade smocked sundress when it comes home with me.
It turns into a flouncy little girl’s skirt and….
…a flouncy little girl dress.
It wasn’t put together very well, (which is the main reason I was OK with cutting it up) and so I had to resew most of it except for the smocking, which is surprisingly good considering how the rest of the dress was finished. I don’t have a serger and so I use French Seams to finish everything on the inside. It was a fairly long dress with a wide ruffle on the bottom, so I just cut of the bottom half and finished a few hems. This is the first time I have re-purposed a dress like this but I like how it turned out so much I think I will keep my eyes open for more dresses like this.
I like that the dress can go from a dress for a little girl to a shirt for a bigger girl. The smocking stretches out quite a lot and I think I put the ties where they will work for a bigger girl. I guess they could always tuck the straps in too and wear it strapless.
I added a ribbon ruffle to the bottom using grosgrain ribbon and I am quite happy with how it turned out considering I took the Chicken’s example and didn’t pin anything. Stella has a pair of pants that have a ribbon ruffle and I have been wanting to try it for awhile now.
I also added a little ribbon rosette with a button in a spot where the fabric (being vintage) was a little thin.
I think I am going to keep the dress for Stella, since I can’t help it, but the skirt is now in the local shop. I think it is about a size 5, give or take a few. (The elastic is pretty stretchy).
