I bought a vintage dress off of a sale rack. I liked the bright colors, bell sleeves, and sweetheart neckline. It had a small barely noticeable stain. I sprayed it with stain remover. Washed it. No change. I colored over tiny stain with a sharpie thinking it would blend in with the large motif. Nah. Nope. Bad idea. I washed it and ended up with TWO stains on my $5 vintage dress.
It also had some loose stitching on a back dart and it was a little tight. I was able to move in it but given the other issues I decided to proceed with fashion surgery and turn it into a tunic.
I pretty much altered the dress the same way I did the too small one from last year. In addition to adding slits, I cut some length to chop off the stain too.
DIY Dress to Tunic
Supplies Needed:
old dress
matching thread
scissors
seam ripper
sewing machine or liquid stitch
Instructions:
Measure and mark where you want the tunic length to fall. Leave an inch or two more for a hem.
Cut off the excess by making a snip at the side seam and then cutting around following your markings.
Open the side seams with the seam ripper to desired length. I tried the top on and carefully picked the stitching on one side until it was where I wanted then used that length for the other side.
Fold the hem allowance over and sew in place. Topstitch the side slits if you're feeling extra fancy.
All done and then I decided to remove the back darts for extra comfort. I picked them open with my seam ripper then ironed out the creases. Opening darts are great when you need a little extra space!
old dress
matching thread
scissors
seam ripper
sewing machine or liquid stitch
Instructions:
Measure and mark where you want the tunic length to fall. Leave an inch or two more for a hem.
Cut off the excess by making a snip at the side seam and then cutting around following your markings.
Open the side seams with the seam ripper to desired length. I tried the top on and carefully picked the stitching on one side until it was where I wanted then used that length for the other side.
Fold the hem allowance over and sew in place. Topstitch the side slits if you're feeling extra fancy.
All done and then I decided to remove the back darts for extra comfort. I picked them open with my seam ripper then ironed out the creases. Opening darts are great when you need a little extra space!
I do not like cutting up true vintage. I like the "as-is" look of it. I wouldn't have worn it otherwise though and I'm glad I made the choice to cut. All of the great details are on top anyway.
Do you alter vintage?
The Details
vintage earrings - thrift store
earrings - gift
ring - Henri Bendel
vintage tunic - diy
Eddie Bower jeans (to shorts) - thrift store
Seychelles wedge sandals - Amazon
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