Vegas Reversa-Makeover!

Somehow I lost it....my party skirt...I lost it! I still can't find it :-( I made it 2 hours before I had to be at a party a few months ago and it came out just perfect. Then all of sudden it disappeared. As luck would have it, I was counting on it for an outfit during my Vegas trip but didn't bother to check until the day before! I had no plans of buying a new outfit nor time to make a whole new one nor anything I was willing to hack-up into something new......Enter the Reversa-Makeover © (It really isn't copyrighted, I just think it looks cooler with it) Basically I needed to quickly remake an existing garment into something party appropriate BUT it needed to be a reversible makeover so I can return the garment to its original non-party state. So after 30 minutes of giving my closet several passes and a really hard stare, I finally decided on a plain black knit dress. I usually run errands in it, its comfy and I like it the way it is. Time was edging closer to my flight's departure so here is what I came up with.


Here is the before. Just a regular about mid-calf length black v-neck dress . (Ignore the muslin under it...and ignore the mess while your at it)


I cut these geometric acrylic felt thingys and edgestitched them on to either side. I know what you are thinking...yes I used felt on a party garment - but its cheap, and easy to remove. Since the dress is too long for a party I shortened it by making it a "bubble" skirt. I basted the bottom edge and created gathering on the hem to reduce the fullness in the A-line. Then raised the original hem by 6" on the inside and tacked it by hand every 2-3 inches around the inside to keep it in place. The basting stitch for the gathering and the hand tacking are all done purposely so that removing them later on wont damage the dress. Here is the after:

And the action shot!

I rather like the lapel appliques....I might leave them on and just release the bottom. Either way, thank you Reversa-Makeover for saving the day!!