NDAD: Christmas Edition!

Dec 26, 2010 | 57 Comments

Happy Holidays!!  I hope everyone has been enjoying the week…braving the rains, snows, crowded mall parking lots and flight delays across the country…tis the season, right?

In staying with tradition (ok, well the tradition began last year and will clearly be continuing…) I had to come up with another holiday ensemble for a dollar.  This my friends was a buck and was going to be my holiday dress!!

Christmas: Before

Christmas: Before

Wooly, plaid and with black porcelain heart buttons.  I can hear the jingle bells now!

First thing I did was grab my scissors and got to cutting.  I wanted to go short so I could wear some fun black opaque tights with boots.

Goin short!

Goin short!

Post shortening, I grabbed my seam rippers and took off the sashes that were connected on each side of the dress.  These were made to be tied in the back but I was going to change it up a bit.

Unseaming the sashes!

Unseaming the sashes!

With both sashes off, I pinned two of the edges together to sew (in a few minutes) and turn it into one big sash.

Sashes detached!

Sashes detached!

I pinned the edges of the skirt…

Pin down the new edges

Pin down the new edges

…and began the fast trek on the sewing machine!  Got my sash in one long piece, the bottom of my dress hemmed as well a little taking in up top.  I cinched about an inch below each arm hole and tightened up shop.

Sew down!

Sew down!

My Christmas ensemble was complete!  Granted the Los Angeles temps were back to somewhat normal for December (midish-60s) so I kept the sleeveless thing going.  If it were raining like it had been for the past week, I would have thrown on a long or 3/4 sleeve black top just to stay warm.

Christmas: After

Christmas: After

My brother and I always have a blast finding our handmade nursery school ornaments on the tree each year.  Loved rocking those overalls back in the 80s!!

Circa 1984

Circa 1984

I also paired my dress with an awesome black velvet blazer that I found in my pile sale sifting!  It had a small tear at the shoulder that was easily fixed for the night with a safety pin.  I’ll take care of some hand stitching before the next wearing!

Happy Holidays!!

Happy Holidays!!

I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday break!!  Fun news about next year comes this week….get ready!!

In all
  • Anonymous

    very cute! glad you are still posting your outfits. i have to say i miss them! :)

  • Guest

    SO EXCITING! CAN’T WAIT for the New Year and everything that you will be doing! Happy Holidays to you and your family/friends! :)

  • http://twitter.com/slavetofashion Cathy Benavides

    One time I sewed a button on……and then it fell off again. You are my inspiration to get better at DIY sewing projects. You amaze me!!

  • Shrav

    Glad to see u back once in a while…..

  • Susan Clugston

    Very Cute!! I heart the heart buttons! Can’t wait to hear the news!!

  • Jupiter70775

    its a cute dress, its too bad you couldnt get the hem in the front even where it buttoned. wool is very bulky & hard to work w/.

  • Annynhajc

    Perfect!!!
    Merry Christmas

    bjaum

  • http://amyfashionblog52.blogspot.com/ Amy

    Super Cute. I love the ornament of you.

    http://amyfashionblog52.blogspot.com/

  • Mother of the Wild Boys

    This one is absolutely adorable, great job! Your blog continues to inspire me to try new things with the clothes I already have. Thanks, and Happy Holidays. :)

  • A.Fox

    That is SO cute! Kinda makes me wish I’d done a holiday look of some kind….instead of the “wear pajamas all day” thing. Haha:). Hope you had a great Christmas.
    http://nomoclothesmoney.blogspot.com/

  • http://www.coffeetalksandcatwalks.com T!ffany

    How Fabulous are those little buttons. Such cute detail. Love the plaid.

    http://www.coffeetalksandcatwalks.com

  • Jessica in Portland

    The after pic (and of course the dress itself) is so adorable!!! Thanks for the post!

  • Jazz

    This one is so cute! Just perfect! Merry Christmas!

  • Bekyip

    happy christmas you clever lady

  • Margo

    IDK…. maybe?
    Hope you had a great christmas though! :)

  • MandeeSparkle

    Oh my gosh! I love this one so much! I wish my revamps looked as cute as yours! You just have a cute body as well~

    http://onewordthreepictures.blogspot.com

  • LucyMarie

    Again a winner! I would like to see what you can do with a long dress (you have awesome legs and a great body, so I understand wanting to show it off) and not just cut the length off. Blessed New Year!

  • AJ

    Oh my gosh, how adorable!!! Love it! Couldn’t imagine how this one could be helped. Awesome job!

  • Smaepea

    Great job on the dress, from frumpy to fabulous!

  • Wantchevy1961

    II love plaids! I don’t care what type or size. I love what you did with the jumper.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Melissa-Kurtz/508603306 Melissa Kurtz

    Amazing! I would have never made the connection, I would have just thrown that bad boy into the discard pile! Of course, that is how you end up with such fabulous finds!

  • Elven87

    I’ve been following for about six months and have to say…you are so inspiring. This dress could cost an easy $30 at Target or Wal Mart…and you made it for a fraction of that…it’s still just as beautiful.

  • dosfashionistas

    Great look! Love the plaid for this time of year. And you got to keep your pockets this time!

    I have one Christmas sewing project finished, and one still in progress. D2 and her D1 will be getting matching robes sometime this week. (I am still in line for my resolution, as this is week three and I will have completed 3 garments.)

  • Jerri Tanya

    Very Merry Christmas plaid :-D . Great look!

  • Kissem37

    cute!

  • http://amomschoice.com amomschoice

    Love the plaid. Looks great on you. And Kids in school think plaid is new.

    http://www.amomschoice.com

  • Fashnmama

    So cute….And your hair curly….so glam!!!

  • Anonymous

    OMG! Cute as a button. You just need a plate of cookies and a glass of milk and you’d have had Santa completing his route in record time :)

  • Denise

    This is adorable!

  • twinkle

    Yay, I missed you this last week! Hope you enjoyed Christmas with your family. I love the dress, it’s so Christmasy.

    http://www.visiondelmundo.com

  • Nancy

    I love it! You did a great job a usual and did not disappoint! :-D
    http://needleshooksbooks.blogspot.com/

  • http://aboutagirlstyle.blogspot.com/ Jenny

    I love what you did and I love your blog! :-)

    Jenny
    http://aboutagirlstyle.blogspot.com/

  • http://aboutagirlstyle.blogspot.com/ Jenny

    I love what you did and I love your blog! :-)

    Jenny
    http://aboutagirlstyle.blogspot.com/

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_G2JNLCBXMLOIFZKQ2RIXJLVKU4 ladybug

    Awesome! I also want to THANK YOU for an amazing Christmas present. I told my sister I was following your blog and wanted to start sewing and fixing things more so she got me a BRAND NEW sewing machine for Christmas (I was looking for a used one on Craigslist but hey I’ll take it!). Now I guess I have to learn to sew.

  • http://www.glamourglassandgems.wordpress.com Tabitha

    Very cute! I hope you enjoyed your Christmas!

  • Vjpulver

    I have an affinity for red plaid flannel…so I enjoyed this remake quite a bit. Your finished garment is adorable!
    “Ginn”
    In Sunny SC

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Elisabete-Konig-Lebsa/1086054808 Elisabete König Lebsa

    Ficou ótimo! Sua ideia de desenvolver esse site foi genial e até apareceu em uma revista brasilera.
    Parabéns.

  • Lauren

    Super cute!

    iwilltouchthesky.blogspot.com

  • Lauraly

    Very cute! Happy New Year!

  • Julia
  • Natalie Rebuck

    Still love the blog….keep up the great work!!
    Regards,
    Natalie
    http://exquisitusfashion.blogspot.com/

  • Suvikki

    =) Looks really good! Something new for New Year´s Eve?

  • http://misspinkles.wordpress.com misspinkles

    what a cute little dress!

    happy holidays!!

    http://misspinkles.wordpress.com

  • slipstitch

    I love what you are doing here. My mother used to “Up Cycle” stuff from the Salvation Army for me to wear to school when I was a kid. Never thought it would be “fashionable” to do that now.

  • slipstitch

    I love what you are doing here. My mother used to “Up Cycle” stuff from the Salvation Army for me to wear to school when I was a kid. Never thought it would be “fashionable” to do that now.

  • http://newjewelryaday.blogspot.com/ NewJewelryADay

    Love the dress! Great look. Shows the difference between fashion from coast to coast. On Xmas, we were wearing serious snow boots, etc back east to deal with the 20+ inches of snow that caused us all to have a slooow and quiet Xmas.

    http://newjewelryaday.blogspot.com/

  • L.C.

    super cute! And plaid always seems to be in during the fall/winter months! :)

  • http://misspinkles.wordpress.com misspinkles

    Happy new years darling.
    Looking forward to your creations in 2011.

    http://misspinkles.wordpress.com

  • http://www.365daysofsewing.com Stephanie

    Don’t knock the 80′s overalls! They are a classic. :) Love the holiday dress. Very cute.

  • Susie

    Happy New Year and enjoy this cute dress!

  • Trickyriver

    You are Amazing ! and inspirational to boot ….. keep up the good work

  • This is serious crap

    i seriously DONT GET why everyones so nice here. like this whole fuckin thing is anonymous so no one knows! HAVE A LITTLE FUN PEOPLE!! btw i really dont think ur all that good at designing

    • Vieja

      There is enough hate in the world without people like you adding to it..don’t like what you see go elsewhere..

    • Taylorraebundy

      agreed…enough hate…spread the love and peace!

    • mtn88

      you are an idiot. why would you come to a blog for the sole purpose of flaming it? find something better to do with your time. if you have nothing nice to say — go away. also, being anonymously mean is still hurtful and quite cowardly. it is NOT fun. grow up.

      marisa, i think you are an inspiration. thank you for all of your hard work.

  • Sis-O

    you are so smart and have a great vision for repurpose. My mom, aunt and sisters are serious thrift store hags. we each have driven (on purpose) to arkansas, louisiana, georgia, new york- just to go to flea markets. i usually search for old fabrics or unfinished quilt pieces. my mom for clothes. my aunt for junk and my youngest sis for antique furniture. so much fun. glad to find another who “gets it.”

  • lorraine mabbett

    There are 98 pads.
    mabbettlorraine at yahoo dot com