Liz kind of blew my mind with her dress that she sent my way because I was just looking through magazines and ripped out a page with Jennifer Aniston wearing a plaid peplum Gucci dress from her appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
Her piece totally reminded me of it! Check it out...
I have sewn simple things for years, resizing large shirts for myself and my friends and such, but your website inspired me to go much further! I bought this white lace shirt/dress years ago at a local second-hand store because I loved the lace however because it was just a straight tube, it made my curvy body look huge. I was just going to resize it to make it fit me better, until…
…last year when I found this houndstooth dress at a really cheap thrift store in Montana! I probably spent less than $9 on the two.
A month or so ago I went dress shopping and found an amazing dress on sale for $45 (normally $70) with a white lace top and a great peplum skirt that zipped up past my hips and waist but got stuck at my ribs and bust. I left brokenhearted, but then just the next day, was totally inspired.
Let us see how inspired Liz really got!
Burdastyle posted an instructional (Click here for instructional!) about how to make a peplum and out of coincidence I was going through my stash of "sewing goals" that night and found the white lace top/dress and got inspired. I matched it up with the houndstooth and a bit of extra quilting fabric and after a mock up on the floor, I got started.
I took the sleeves off the houndstooth dress and ripped out the seams up the center to flatten them out. I cut the bottom part of the dress to the right length so I could keep the hem because I hate hemming! I took in the sides of the skirt, and put darts in the top to make them both more fitted. I pinned the houndstooth bottom to the white top and sewed it in place. Following the Burdastyle instructional, I used the remaining fabric to construct the peplum, giving it a wider diameter than my waist so that I could gather it in sections. I sewed the peplum in place, then the waistband...and then I cut down the center back. It took some fiddling, but I got the zipper in the back just right so that it zipped up past my bust! Finally, I took one of your hints and gathered the center of the bust line to create a deeper neckline.
In the end, I love this dress. I wore it to a Montana wedding (that's my beau in the pic) and it lasted the night.
This dress has become part go-to wardrobe and I am just so glad I took the plunge! Thanks for the inspiration Marisa! Soon I'll send you pictures of my own muumuu transformation!
