Upcycled Top #1

Going into this project, I didn't really have a pattern or an idea. I had an old dress with a pretty pattern, and I thought it was really soft and liked the idea of making it into something I would wear more often than the dress. The dress was unflattering on me, and I didn't like the look of all the stitching and different parts. Lucky for me, it was a cheap dress and easy to take apart.

My first step was taking apart each seam with a seam ripper. This was a long process due to all of the seams, so in hopes of shortening it, I cut the top apart from the bottom with a pair of scissors. My next step was to use a small seam ripper and take apart the seams. While doing this, I ran into a slight problem; sewn into each seam was a rubbery, thin piece of some kind of material. This made the stitching messed up and harder to maneuver my seam ripper to successfully get them apart without causing damage to the fabric itself. This was probably the hardest part and longest part, but everything after was fairly easy.

My next step was deciding what I wanted to make. I really wanted to make a pair of shorts; however, I didn't have enough fabric to make them. I thought of other things I could make, and I decided to make a type of shirt. I wanted it to be strapless, which in the end I think made my project easier. I measured the different parts of the shirt that I would need and did a rough stitch. Once I tried it on, I took some pins and fixed it to fit better, and then sewed it again. I only had to make one stitch along the back because I had just wrapped the fabric around my torso. 

Overall, I really like the top and think I did a good job. Unfortunately, it is winter time, so I won't be able to really wear it for a while, but I think I will wear it more than I would've worn the dress.