Jazz Hall Skirt

I have been dying to make some of the clothes in Wenlan Chia's Twinkle Sews Book ever since I bought it several months back. A few days ago I decided it had been long enough. My first project was one of my favorites which is the Jazz Hall Skirt. I love the way this skirt moves. The flounces around the bottom are so sultry. You can't help but walk with a slight swager.

Make Me New-Dress to Skirt #2

When I saw this dress I was crazy for the print, but when I put it on it was like most dresses, just a bit too short for my g-line and my comfort level. I bought it anyway and decided to make it into a skirt.

Dresses like this are easy to transform into a skirt. Think about where you want your new waist band to be and make the necessary adjustments.

Don't take out the zipper completely. Just take it out enough to make your first cut.

Try is on at this point to check the fit. Most likely you will have to manipulate the "new" waist band for a better fit. I liked how it fit at the skirt seam but it flared at the top.

So I took out the side and middle seams and adjusted them to fit snugly.

I had to taper my seam line to get the perfect fit.

Once your fit is good you can finish it off by folding the edge over and top stitching the right side.

The final step is to re attach the zipper. I like to do it by hand.

Make me New-Dress to Skirt #1

I have a few dresses that have been in my good will pile for awhile but I recently moved them from that pile to my refashion pile. I hoped to show how I reconstructed this step by step but it got complicated quickly when I realized I had to take out the pleats in the back, add darts, re-fit the entire waist band and replace the zipper. I have two more dresses in the works that I think are less complicated and I will show how I've refashioned them.

Here is what I started with. I loved the color but I didn't like the way it fit on the top.

First I cut off the top.

It was supposed to be really simple from here but when I tried it on I realized I would have to refit the waist.

I took out the pleats in the back so I didn't have a bubble bum. I had to scoop the line a bit and add darts to create a good fit in the back. I also broke the zipper. My simple project keep getting a little more complicated.

And just when I was nearing the end Jack got a hold of my scissors and did his own altering. I had so many scrapes around but of course he had to cut along my perfect hem line.

But I was happy with the end product and the fit was nearly perfect.

Now I just can't gain any weight.