DIY Slit Back Dress (With small tutorial)

I started out with this funeral looking wool black dress from the 1980s.







I had to begin by altering the dress to better fit me. It sat a little too low in the sleeves so I removed them and raised them up slightly.







Then I removed the zipper from the back of the dress. The dress was fully lined which made things really easy for me. All I had to do was pin the lining back to the dress and sew.







I then added a hook and eye at the top of the dress to fasten the dress together.









I then re-attached the sleeves and determined how short I wanted them. I wanted quarter length sleeves.













I cut and hemmed the sleeves to my desired length.













Lastly I shortened the skirt and re-hemmed both the lining and the dress.

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My Labor of Love

This was a true labor of love for me. I found this old piece in my parent's garage, packed away with some of my grandma's things. The only thing on it that was finished was the little bit of black in the pansy at the bottom. Well I took to finishing it and after a year I have finally completed it to my satisfaction. Trust me, I took it apart anytime I didn't like anything. This was a true mark of my love for my grandmother and a tribute to her.

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Feather Scarf Tutorial!

Ok, I promised someone a couple weeks ago that I would do this tutorial, but things got crazy- and I'm too damned lazy to make another one so I am going to do a tutorial, in drawings... but I also took a ton of detailed photos of my feather scarf so here it is!




What You'll Need:

2 Ostrich feathers.
Matching satin
Ribbon
Needle and thread
Sewing machine (optional)
Iron

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Be My Valentine Bustier DiY

I told you to watch for it and here it is!





What you'll need

1 old bustier top
1/2 yard Synthetic satin
1/2 yard Organza
1/4 yard tulle
Lighter/candle (candle is a bit easier)
Needle and thread
sequins
A Lot of Time and probably a few mini-series or a netflix account.

I wont lie to you- you're going to spend several hours, cutting out cirlces- burning them and then sewing them into little flowers. But the overall effect is so worth it.

To make your flowers cut a ton of little circles from different types of fabrics in the same color range.



I averaged about 100 flowers with an average of 4 petals per flower so that would make about 400 circles you'll be cutting.

After you've cut tons of circles (they don't have to be perfect- in fact the less perfect they are the better they look) Burn any raw edges that may fray.




Next take your needle and thread and sew through the center of your petals to create your flower.





Top it off with a sequin and tie it off.



You're going to be busy making these.



To check on your progress pin your flowers to your bodice.





After you've filled it up make at least 20 more because you'll find yourself with not nearly enough after you sew everything on otherwise.

That's the hard long painful part! After that its super easy. If you're lazy- don't plan on ever washing it or wearing it more than once you could probably cheat and glue them on using a hot glue gun but if you want something more stable than get out your needle and thread.

This time use a thread that matches the color of your bodice.

The great thing about bustiers is that they are double layers. This will make it super easy to sew on without a mess on the back.

Start by placing your needle on the top of your bodice and run it through the top layer only of your bodice.



Make sure the entire time you are sewing on your flowers you are only sewing through the top layer of your bustier and you'll have a clean finish with no threads or knots in the back. This takes virturally no time at all compared to all the time you spent making flowers but in all you'll probably spend a good 5 + hours on this project. So worth it though right?

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