Pretty in Pink...Jumpsuit to Dress

Okay, I'm not suggesting that I'm pretty in pink (or anything else for that matter), but the dress is pink, and in the movie, Molly Ringwald's character actually does some refashioning herself.  So, the title seems appropriate!  So what do you think this latest refashion began it's life as?

Would you believe a pajama jumpsuit...do they really make such things?  When I first spotted this in the thrift store, I thought it was a jumpsuit from the eighties.  It wasn't until I got home that I realized it was actually pajamas, hence the word "intimate" on the label.  Seriously, who would ever want that many buttons on something you sleep in?  It also sported lots of gathering onto a dropped waist.  I don't know about you, but I'm not a fan of adding extra bulk around the hips and belly area!

So with some creative sewing, I turned some unused pajamas into a cute and comfy dress.  In keeping with the pajama theme, I even used a strip of bed sheet for the sash!  (Actually, I needed a strip of white fabric and sheet seemed to do the trick!)

The sleeves were cut from the bottom of the pant legs with elastic threaded through the original hem.

My youngest jumped in on the photo shoot!

Click here for a full tutorial of how it was done.

I like to link to these great parties.

Young Women Skirt Refashions

In an attempt to teach the young women at our church various ways to be frugal and self reliant, we did a little refashioning.  I picked up a couple of elastic waist skirts from Goodwill for a couple of bucks each.  The jungle skirt was tiered and full, the pink skirt was nice and long.  A few strategic cuts and simple seams and we came up with these...

The girls came straight from various activities, including tennis practice, and didn't know they would be modeling that night...but I think they look gorgeous anyway!

With the elastic at the neckline, the top slips on easily overhead.  The extra fabric cut from the bottom was used as a sash, although it would be cute with a black belt, too.

The jumper was really easy and just slips on overhead.  We didn't have the right t-shirt and belt handy, but you can still get the idea.

This is an idea of how we made the armhole cut.  My suggestion is that you start with a smaller cut to begin with, try it on, then cut a bigger opening if needed.

We placed the skirt on overhead before we made any cuts.  We marked how long we wanted the sleeves to be, and where our side seams should go.  We also determined the length.  Then we removed the skirt and cut as shown below.  The excess fabric was sewn into a sash.

These were pretty basic refashions, but it helped spark the girls' imaginations and see other possibilities.

I like to link to these great parties!