Feelin Crafty: An 80's Redesign

Remember this 80's beaut? Well, after 7 months of hanging in the back of my closet, it's finally done. Better late than never, I always say.

I got this cheese-tastic, shoulder-padded number at Goodwill last winter for $4. I loved the fabric but struggled with what to do with it. The material is really slippery which made altering difficult. I tried cutting off the sleeves and taking the sides in but ultimately it was a puckered mess, so I took an easier route and made a skirt. 

Here's what I did.

I cut just below the elastic waist of the dress. With the skirt right side out, I pinned and sewed my waistband material to the top, wrong side out. 

Then, after folding the waistband up, both materials were right side out. Next, I folded the waistband over half way and then over again (toward the inside of the skirt) to meet the bottom of the seam I just sewed. This is the casing for the elastic. Pressing between each fold helps to ensure a nice even edge for sewing. 

I turned the skirt inside out, pinned the casing and sewed, leaving an opening to feed the elastic through at the end. Be sure the width of your casing is slightly larger than the width of your elastic. 

Once my elastic was inside the casing, I sewed the opening shut and turned the skirt right side out. 

Done!

Happy redesigning!