This week was all about the upcycle. One of Stella's favorite soft, ruffly shirts suffered a "misfortune", and needed a new lease on life.
(You might recall this particular shirt from this post, just last week.)
I also had some linen that I was anxious to use, so a project was born!
The shirt needed to be a soft cream color to coordinate better with the linen, so into a quick dye-bath it went...
There was no pattern necessary for this dress. I simply cut the front and back panels in a very slight a-line shape, adding enough extra width to allow for five pleats.
I then cut an oval shape out of the bottom so that I could insert a ruffled section cut from a Battenburg lace table runner. I also used the edges of the runner for a lace trim all around the bottom of the skirt.
Some velvet ribbon rosettes and a few pearls for a pretty detail.
A vintage brooch in the front for a tiny bit of sparkle.
We are not usually big fans of "matchy-matchy", but couldn't resist fashioning a simple headband out of a few of the rosettes. These are merely ruffled circles in two sizes. The headband itself is also wrapped in the ivory ribbon.
A girl in a new dress has got places to go, even on a warm, damp, foggy morning.
And whatever her plans, they required a glass glitter cone on a pearl chain casually hung on her shoulder like a purse.
She must be planning to collect some extra-special treasures in there. We can't wait to see...
xoxo
Debbie & Shea
