Saved by the scissors

A few weeks ago I was cleaning out my closet and found a dress in the far corner. It was the kind of dress that adds five years and twenty pounds to your appearance. For said reasons I'm not going to model it on da blog, but you get the picture. No?
Now you do:

 

I was ready to toss it but then it crossed my mind the polka dot fabric could be re-used for facings or pocket linings. Okay, toss the bodice, keep the skirt. 

On closer inspection of the construction I got a new plan. I'd been wondering for some time whether or not a peplum top would work on my body type. So instead of throwing the bodice in the bin I tried out some peplum variations. Added a gathered piece of muslin..nahh. Looked as frumpy as the original. I tried a half circle, better! I even started to like it! 

As you can see the (wrap)dress had a slight A-line skirt so there was not much to play with once I decided to go see if refashioning could rehabilitate this sad piece of RTW. I drafted some pattern pieces, shaved, hacked, cut, added a back seam, all to make it work. 

The original waistband was a bit large so I used the ties to create a better fit. Hence some extra wrinkles, but I'm okay with those. In fact they remind me of the little pleats in the bodice of Vogue 8379, a wrap dress I made last winter.

I'm happy with the result and I have already been wearing it a few times, together with my Mabel skirt. A fun project!

Happy sewing!