What can I make out of this dress?

What can I make out of this dress?
A while ago (two years) I got this dress, and while it’s beautiful, I hate the sleeves and the neckline are too large for my taste, and I can’t return it. The arms has lacing, and feels very uncomfortable, so those has to be changed. The back of the dress also has lacing, but that I want to keep.
The fabric itself I love. It’s a comfortable mix of Cotten and linen.
So, I have decided to cut it up and make something else out of it, I just don’t know what. Any ideas?

It would be fairly easy to cut off the sleeves at the top the of the lacing and hem them to be short sleeves--either turn under and hem (will be a bit sloppy) or use bias tape to hem.  Then if the neckline is too big, use a large piece of the cut off sleeve to make an inset at the neckline.  I did a very quick photoshop :)  

Or just make a skirt of it?  If it doesn't have pockets yet, add some too!  

I think what I envision is called a waistcoat. Sort of a long vest where the top half buttons but wouldn't have to, and the " skirt" half doesn't. It would be meant to wear over something else like a tunic and trousers. The detailing feels very Ren faire!

I'd make it into a skirt and a vest/laced sort of corset thing and have all the pretty parts used on it.

I would likely remove the sleeves, use them to make pockets for it, and wear it with a blouse under it, jumper style.

Laura Trovillion wrote:I think what I envision is called a waistcoat. Sort of a long vest where the top half buttons but wouldn't have to, and the " skirt" half doesn't. It would be meant to wear over something else like a tunic and trousers. The detailing feels very Ren faire!

I love dresses of any kind, and prefer to dress in very old fashioned clothes. Some of my clothes are, as you figured out, clothes most people wear at a renaissance fair. It’s a style I love. Not just for how it looks, but how it protects my body. Temperature regulation, is something my body is really bad at, so I am at risk of over heating or getting too cold. This kind of style is made for layers. Depending on how hot or cold it gets, I can adjust by wearing more or fewer things underneath my dress or skirt, and the natural materials like cotton, linen and wool are really good at keeping my body at the right temperature. I will keep your suggestion in mind, when I decide what to do. Most of my clothes are expensive unless I have sown it myself, so I hate having something in my closet I can’t wear.

Pearl Sutton wrote:I'd make it into a skirt and a vest/laced sort of corset thing and have all the pretty parts used on it.

Hmm, I do have a corset, I am working on, that needs a pretty fabric overlay. Maybe I can make that a top to go with a skirt.
Hmm. I also have several vest patterns, since I made two last year. Thanks for the suggestion

Carla Burke wrote:I would likely remove the sleeves, use them to make pockets for it, and wear it with a blouse under it, jumper style.

Thank you, I really appreciate that suggestion. I was so sure it already had pocket, but when I checked it didn’t have them, something I really do need to correct. It won’t work to make a jumper, since the neckline is so large and deep I am basically flashing everyone if I wear it LOL.
That said, I am definitely going  to add pockets and change it from a dress to a skirt. The top part can be made into either a vest or corset top maybe. I have to check my patterns to see if I have enough fabric.
I think, that maybe I can use the neckline material for the waistband of the skirt. If there isn’t enough material to make a top, I might be able to combine it with black fabric from my fabric stash.

G Freden wrote:It would be fairly easy to cut off the sleeves at the top the of the lacing and hem them to be short sleeves--either turn under and hem (will be a bit sloppy) or use bias tape to hem.  Then if the neckline is too big, use a large piece of the cut off sleeve to make an inset at the neckline.  I did a very quick photoshop  

Or just make a skirt of it?  If it doesn't have pockets yet, add some too!  

Yes, pockets are a must. The problem with the neckline, is that it keeps falling down over my shoulders, so it would need an extended rework. I could add straps to keep it up, but in general I like dressing modestly. I will think it over.
If I turn it into a skirt, I could use the neckline for the waistband or as a belt, and combine it all with a black blouse or top. If I end up making a top out of some of it. It would probably need some structure support, the fabric are too soft for it to work on its own. All of you are really giving me things to think about.
Thank you for helping

What a lovely dress!

You could take the lacing out of the sleeves by unpicking the seams that hold the loops, taking the loops out, and re-sewing them. But that won't fix it if the sleeves are too tight over all.

I think if I wanted to change this as little as possible to get a dress out the other end that meets your standards, I would start by cutting the stitching which attaches the trim to the neckline and wrists, to free up the trim pieces. I'd then cut the sleeves off to leave short sleeves at a length I found flattering on myself. I would use the trim that came off the neckline to finish the sleeves, with a bit left over.

To fix the neckline, I'd start by unpicking the seams across the tops of the shoulders back a bit from the old neckline, and any other seams that went into the old neckline as well. I would unpick all the seams on the former sleeves that I'd cut off, to get pieces of donor fabric. I would piece the donor fabric back together to fill in the neckline, being very careful to get the seams symmetrical relative to the finished garment, and lining up the grain. Then I'd add the now-large-enough bits of donor fabric in to the neck hole, not worrying about how the garment won't have a good neckline just yet. I'd then pin the heck out of it so nothing moves and carefully join the donor fabric onto the dress body, folding all the raw edges under and into the space where there's 2 layers of fabric, so no raw edges are exposed to unravel later.

Then it'd be ready for me to trace a better neckline, and probably lengthen the shoulder seams as well since the new neckline will be narrower. I'd trace the neckline off a garment that I like the fit of, preferably one made from a similar fabric. I would go for a keyhole type neckline, with a vertical slit in the front to ensure that that the finished neck fits easily over the head. The trim that came off the wrists would be perfect for finishing that neck slit. Last, I would try to get the leftover trim attached to the now-smaller neck hole, but I would be prepared for it not to want to make a tight enough curve.

Some of the former arm lacing could be moved to the neck slit if you like the look of having that part lace up.

I would personally open the back seams with the lacing and add a bunch of the sleeve lacing into them, because I like the look of densely spaced lacing (like the current sleeve situation) better than the current back setup, but that's pure preference and you might have other views.

Now, if you want to make something other than a dress... it'd make a lovely purse or bag if you take all the trim off then put it back on strategically, or a cover for anything around the home that needs a cover, or a curtain (cotton/linen will fade in the sun worse than synthetics, though it's easy to re-dye, perhaps with natural materials). If you have any old items of similar fabric weight that are getting too worn to patch, you could use the old thing as a pattern to sew a copy of it from the newer fabric.

Ulla Bisgaard wrote:

Carla Burke wrote:I would likely remove the sleeves, use them to make pockets for it, and wear it with a blouse under it, jumper style.

Thank you, I really appreciate that suggestion. I was so sure it already had pocket, but when I checked it didn’t have them, something I really do need to correct. It won’t work to make a jumper, since the neckline is so large and deep I am basically flashing everyone if I wear it LOL.
That said, I am definitely going  to add pockets and change it from a dress to a skirt. The top part can be made into either a vest or corset top maybe. I have to check my patterns to see if I have enough fabric.
I think, that maybe I can use the neckline material for the waistband of the skirt. If there isn’t enough material to make a top, I might be able to combine it with black fabric from my fabric stash.

These are the kind of jumper I meant:

I haven't tried any of these, but they look simple enough.

Carla Burke wrote: These are the kind of jumper I meant:

Thank you for clarifying it.

Always supposing that the end result should be a dress. . .
As long as the lacing on the sleeves follows the straight grain of the fabric, I can see the neckline filled in with a portion of the cut off bits.  Maybe half from one sleeve and completing with its matching bit from the other sleeve - depending where the underarm seam is situated. That may still leave enough for pockets.
@Joylynn Hardesty  Thanks for posting the video - I hadn't got past running narrow elastic through the ribbing. A great new way to fasten off the thread too!

Jill Dyer wrote:A I can see the neckline filled in with a portion of the cut off bits..

That was my thought too. The detail on that neckline is awesome and I think it would be a shame to alter it, but using some of the sleeve fabric to create a type of modesty panel to close it off a bit, like the one in the photo below only made with the same fabric and maybe shaped a bit more artistically to complement the dress.

Burra Maluca wrote:

Jill Dyer wrote:A I can see the neckline filled in with a portion of the cut off bits..

That was my thought too. The detail on that neckline is awesome and I think it would be a shame to alter it, but using some of the sleeve fabric to create a type of modesty panel to close it off a bit, like the one in the photo below only made with the same fabric and maybe shaped a bit more artistically to complement the dress.

A modesty panel won’t work. The neckline is so large, that the sides pop over my shoulders. That said, I love the embroidered detail too.
I have decided to go with the jumper idea, and use the embroidered part for the straps and around the top part.
My daughter is  at school today, so she isn’t using the sewing machine, so I am going to try and get it done today.

I decided to do the jumper style, since it fits in with other dresses and aprons I own. It also means that I can leave the back lacing as it is. The problem with removing the lacing, is that the company doesn’t color their clothes until after they have finished sowing them. This means that I am dealing with white spots, where I remove the lacing.
I also have many chemises with different types and lengths of the sleeves, I have belts that will fit the dress too, and several blouses I can use underneath it.
This is where I am now. (See pictures)p
On the mannequin it looks too long, but that’s because it’s set to my daughter’s hight. She is 5.4 and I am 5.7.
While the machine and mannequin is mine, my daughter is studying to become a seamstress, so she is the one who uses it the most, until she buys her own.

Looks good.  Will you be able to add the pockets, maybe at the side seams?  

G Freden wrote:Looks good.  Will you be able to add the pockets, maybe at the side seams?  

I am not sure, but I am going to try. The skirt has insets to make it spread out more, and they start in the location where I would normally add a pocket. I am going to try though.