from scratch and the old thrift-fix

i thrifted an "esp - extra sure pattern" from goodwill for $.50 [victory #1] and spent over an hour and half cutting out the pieces.  now i just want to point out as america has gained weight, our clothing sizes have changed.  and ummm the pattern was just 1" too small at each measurement.  oh well. 

i took this pic when i thought i was 90% done [ie facing and shoulders complete, waist and sides sewn together].  another 1.5 hours after finishing cutting pieces.  in between pics i bought new lightbulbs [daylight instead of warm] and figured out how to better dry my poufy hair

little did i know, i would decide weeeell maybe more like 75% done.  i bias-taped [is that a word?] the arm holes after making them ever so slightly larger, cut off a few more inches from the hem, and added [then removed and resewed] hooks in place of the buttons since as i mentioned, it was a wee bit too small.

oh yea.  and i added pockets.  AWESOME friggin pockets.  the other pic is just to show more of my mad gathering skills even though theyre mostly hidden by the damn collar.

based very loosely on this pin:

Source: modcloth.com via Liz on Pinterest

for magical sewing piece #2 [also a victory] i have here a dark teal eddie bauer size small ponte awkward midi dress with a stain and a slit.  compare that if you will to the unknown brand size 16 petite.  i digress.  [though it is microsuede and $2.50 worth of amazing]

honestly beyond my stand-by of chopping of the bottom i was a bit at a loss of what to do.  so i looked up over-priced under-sized [is a large really an 8-10 you fuckers?] dresses on modcloth.  and found this little sold-out gem

Source: modcloth.com via Liz on Pinterest

so i busted out my gathering skills yet again and made a triple peplum.  which to my chagrin i recently found is pronounced pep-lum.  not pea-plum.  eeeeh. 

this pic is to show how it goes from the side seam to the random off-set front seam

this pic is to show the dress from a more flattering angle.

linking up to meagan of brass in pocket's thursdays are for thrifters, harper's happening's high on thrifting thursday, and erica of recycled fashion's finds #36