This dress has just been collecting dust in my closet for nearly a decade waiting for me to do something with it. The time has finally come for it to be something more wearable for me. Something more functional…

The Dusty Dress…

So I’ve had this black maxi dress for years. Like at least 7 years. It’s super comfy, but honestly I just dont wear it. I don’t remember where I got it but you can get similar ones everywhere still. I should have ordered a size smaller than I did. See, I got this before I started making the majority of the things I wear. I really like the fabric, but the maxi length is too heavy for the neck band so it stretches out when I wear it. Then it gets too long and I trip on it. Uhg, it’s pretty much a super comfy disaster everytime I wear it so I just don’t wear it.

The Inspiration…

I often scroll through online boutiques for inspiration on my next project. I came across this jumpsuit and it gave me an idea for what to do with this dress. I could make a similar dropped crotch jumpsuit with cropped legs. 

The Plan…

Here’s what I was going to do:

• Make the bottom part of the dress pants
• Take a little off the outside of the legs
• Shorten the legs
• Reinforce the neck so it doesn’t stretch out

Make Some Legs…

The first thing I did was turn the dress inside out and pine the side seams together. The dress was a bit wonky and I needed to be sure the legs were even. Then I measure from the bottom up 22 inches. I drew a line and curved it at the top. I did this on both the front and the back of the dress. Then I cut on those lines. This is how I made the bottom part of the dress legs. 

Crop the Legs…

To crop the legs, I took out the pins that were holding the sides in place. Then I sewed the inseam and tried it on so I could determine the length I wanted. I also wanted to see if I needed to take any width off below the pockets. Now, some of you might want to just stop right here and consider this little project finished. However, the legs were still too long for me and I wasn’t very fond of that slit down the sides of both the legs.

Once I had decided what to do, I turned it back inside out and laid it front side up. I measure and cut 6 inches off the bottom and 1 inch off the outside seam.  I didn’t want to redo the pockets so I made sure to taper what I was taking off to be flush with the outside seam a little below the pockets.

I sewed the inside seams and then the outside seams first with a straight stitch and then with my serger so it would match the seams in the rest of the dress. I finished the legs off with a 1 inch hem and my twin needle so it would look professional.

No More Stretched out Neck…

Now to tackle the neck. To do that I measured the back part of the neck from shoulder to shoulder, which was 14 inches. Then I cut a ¼ inch elastic to 9 inches and attached it to the inside of the neckband from shoulder to shoulder. I attached it with a zig zag stitch. Having the elastic on the back of the neck is also great because I will be taking the jumpsuit off and on through the neck.

Now That’s More Like It!

I tried it on and loved it immediately. I liked that the neckband felt more secure with the elastic, I even liked how it looked slightly gathered. Because the legs were cropped they were less heavy now and I definitely wouldn’t be tripping over the length anymore.  This is so much more functional for me!

Have you ever thought of refashioning an old dress into something more functional for you lifestyle? Maybe this will help give you at least one idea.  Let’s be friends on all the socials! Come follow along on   Pinterest,   Instagram and   Facebook so we can chat about all our sewing projects!