Gap Dress Re-vamp

Got a great deal on a dress at the GAP.

I'm not a strapless kind of girl. Maybe I could just wear a shirt under it like January Jones.

MMMM...what could I do?

 

I opted for the skirt. Adding straps to make a jumper was problematic.

Here's how. Cut off the top edge to an even width.

 The waist band needs to fit to your body. 

 Rip out former dart lines, and pin in place.

Sew darts above the pockets, and on each side of the zipper.

 Time to try it on and see if it fits.

It was a little tight, so I ripped out 2 darts in the front.

I had marked the previous seam with tape (more accurate than pins, which fall out).

 I hand sewed the dart and tried it on again. Bingo!

Time to sew the dart and rip out the hand sewing.

 Tack the lining and the waist together.

Time for a break.

 Fold top edge under (width of one of the squares) and iron. 

Fold raw edge under 1/4 inch. Zig zag for a clean finish (do it now, not later like I did).

 Place on ironing board. Pull up lining as flat as you can get it. 

Cut lining flush with top of folded waistband.

Tuck lining up under folded waistband and pin in place.

I decided to secure the folded edge with a zigzag, so I had the unpin, sew zig zag and re-pin.

Add a few tucks to the lining so it will lie flat. No need to sew fancy darts. It won't show.

Hand sew using a hem stitch to secure lining.  

I didn't want any machine stitches to show on the front.

Since the zipper was too long, I folded it over and hand sewed it down.

 Voila! New high waisted skirt!