Upcycling Coutour

Last summer, I found the cutest sweater/skirt set at an upscale dress shop while on vacation. I have a standing rule about trying on clothes (I may need to rethink that). When I got home and tried on the dress, the shell top turned out to meet the skirt at the waist, and zip up the back. It fit horribly. The the little sweater was really cute and I loved the fabric. So I tossed the shell out, and put the skirt in my to-do pile (oops- I think I forgot about the skirt in my blog entry of all my To-Do projects).

I bought a shell pattern with darts. Usually I need to up the size I make a lot. This time I picked way too big a size, but it turns out ok. It just made this project needlessly harder.

The wasteband was sewn on separately, which left the hem as the only extra length. Finding extra length is a problem I've never come across before.

I ripped out the hem (which left a nice finish on the edge of the hem).

The pattern fit- barely, and I did have to include the side seams, since I overestimated the size I'd need.

The finished blouse. I'm beginning to think I need to rename my blog The Frugal Crafter, or Cheap something...I really didn't realize how often I do Thrifty things like this until I started documenting it.