I love denim dresses, and the embroidery makes my heart go pittypat.
But the shape is boxy and the laced neckline looks like junk.
It’s a few sizes too big; I’ve taken it in at the sides twice.
It’s a bit too short; just grazes the top of my knee. I added the lace on the hem to make it cover my knees.
I would love to remake it as a jumper, so I cut it at the shoulder seams and started playing with it.
pulling out the lacing helped; I don’t mind the grommets. I moved it down about 10" to get lots more length. That dark slash at the waist used to be a bust dart.
a doily shoulder seemed like a good idea, but looks a little heavy. I would cut the doily to give a single row, instead of the double row of circles, but still a bit much.
This looks better, but now it’s getting too skimpy. I don’t know that it says jumper.
I think all the neckline lace would compete with any blouse I wore under it. I don’t have any matching denim, except for the lacing–that’s the blue cord on top of the lace.
It would make a really cute sundress, but I’d be falling out of the Windows of Hell armholes (costume reference, sidelesssurcote). I’ve got a couple extra inches of fabric at the sides, but not enough to close up the armholes.
This might work better for a jumper. The real, solid brass D ring is gorgeous, but makes the silvery grommets look bad. I could try to find a silver D ring, or just loop the cord through the casing.
And I’m trying to figure out what the back should look like, too!
I think my real problem is that I’d like to wear it as a sundress sometimes, and as a jumper, over a blouse, other times.
But it’s too skimpy to wear alone–my bra and/or anatomical parts will show.
Since I don’t have extra denim, I’d have to fill in with something like lace to wear it alone, but the fill-in will look too cluttered if I wear it over a blouse.
maybe I need something like a saree blouse–thin, short, lightweight, cool–to wear underneath when I don’t want to wear a regular blouse. The underblouse could be lace. In fact, I have a vintage lace bodice I could probably rework. It’s from my wedding dress, which I’ll never wear again…
what about- ok, disclaimer is, once again, I have no idea what I’m talking about here, I’m just spit-ballin’. I don’t actually sew so…
What about cutting the sides open all the way down, stealing some denim from there and using a totally different “accent” fabric to give it some swing and allow you to use the denim up top? Is that making any sense?
In case this is still relevant: Have you thought about eyelet fabric for the armholes? Maybe from one of those summery crop tops that is basically only a short and wide tube that has elastic both on the top and bottom. Thinner from a shirt or sturdier from a tablecloth? I think both the kind that has the embroidery just along the margin or all over would work.
It’s still on the mannequin with pins and no decisions.
But I just bought a full denim skirt, so I’m thinking that could become a jumper, and the existing one a sundress. I have some nice white eyelet that used to be a blouse, maybe I’ll try something with that. thanks for the idea!
That’s such a cool idea! I love the creativity in giving old clothes new life. I remember once I had this old hiking shirt that I rarely wore because it felt outdated. So, I decided to repurpose it into a crop top, perfect for those warm summer hikes. It felt like I had a brand new piece of clothing without spending a dime.
But that tee shirt isn’t mine, it belongs to the mannequin!
It holds the padding in place, and is a couple of sizes too small for me.
And I don’t like short sleeves, high necklines, or tee shirts.
Aside from that, Mrs. Lincoln, it is cute!
