Tuesday, July 01, 2014

Preparatory Patriotism

With Independence Day coming up this Friday in the USA, I felt like going a little patriotic with some red, white, and blue. I grabbed this navy and white polka dotted skirt at the thrift store last month for $2 because, you know, polka dots.

Navy Polka Dot Top - Before

I removed the waistband and zipper and pressed all the pleats flat. From the huge skirt-tube, I cut out a tank top shape with an extra wide front panel. I sewed the shoulder seams and created new pleats on the front. I opened up slits in the bottom of the side seams, added some bust darts, took in the sides, and used bias strips from the remnants to add a facing to the neck and armholes.

Navy Polka Dot Top - After

Navy Polka Dot Top - After

To complete the red, white, and blue color scheme, I paired my new top with some red earrings, my red glasses, and a pair of red strappy wedges I picked up at Goodwill this weekend for $5. The shorts (also a $5 thrift find) are really a very pale khaki, though they look almost white in these pics.

Visit me at CarissaKnits for details on the whole process.

Navy Polka Dot Top - Before & After

3 comments:

jennifer elliott said...

I love it! Just in time for the fireworks!

Lola Nova said...

Wonderful, you've completely transformed it!

cfort82 said...

Great re-fashion Carissa. :-)