Help with altering an old dress

[Everlit]

I bought this dress from a second hand store and wore it to prom last year. It's already black with really neat corsetted sides. I love the shape of it. I just would like some ideas (sleeves, jewels, LACE, etc etc). It has little flower-like pieces of fabric on it. I'm not sure if I love them or not. Would like to know if I should remove them... I'm really new to DIY sorts of stuff, so just throw out ideas.

And if you have any other cool easy DIY projects, I would love to see those too!

Thanks a bunch!

[Acharis]

That is actually really nice. For myself I'd prefer it without the flowers but first make sure that removing them won't damage the dress itself.

Recommend you find a tailor or alterations place if you really aren't sure.

Ps. You can always cut out the gusset and snip the feet off some fishnet tights, pull them over like a top before you put on the dress. That's the easiest fastest 'sleeves' I know of.

[Lady Ruthven]

I can't seem to open the pictures but from your description it sounds really nice.

I love lace and always seem to find a way of adding it to clothes. Perhaps you could put some around the hem or neckline (particularly if it is quite low cut). You could also use some wide strips to make sleeves. It is quite easy to sew on by hand, and since it is just an embellishment it shouldn't come off, even if your hand stitching is not that great (like mine!) You can use a sewing machine too but make sure you pin it first or the lace might tear, particularly if it is quite delicate. Also try nto to cut lace more than you need to as it tends to unravel. Lastly, if the lace is a different colour from the rest of the dress (ie. not black), make sure you sew it on with thread of the same colour or the stitching will be really obvious.

You can add jewels pretty much anywhere - I particularly like putting them around the neckline and waist, if the dress has a well-defined waistband. A lot of craft shops sell stick-on ones, although in my experience these tend to need a bit of extra glue to stop them falling off. You can also get ones with a little hole in the top or clips at the back, which you sew on like buttons.

Whether you keep the flowers or not is your choice really. If they have been sewn on after the main dress was put together (which they alsmost certainly have), you should be able to see a little lump of thread on the other side of the material. Cut this off carefully with scissors or a seam-unpicker (a little sharp needle with two points) and they should come off no problem.

Don't worry about doing alterations yourself, as most minor ones are really easy.

I have been making my own clothes (both from scratch and adapting bought things) for quite a long time, so if you have any other questions just ask and I will do my best to help.

I'm sure I could also recommend some easy DIY projects if you let me know what kind of thing you're interested in.

Adapting clothes yourself can let you be really creative, as well as being fun. And you can be sure that nobody else has the same thing.

Good luck!