Sew What?

I recently found a dress for $1 at a thrift store. At first glance I wasn't so sure about it but decided to try it on anyway. It was a size too big and not exactly stylish but I thought it might make a great sewing project. "Oh, you sew?" I hear you asking. Umm, not exactly. I can hand stitch a pant's hem and I can reattach a button. But I have been wanting to learn to do so simple sewing jobs so I thought this might be fun. I figured that buying the dress for $1 was actually cheaper than buying fabric to practice on. I borrowed my mom's sewing machine a while back in hope that I could accomplish something. Then on Tuesday night I had a sewing night with a friend which mostly resulted in me learning how to be great at taking seams out as I kept struggling with the machine. Ah! It can be tedious to try the same thing over and over when it isn't working. Finally I figured out what the problem was and was able to complete this project in about an hour's time (minus the 2+ hours that I spent figuring out what the heck I was doing). 

My before and after! What a  difference. Before: frumpsville. After: stylish. Basically I took off the sleeves and reseamed the shoulders, hemmed the dress by 2 inches, and fixed up the belt so that it ties at the front instead of in a huge bow right about my bottom. Much better! I really enjoyed working on this and may have found a new hobby for myself. Although I've promised Ryan that I won't start trying to make all of his clothes quite yet :)