I found this great button-up at the Tooele DI while out on a little excursion with Sarah (one of my many thrifting idols). We both were in love with the embroidered arrows on it. Arrows are so hot right now. Have you noticed? The first thing I saw when I first laid eyes on this beauty was a tailored skirt. With pockets. Here's what I had in mind:
I don't really ever share these little sketches, but Jill says I should. So I will. I had envisioned switching the buttons in the front to the back & using the sleeves for pockets & doing a drop pocket in the front. I originally thought it'd be easier & faster than it was, but as I was going along, I made sure not to take any shortcuts which added to the time considerably.
I usually take shortcuts; just little ones here & there, but as I've refashioned more & more, it's not worth it to spend the time to refashion something if I'm not going to do it right the first time. It's pretty crucial to finish edges & hems properly. It takes a bit more time, but it looks SO much more professional. I started on this little project around 7pm and finished at about 2am. I ended up having to unpick everything in order to get the shape I want & that took about two hours. Every seam was finished with a regular stitch, a top stitch & a surged edge. It's a lot more work when you have to unpick 3 sets of threads per seam.
I'm really proud of the final product. I feel like it looks polished & not at all like it was originally a mens shirt. What do you think? Would you have passed this shirt up in the thrift store?
To see the full outfit & all the other outfit details, click here.
• U P D A T E •
To answer your questions, I originally thought that it'd be better to have the buttons along the back, so that when I sit down they don't pucker & reveal my whitie tighties. I did have to sew in two hook & eyes; one above the top button and one in between the first & second buttons, because of puckering, but that fixed the problem.
I've worn this skirt all day: at the park, at the computer, on the couch, in the car & it's been incredibly comfy! None of the buttons have popped open (that can be a problem with front button dresses) and I haven't even noticed the buttons while sitting. Not quite sure I would've thought about this approach if I didn't already have a dress that buttons up the back.