Green Sprig Top - Refashion

I knew my Farmer's Wife Dress had to be refashioned. Before I even finished it, I knew it had to be a top. Now it is.

Before

After

I liked the dress, I love sewing dresses. I was so pleased to get a whole outfit out of one metre of fabric. But it wasn't working for me. The colour and print was too pastel to look smart for work and not funky enough to look fun for summer. The cotton was very creased through the skirt. I called it my Farmer's Wife Dress. But I'm not a farmer's wife, we live in a global metropolis, I work in an office. When I'm not at work, I'm at home with my kids. We live in a cool climate. I had no idea what shoes to wear with it (huge hint, right?) A top is more versatile.

I made myself wear the dress once, it worked for Easter (with navy shoes). It was nerve-wracking cutting into something I've just made. Chopping it up? There is no going back! But I am pleased I made the change. I can imagine wearing this top now, it can go under a suit for work, with jeans for the weekend, with a cotton skirt for summer.

This was an incredibly easy refashion. I switched the invisible zip in the back for an exposed, metal zip. I really like this look to break up the cutesy cotton. I will do this more often. It also gave me a bit more wearing ease. It is a 45cm, open ended one so I used the zip length to determine the final length of the top. I should have made it a bit longer. It seemed fine at home, but wearing it out and about today, there is a lot of empty space between the waistband of my jeans and the hem of the top.

After the zip was in, I cut off and hemmed to the base of the zip. I might go back and add a ribbon underneath the zip to keep off the cold, and potential pinching. Sewaholic shows a good example of it here.

I'm looking forward to getting a little skirt out of the skirt portion. I can't decide if I should be selfish and make an adult mini, or if it is destined for the children's wardrobe. Probably the children.

Revised costs:
Original dress: £12.47
Zip difference: £3.74 - £0.60 = £3.14
Total: £15.61
+ enough extra fabric for a child's skirt.