re-cycling to make a pretty dress

Along the way of writing "Denim Revolution" I made more projects than could fit between the covers, and this was one of them - a favorite dress.

I adore vintage slips, all kinds. They are a lovely luxury but to wear them as day dresses I like to have a little more substance, so I re-style them by adding some other fabrics and materials. For this dress, I used rugged denim scraps that add a hip charm to the femininity of the slip.

Using two shades of denim cut from lighter weight cast-off jeans, I cut them into strips - the narrow band is cut on the bias, the other not - washed them, zigzagged the edges with a pale yellow silk thread and appliqued them along the bottom. The colors and pretty scalloped details are enhanced by the denim.

The leftovers were used to form bows with vintage rhinestone buckles. One bow gives the slip an empire shape and the pair of bows I wear as barrettes or shoe clips. I so hope it will inspire you to dig out some of your favorite "finds" and put them all together in new ways!