A QUICK BLACK DRESS REFASHION

Hello lovelies! It's a bright & sunny Wednesday, and I am currently eating Taco Bell. All is right with the world. :)

I've got a super quick refashion for you today that would be easy to adapt and use on some pieces from your own wardrobe! I find myself getting bored with pieces
in my closet after a while - which was the case with this black maxi - so I decided it needed a bit of an update. I have always loved ruffles, so I've been super digging all of the ruffle sleeves and ruffle hem trends that have been big lately. A ruffle hem is such an easy way to change up any dress in your closet with a basic silhouette to give it more body and new life. Ruffle hems are great for tops too (see how I transformed a basic tee here.)

If you've got a free afternoon, morning, or late night... then rifle through your closet, pull out something old, and spend an hour making it new. :)

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Step 1.
For this refashion, take your dress, try it on, and determine two things first-- 1. what you want the final length to be, and 2. where you want your ruffle to start. Cut the bottom of your dress off about 1 inch below where you want your ruffle to start.
Step 2.
Using the bottom of the dress that you just removed, measure up from the bottom how wide your want your ruffle to be, + 2 inches, and cut. Then fold that strip of fabric in half lengthwise, right sides together, and sew, to form one large tube. (For reference, my tube for my ruffle was about 2x the length of the bottom of intact dress.) **Tip- always utilize hems that are already done for you when refashioning! Make sure to use the bottom hem of the original dress when cutting your ruffle strip.**

Step 3.

Do a basting stitch around the top of your ruffle tube. (Set your sewing machine to its longest stitch length). Make sure to keep your starting and ending threads long. When you have almost come full circle when stitching, do NOT overlap stitches or backstitch.

Step 4. 

Take your thread from where you started or ended your stitching, and pull the fabric and the thread away from each other gently. Move the gather along your tube. Continue to pull and gather until you have created the desired ruffle, evenly, around your tube.

Step 5.
Turn your ruffle inside out and pin to the bottom of your dress, right sides together, with the ruffle pointed upward on the dress. Sew. (Be careful as you sew to maintain the ruffle you want, and keep it even around the whole dress bottom.)

Step 6.
Unfold the ruffle. Iron the seam, and topstitch if desired.