I love rummage sales! Especially when you go at 10a, and all the good stuff has already been picked through. It just makes it more challenging. (Okay, we overslept. Anyway…) Clothes are piled 4ft deep on fold out tables, and there are dozens of women plowing through the heaps. I dug right in and snagged a cute orange and pink striped H&M dress for $3! Took it home and realized that H&M does not design clothes for more buxom thirty-somethings. *yargh*
Time for an H&M hack! We’re going to turn this teeny bopper dress into a cute spring skirt. First step, I cut off the top:
Next, I folded down the raw edge and pinned, creating about a 1/2″ channel. Then I sewed this bit down, leaving both ends open so I could thread the elastic waistband through.
After I sewed everything down, I trimmed off the excess fabric, leaving about a 1/4″ margin. Next, I measured a piece of 3/8″ elastic around my waist, to get a snug fit. (Snug means a comfortable fit where your blood is still circulating through your veins.) I attached a safety pin to one end of the elastic and threaded it through the channel I created. You put the safety pin in one end, and then just inch it through the fabric with your fingers.
Make sure the free end doesn’t disappear into the fabric! When the material is completely gathered around the elastic, stitch the ends of the elastic together right quick. Doesn’t have to be neat, just get the job done. Now, all you need to do is close up the channel, and voila! All done.
