Recycling An Old Skirt Into A New Pinafore Dress

[@hannahphillips-ryan398]

when you wax hand-sewing thread, you can iron it to get rid of the wax flakes and to imbue the thread with wax. Old tailoring books talk about how that's the "best way" to prepare your hand sewing thread! 🙂

[@OdessaDenby]

I could see that working well! I imagine it would have to be a low temperature setting, though, to prevent it from melting out... I'll try it one of these days when I get a proper ironing board instead of just using a towel on my sewing table 🤭

[@OdessaDenby]

A few more construction details for those who are curious: The original front seam of the skirt where the buttons were is now the center back. The button will soon be recycled into a new pattern! The original top of the skirt that was pleated into the waistband is also now the bottom of this dress. I also stopped the cartridge pleating at the front of the skirt where the bodice comes to a point, so the front center is not pleated, but flat. I think it gives a unique look that echoes some skirt shapes from the 16th and 17th centuries where we see pointed bodices going into very full skirts.

[@canucknancy4257]

I love the look of cartridge pleats, I just haven't tried them. On my bucket list. That looks so sweet. I adore pinafore dresses and this one (with the little drop waist detailing in the front) is super cute.

[@OdessaDenby]

I've only just discovered how to properly do them and I love them! Tedious, but ultimately simple and really effective. I hope you find the perfect project to try them out-- but you may become addicted!

[@feeshcapades]

Ohh, I'm excited for this! I love a good pinafore! I've always been curious about the tailor's chalk - does it get all over your hands like regular chalk? I'm also really digging the bgm for this video. Very whimsy forest video game vibes. At the 8:18 mark, I loooove seeing all the pleats evening spaced. I don't know, something about the symmetry of them all makes my little lizard break giddy. I love the little arrow point detail on the front, aaah! It looks adorable! I love what you did to change up the skirt and I think you're going to get a lot more use out of this fun dress.

[@OdessaDenby]

Yes! The Basque dress is intended to be just a stand-alone piece, so I sized up because I think the sleeveless version is so good as a pinafore, which are so fun to mix and match. Symmetry is pleasing to our little brains, for sure! And I have definitely been reaching for this a lot lately, though still debating whether I want to put the zipper in... Oh, and to answer your chalk question: it has a smoother, waxier feel, so your hands stay pretty clean. It only feels chalky on the edges once you start wearing it down, so I'm not sure if it is lightly coated with something to keep things neater.

[@TheAquaYoshiDingbat]

Oh my goodness I love this dress! It's absolutely gorgeous! I definitely want to try this one myself!

[@OdessaDenby]

I definitely recommend the Basque Dress pattern! The addition of the cartridge pleats to the skirt gives it more of a historical vibe though, which I love.

[@TheAquaYoshiDingbat]

@@OdessaDenby I went looking to see if you had made a Basque dress on your channel and have discovered that I've missed quite a few of your videos! Looks like it's going to be an Odessa video day! I apologize in advance for flooding your notifications.

[@OdessaDenby]

​@@TheAquaYoshiDingbathaha, please don't worry about it! I hope you enjoy...