Me Made May & Refashioned Dress to Cardi

Happy May! I didn’t have the chance to post this in April but I am participating in Me Made May again this year! I pledge to wear at least one handmade item every day in the month of May. My pledge is the same as last year. Handmade items will include refashions, handbags, and scarves. I’ve added a lot of casual pieces over the past year as that was the major gap I discovered when doing Me Made May last year. I love making dresses and skirts but just don’t get to wear them every day. I’m happy I have jeans to add to my collection of handmade this year!

I was going through my handmade wardrobe and realized I never shared this refashion I did back in February. I received this dress as a gift and thought the print was really cute and the fabric is this comfy knit but the dress didn’t sit properly on my body. I kept it in my closet for the longest time and every so often I would pull it out and try it on in hopes that it magically altered itself to fit perfectly. Well that didn’t happen and I was tired of it sitting there so I altered it myself. I was debating just cutting the top off for a skirt but I wouldn’t get any wear out of it. Then I thought about just doing a peplum top but realized I was lacking in cardigans in my wardrobe. So that’s what this piece became.

This refashion was so easy! I measured a few inches down from the gathered waist and cut the bottom of the dress off. (I did leave a half inch to hem) Then I marked the top in the middle of both side seams and cut again. If the dress was a little bigger, I could have added buttons to close the cardi – but it’s a great option if you have an oversized dress!

My favorite part about this dress was the little keyhole in back and I kept it as a cute little detail.

I think this is a great refashion option for dresses that may be too short. I do have quite a bit of fabric from the bottom that I’m not sure what to do with yet. I might make a tank top.

I’ll be posing my Me Made May outfits every week but if you want to follow along daily: @trishstitched on instagram is where I’ll be!