Christmas Finery

Yuck! What a ghastly picture! But that's only the"before" shot, so maybe the ghastlier the better. Oh well. Months ago, I found this skirt at the thrift shop. It was too warm to think about velvet, so I threw it in the refashion basket and forgot about it. Thursday, I realized this is prime time for velvet skirts, so I better get busy!


Not only was the skirt too long, but it also had an impossibly small waist. Chopping off the top several inches took care of both problems.


Next I sewed up the side slit, which was no longer needed. (Or advisable at the new length!) To keep everything nice and tidy, I picked the stitches out of the hem too, and then sewed everything back up. Wow, there was a ton of lint in there!

Then, to get it back into shape, I used a pattern as a guideline to make new darts in the front and back. A new zipper, some shaping at the sides, and then I finished it off with purple ribbon around the waist.


And there you have it! Now will someone please invite me to a Christmas party?