Party Frock

I've been wanting to share this for a while as I was very pleased with the result. In January my work had a big 'do' and I needed a party frock. I didn't really want to spend much money so I started looking round charity shops. I found a lovely dusky pink long dress - it looked like it might have been a bridesmaid's dress. It fitted me a treat but had a stain on the front, the lady in the shop said it would need to be dry cleaned. I looked at the material and reckoned it could go in the mashing machine and as it was cheap (because of the stain) I bought it. I put it in the washing machine on cold setting and it came out beautifully, it didn't shrink, tear or have any other ill effects and the stain was gone. So I set about making my alterations. I chopped it to above knee length and drew in the bottom with elastic, then I sewed some lace from my 'bits' bag round the bodice and made a tie to go round the waist from another fabric found in my bits bag. The original strap was missing so I made a new one from a bit of the material that I chopped off the bottom. I spent the rest of the christmas hols making a bag from more of the cut off skirt fabric and using a clasp from a rather hideous red bag that had come free with something several years ago. I hand stiched a variety of white and cream vintage buttons on it that I had been given by a friend after his mother died. I also knitted a cabled shrug to go aver it all - after all the party was in January. There was some material left from the skirt and I have recently used this to make some cushions.