An Upcycled Holiday Look

After completing my #sewfrosting floral Fulton Sweater Blazer, I knew I wanted an accompanying dress to fit underneath for the holidays. The Fulton doesn’t have a ton of ease so I needed to make something more fitted. After a quick Instagram poll, the Nettie Dress & Bodysuit soon came to the top of my list. (Thank you faithful Insta friends who always come to my rescue!)

In true serendipitous fashion, this velvety fabric fell in my lap when my mom was gifted a bag of second hand clothing from a woman at her office. We sifted through each piece and I took a long velvet shift dress with a matching jacket (see last pic!). The dress was too large for me but I knew it would make an incredible fitted Christmas dress!

So here she is, the Nettie Dress + Bodysuit by Closet Case Patterns. I carefully cut up the old dress then used the fabric to work with my pattern pieces. I then sewed up the dress grading a size 2 at the bust, 4 at the waist, and 6 at the hip. I had to piece together the band that goes around the neck and back due to fabric restrictions.
You might notice some dart lines in the back. These were already in the previous dress so I left them in place and it gives the illusion of extra shaping in the back of my Nettie. Kind of a fun addition that I didn’t have to fuss with!

And here is the entire holiday look! My Fulton Sweater Blazer by Alina Design Co in fabric from Joann’s, paired with my Nettie body con dress, as well at my trusty Lotta clogs!

We are heading out of town for the holidays next week. I’m looking forward to time with family and away from my everyday routine.
I pray each of you has a blessed Christmas season and I can’t wait to start making in the new year! See you in 2019!