As promised in the previous post, here is the description about my re-fashioning project – I re-fashioned Superking size Duvet cover into a dress. There was a sale advertised at Dunelm Mill store and inspired by the makes of Ditsy Tulip I decided to browse the bedding department to check if there was anything suitable for dressmaking.

I struck Gold! I ended up buying three covers. The ‘Pioneer’ designed cover of Blue and White stripes with an embroidered border was a real bargain, reduced from over £50 to £14.99 so obviously I could not pass that up.

I could not wait to sew up a new dress with the Striped cover and by the end of the first day it had been laundered and was ready for unpicking.

Thinking about the design I did not want to break up the border of the skirt so it would have to be gathered or pleated. I could use the border stitched on the pillow cases for the sleeves and that left the bodice to decide upon. As there was ‘busyness’ on the skirt and sleeves I thought it best to have a fairly plain bodice, but this time I would try a V-neckline. I drew a quick sketch of my ideas and then hacked my TNT bodice to give a V-neckline with front button closure to the waistline seam.

The duvet cover is a poly/cotton blend and as I did not want any ‘show through’ on the bodice, I interlined with some of the plain White fabric that was the reverse of the duvet cover. I think that it has worked well. I also used the plain fabric for the pocket linings.

I used some buttons from my stash that pick up on the Blue & White theme with an little accent of Red.

The design has worked well although I have made a couple of ‘rookie’ errors in that the top-stitching on the neckline does not quite match up but that is ‘small beer’ in the overall scheme of things.

The final analysis – I have experimented, produced a pretty and different dress without taking days to work the elaborate embroidery on the skirt and sleeves.