Remake of a vintage dress

After deconstructing my white vintage dress to make a pattern from it, I planned to put it back together before starting anything else.  But I’ve been feeling sad – my best buddy at work took another job – and cutting into this funky green/blue fabric offered some consolation. I sat at my new little sewing nook late into the evening, pinning and seaming. And here it is!

While deconstructing the dress, I made a mental note of how certain details (i.e. neckline) were put together and I made sure to mark the placement of darts and the zipper. Since the pieces were traced from a dress that fit well, I didn’t have to pause while sewing to try things on and make pattern adjustments, AND I knew I’d like the final fit. So even though ripping every seam out of a piece of clothing seems scary, I’m a believer!

A New Sewing Nook

After bringing all that fabric back from Los Angeles I’ve been hell bent on creating a sewing station. Wall space is at a premium here, but there’s a connecting door between our bedroom and the spare bedroom and I figured that by permanently shutting it I could carve out a few feet. To the left of that, where Read has his keyboard set up, I wanted to make a cutting table out of two used kitchen base cabinets and a big board covered in cork… like this.

I drove the streets of Boston for miles yesterday, stopping at Habitat for Humanity’s Restore in West Roxbury, a ginormous Goodwill, and the Reuse Center at Boston Building Resources. Turns out everyone sells used cabinets as a set…you have to want a whole kitchen’s worth.  So sad. The only things I found were random bits of architectural beauty that have no place in our apartment, like this intricate metal gas fireplace for $200:

The trip was a total bust. At home, mopey and disheartened, I searched furniture on craigslist. And there it was.  Two blocks from our house. A kitchen island, solid wood, for $30. YEs! I could feel my project adrenaline returning!

The island had these castor wheels on the bottom so my big plan was to wheel it all the way home. Only the wheels weren’t attached, so every time it hit uneven ground one or more fell out of their sockets. I was putting wheels back in every few feet. The woman who sold it to me looked very confused when I declined her offer to have her husband drop it off on Monday when he got back from his work trip. “He has a truck,” she said. I thanked her politely, but inside I was like, MONDAY?! MONDAY?!!! HAHAHAHA ARE YOU CRAZY? I HAVE TO BUILD THIS THING TONIGHT LADY! I have zero patience when it comes to projects.

Read helped me carry it home. He even stopped watching March Madness to help me carry it home. I know, he’s too nice sometimes.

Here’s what I made with it…

I extended the table workspace with a 1/2″ board from Home Depot, and I painted the bottom shelf and the top board a deep navy. Three rattan baskets from Target hold all my fabric underneath and notions fit in the drawer. I put a little cloth on top and hung an IKEA paper light overhead. It needs some artwork on either side of the door, and I may hang a long curtain in front to hide the mess.

Project Budget
$30 – kitchen island
$13 – 2′x4′ board
$39 – three rattan baskets, 17″x10″
$0.50 – a pint of navy paint from the “mess-up” shelf at Home Depot

If I can find a curtain for less than $16, then the whole thing will still come in at less than $100. As for the cutting station, I might just get a big roll-up Xacto mat to lay out on the kitchen table.

I leave you with a portrait of a gentleman: