The Sinking of the Tartan-ic: A Plaid Dress Refashion

I found this at the Humane Society Thrift Store (right next door to where we found little Lady).  As you can see, it has some issues.

Thes frock has wings!

  Horrible length, weird elasticized waist, long poofy sleeves, and...whatever these are.  Dog ears?  What is the random tab thing for?  Color me confused.  Note: All captions for this post are translated into Scots dialect using this site.

Ersit dug lugs.  I put in "awkward dog ears" and I seriously got out "ersit dug lugs."   

I have big plans for this frock!

First thing to do is split it in twain!  I'm going to make this into a top!

A wee bit ay surgery.

 This is what I was left with.  I tried it on in hopes that the tartan peplum would be awesome.

Th' cake is a lie #PortalJokeCauseI'mSoHipYaKnow

Unfortunately that plan was not to be.  I cut the tartan part too short and the small strip of pattern at the bottom just threw the look off entirely.  Plan B!  I knew I wanted to remove the sleeves (Florida, right?), the dog ear collar, and the tab o' random.  

Ye arenae welcome, ur ur ye?

 I took those sleeves and cut them into evenly sized rectangles to create my new matching peplum for the top.

Thes is mah city ay green, also knoon as Emerald City.

 After sewing the rectangles together, I hemmed the whole thing.  To determine the length I needed, I basically just stretched the heck out of the elasticized portion and measured it.  I was hoping that by using the same length of elastic I could attach my new bottom evenly.

Dooble hem action

 Hint: whenever you are trying to recreate something on a garment, just examine it really closely before unraveling or ripping anything apart.  I guess this would apply to most things in life really, but with clothing it works wonders!

Close up shot fur yer viewin' pleasure

I resewed the elastic with the top layer and my new-fangled bottom layer.  Finish up all the edges and this is what I ended up with!

Ah hae th'expression ay a wee impish faerie

Paired with a slightly below the knee skirt and some wedges and this was ready for a night out with the hubs!

Make sure tae gie mah guid side.

I actually wore this for a quick trip to the thrift store while ma husband got ready, and a little old man asked if he could pay me a compliment.  How could I say no?  He said my look reminded him of the secretary from a Sam Spade novel (Effie Perrine for those Hammett fans).  In honor of him, I took this secretary-ish shot.

Secretaries still use pencils, dornt they?

New work staple!  *Don't worry, that tartan remnant will make an appearance someday.  It is unsinkable!