Frumpy to Fabulous Peplum Top

I have some exciting news!  I'll now be posting over at Refashion Co-op, a blog where fellow refashionistas share their latest projects.  My first post is a lovely plaid peplum top.

But... it didn't start out so lovely.

See what I mean?

I picked this top up at an estate sale for $0.25 and knew right away that it would be perfect for a peplum top.

I began by cutting the bottom off  and detaching and cutting the sleeves.

I then put the top inside out on my dress form and sized it up.

Next, I trimmed the armholes so they were level with my shoulders.

Once this was complete, I started to work on the peplum.  I turned the bottom section inside out and put it over the top (right sides together).

I pinned the side seams  and the middle of the top and pelum together.

In order to keep everything lined up, I pleated the front first, starting from the middle and working my way to the sides.  Then I used these pleats as a guide to pleat the back.

I probably shouldn't do this, but I usually just stitch right over the pins.  In this case, it seemed to make sense so that all the pieces would stay in tact.

I wasn't quite sure what to do with the sleeves, so I attached the top of the sleeve to the top of the armhole (from the outside).  I then pinned the sleeve around the armhole.  I did this to measure exactly where the sleeve should be trimmed.  Where the bottom of the armhole and the sleeve met, I pinned it.  I removed all of the other pins.  *I hope this isn't too confusing.

I laid the sleeves out, folded over.  I measured around my wrists and drew a line across the bottom of the sleeve.  I then connected the underarm measurement to the wrist measurement with my tailor's chalk.

See the white chalk marks?

And then... I stitched them up.

 

Sleeves!

To attach the sleeves, I turned the top inside out an put the sleeves through the armhole, right side out, so that right sides were facing.  I then stitched around the edges.

This was an easy refashion, and I love how it turned out - Frumpy to Fabulous!

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On a side note...

There's still time to win this adorable clutch and coffee cozy.

All you have to do is visit my Facebook page, like the post about the giveaway, and share it with your friends.  A winner will be drawn and announced on Friday, November 22.