Alterations In Progress -- Adrianna Papell Dress, Part 1

I snagged a might-as-well-be-brand-new Adrianna Papell dress at Good Will yesterday.  Score!  I always, always, always go through the entire rack of dresses instead of sticking to my size because you never know when you might uncover a thrifty treasure.  What do ya think?

It's made of embroidered eyelet linen with a cotton/spandex bodice and a yellow peek-through lining. Not even the tiniest deodorant stain to be found (I did wash it anyway, should you be concerned :o).  A cursory glance online leads to me believe it would retail somewhere in the $100-$120 range.  Not bad for $4.99, ey?  It doesn't exactly fit, as you can very well see.

I thought it might be fun to post as I go through the alterations to take it down a few sizes.  Here we go...

Today's naptime accomplishment was to move the straps into a better position.

Getting into the guts of this bodice was like breaking into Fort Knox.  Higher-end garments have lovely finish work that is not exactly alterations friendly!

I chose to route my work through the side seam area because I plan to make changes there anyway.

I detached the front of the straps and moved them closer to the center.

Tip:  If you take a picture of yourself wearing the dress before you alter it, you can gauge how far over you want to move things without necessarily having to try the garment on every other minute.

Interestingly, there was elastic going through the top seam that I had to reattach before re-sewing the straps back into the seam.

Here's a picture of the front straps sewn into their new position (note how curved the straps are):

As is standard sewing procedure the lining of the bodice was under-stitched at the top to make it lay nicely, but since I'm working with small spaces where I can't fit the machine, I'll have to come up with another way to keep the lining from riding up.  Later.

I thought I was going to make life simpler and sew in some bra cups.

Not so much!  The bodice area was too narrow so when I tried it on, the cups didn't work well unless I made the neckline a bit lower than I prefer.  No worries.  I can wear a strapless instead.

Work so far:

I pinned the straps in the back, but didn't get a chance to sew them before some child ran over some other child's foot with a bike which led to screaming, which led to the waking of my dear napper.

On the agenda:  Finish straps and begin altering the bodice in at the side seams.  I don't plan to mess with the zipper.

See you next time!