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Cost: $ $ $ $ $

Difficulty: • • • • •

Time: 1 mins

Complete accidental dress that is so adorable, I am amazed. It's kind of a Lolita/Bustle/Burlesque mix.
I had an AWESOME burlesque skirt that I picked up for $4 from a thrift store, but it didn't fit me :(

I was conceptualizing a way to make it into a dress, but my idea was much more complex than it needed to be.
at one point, I just lifted the top layer and realized "holy crap, this is amazing!"

There is no permanece in this project - it will forever remain a skirt, it's simply the way you manipulate it that changes it's function.

The ribbon works and adds a bit more of a waist as the raised top layer sometimes seems kinda loose, but in reality - the dress is already very very fancy from all the layer detailing that I personally thing it doesn't need any more decoration.. :)

Pardon for the terrible pictures :/

I tried my best, but I was using my phone as a camera and there wasn't any good lighting to show the details.

Posted by Masha V. from Laguna Hills, California, United States • Published 28th September 2010 • See Masha V.'s 9 projects »

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Jess W. favorited Burlesque Skirt Into A Dress In No Time! :) 20 Jan 02:24

Step 1
Put your skirt on up at your waist.(this is the only place the skirt fits me :(

You can see this pretty much will only work if your skirt is a bit small. If you can tighten the band to be fitted onto your waist, that would work.
Step 2
Flip up the top layer so that it covers your chest.

You might have to lift some of the skirt with it, depending on the length of your skirt.

Pin it in the back wherever it works on your body that keeps the top layer up on your chest. Flat chested sisters - good luck! :)
Step 3
This step is optional, it is to your desire.

You can tie a large ribbon around your waist to hide the internal seam - my particular skirt was sewn really well so it did not appear to look weird in any way.

Your other option is to pin a decorative object - such as a felt flower or large bow, over your safety pin in the back, in order to hide it.

I find that if you use the ribbon around your waist and tie it in the back, you get the bow which can hide the safety pin.
Step 4
I was very lucky with this particular skirt with many reasons-

First of all, it was so cheap! The second I saw it, all I could think was: "MINE, NOW!"

The details underneath the top layer are supposed to be hidden- they are looped uneven stitching that give the skirt its uneven end and fluffy appearance. By raising the top layer, I revealed all of it's secrets and it turned out to be a very cool decoration that looks like pockets :)

It was already naturally longer in the back and slightly shorter in the front- by raising the top layer in the front, I made it even shorter, and the folded layer in the back adds to its long butt-covering decoration :)

My skirt is Ivan Grundahl, it looks something like this: http://www.polyvore.com/retroscope_fashions_plus_size_ladies/thing?id=246266 but shorter and graduated in the front to back...