Reduce, reuse, re-sew

 So... While waiting for new fabric to come (neeheehee) I decided to take care of some long-needed refurbishments in my existing wardrobe.  First up, my black silk Douglas Day dress.  You all remember that? It was so small at the bust I had to turn it down into a v-neck, the waist was too large, the back to narrow and the sleeves were too tight and ill fitting.

And... Now!  (ignore the lack of undersleeves and my petti kicking out the skirt at the sides, merp.)

I took in the waist substantially, let out the back seams and overstitched them to compensate for how creased they were.

I then entirely re-did the front, taking off the hooks and eyes tacked there and replacing it with the hidden hook-and-eye application method, as well as adding buttons down the front to add visual interest.  I also had to take off the neck piping and cut the neckline down because it was too small at the back.

And then, lastly, I re-did the unsalvageable sleeves, as I was lucky enough to have enough fabric left to make new ones.  The only trim on them is a line of narrow black velvet.

The bodice is not basted to the skirt yet, which explains some of the strange fitting issues in these pictures as the bodice is quite high-waisted on me (it's from an extant pattern from before I knew how to make successful mockups.)

 And then I took official photos of my altered paletot - I switched the collar to a standing one, tried to neaten up the shoulders, re-applied the fur trim and added the big fur cuffs.

There is still some work that has to be done on this before it's in truly wearable condition (or, wearable with pride) but for now I'm happy that I was able to save an old project instead of starting a new one.

But speaking of new projects....

*maniacal laughing*

Guess what I just bought fabric for....