Legthening a Full Skirt

The Hubs let me go to a Cold Water Creek outlet recently and I had a blast. I must be shaped funny because everything I tried on fit me great even though they were all "Irregulars". I planned to spend about $25 and for that I picked out two cardigans and an adorable camel colored shirt dress that had a full skirt and a matching belt. I have always loved shirt dresses but have never found one that loved me. This one was absolutely adorable and the fit was so flattering to this post-pregnancy body, that, even though I rarely drop $15 on one dress, I went for it. I got up to the counter and it rang up half price! They had it in black as well so I went back and grabbed that one too, completely ecstatic! The only problem? They only had it in petite and the first one I had tried on was just the right length. For $7 I decided to see what I could do with it. I'm glad I did. Here is the dress before my addition:

I decided to add a few inches of black lace to the bottom if the dress. I thought this would be a great way to lengthen it while still being in keeping of the style of the dress. I went to the fabric store and looked for trim but to get enough would have cost me more than the original dress so I opted for 3/4 of a yard of black lace fabric instead which cost me a little less than $2.

I wanted to lengthen the skirt but still make it looked like it belonged. Here is what I envisioned:

I measured the fabric against the length of the hem and saw that four strips would be a little more that I needed. I later realized that because the hem was curved, I was going to need every extra inch. I don't know exactly how much extra you would need but I think I had about an extra foot. I did not have a good workspace but I have learned to work with what I have, wherever I am. I decided that the bedspread would be the perfect way to line up my fabric to cut it. I lined it up against the line on the bedspread and cut my first strip. I wasn't too concerned about perfection, so it worked.

After I cut my first strip I used it as a guide for the rest.

I sewed all four strips together so I had one long one, making sure to keep all of the seams on the same side.

Then I sewed the lace to the bottom of the skirt. I have very little experience with the sewing machine so this took me quite some time but it worked!

I loved the end result! Not only did it make the skirt a more appropriate length, it also dressed it up a little too. With the right belt and jewelry I can make this dress work for just about anything now. I felt really good in it too. You know something's a keeper when it makes you feel confident when you wear it. Do you have any clothes that make you feel good every time you wear them?