i bought this dress at the salvation army a few weeks ago, and though i loved the fabric and general shape, i had a couple of issues with it:

the band of dark fabric at the bottom seemed too wide, and strapless bandeau-type tops aren't the most flattering on me. so i figured out a way to solve both problems in one fell swoop.

i started by hacking off about half of the band at the bottom:

then i measured from the top of the dress to where my neck and shoulder meet, and based on that, drew a rough pattern of a halter strap, which i pinned to the fabric i had cut off:

i used a double layer of fabric, for two reasons: 1) i thought it would look right beside the thick elastic-filled top of the dress, and 2) i hate to hem. so i ended up with 4 halter strap pieces, which i sewed together at the middle and then along the edges...

...then turned inside out. and i made a boomerang! thanks for coming, next time: fabric nunchuks! hee hee.

to attach them without the stitches showing, i sewed them to the edge of the interior seam at the top of the dress, where the elastic band met the main fabric:

then i hemmed up the bottom edge, and ended up with a dress that i love!

- cakehouse