Last of the Tablecloths

 I’ve had so much fun this summer upcycling the two tablecloths I was given, and this dress was most likely my last project with them (I do have some lace pieces I saved for the scraps, so I might be able to do something with those yet…). 

I wanted to do a dress yet, and I had a pretty good sized piece of a circular tablecloth to work with, so I started by looking through my patterns. Burda 6121 and McCalls 7085 seemed like good possibilities (and I had made both before with good results), as I wanted a fairly simple cut to show off the design of the fabric. I then looked at pictures on social media and on clothing company websites for inspiration. I came across several ideas I liked, and Sezane’s Victoire Dress seemed like a good fit, and was pretty close to Burda 6121. 

The hardest part was centering the placement. I have found that each time working with these tablecloths - you kind of get one shot for placing the pattern, and it can look terrible if it’s not right. My first attempt (which luckily I anticipated this and basted) looked pretty unflattering. I realized I needed the center pattern higher, and luckily had enough length to raise it 2”. 

I lined the dress with some leftover cotton my mom gave me (I think it’s from when I did my parents’ curtains a few years back), and I had wanted to keep to natural fabrics, but I think I might use a slippery lining with this pattern next time, to help it keep from getting caught a little as I move. 

I put the lace hem on last, by cutting off pieces from the leftover tablecloth pieces, so that I didn’t have to worry about adjusting the length..

I love how this turned out, and I can’t wait to wear it for years to come (especially since I don’t know when more tablecloths will come my way…)!