Quick Fixes: Shrunken Dress Salvage

     So. Once upon a time, I had this really cute dress from H&M. And we were very happy together, me and that dress. But then I made the terrible mistake of washing and drying it (washing things ALWAYS ends badly), and it shrank. Badly. To the point that it was never going to close over my chest again, and it was indecently short, even with leggings or tights underneath. There is only so much progress towards decency to be gained by adding leggings, and unfortunately it was not enough to bring this dress back into even the general vicinity of my comfort zone. But it was such a cute dress that I couldn't bear to throw it out or give it away. I mean, check out this fabric. 

     It's safety pins! And you know I love a unique fabric. So I wasn't about to let this one go. Since the fit problems were all up top, I figured my best bet was to cut the dress into a skirt. The waist still fit fine, and that way I could wear it lower to get back the inches I lost to the dryer. But the dress didn't just have a straight seam connecting top to bottom, because that would be far too simple. It was curved, like this:

     So after staring at it for a while trying to decide where the best place to have the skirt start would be, I lined it up on a rotary mat and whacked it in half. A simple hem and a large hook and eye clasp later...

     And I have a new skirt!