I don't always shop retail...

...but when I do, I ALWAYS make this funny face:

 

 Yup.  My sleep deprived, slightly cross-eyed, "hope I secured my camera well enough so it doesn't fall and break like the last one" look.  

I bought this little ditty eons (read: I don't really remember) ago at a popular clothing chain that rhymes with "Sold Gravy."  Now in my defense, I was actually in "Sold Gravy" in an attempt to find Little Guy some adjustable shorts because he literally grows like a weed (a giant weed, I might add), and there just so happened to be an additional 50% off clearance promotion.  Let's face it, I'm a creature of habit.  Of course I loved the girly print and color combo, and the fit was surprisingly okay, albeit a bit long.  With plans to shorten and utilize for church, I filed the dress in the back of my closet where it was abducted by the closet gods, never to be seen until 2 days ago.  Go figure.

 Enlisting the help of a discarded white tank in my refashion stash, snipped about 8 1/2 inches from the bottom hem.  New top..check.

Then, I snipped the bust off of the original dress right above the waist using my super-de-dooper pinking shears.  New skirt...check, check.

With right sides together, I placed the white top over the skirt, and stitched using a zigzag stitch with a 5/8" seam allowance at the top unfinished edge.

 The top was a bit stretched out (the numero uno reason it was to be refashioned) and needed a bit more support.  I folded the top down about 1 inch and stitched, making sure to leave a small section open, in order to form a casing for some elastic.

 Attached length of elastic to safety pin and threaded into new casing.

 At this point, I tried the dress on, adjusted the elastic to my liking, marked the closure with the safety pin, and stitched the elastic.  I also stitched the opening in the casing closed.

To tackle the length, I placed my most fave refash over the skirt, matching at the waistline and snipped.  Folded in the hem and stitched again. 

 Presto, Chango!  Completed in enough time to meet the gals for KK's B-day festivities at Monsoon India.

The view from our table.  *insert collective sigh*

 Enjoying the food, booze, and company.

Happy Birthday KK!!

Toodles,

lori