Everyday I'm Rufflin' . . .

Every Easter I like to get myself a new outfit.  Okay, if I had the money every day would be a new outfit day.  I LOVE clothes and always have.  Luckily for me, I'm quite the clearance queen.  I seldom pay full price for my clothes and (in my opinion) I have lots of cute clothes and shoes.

This past spring I participated in a consignment sale.  Even though it was a children's sale, they carried teen clothes.  I went though them and found several pieces my size!  I got two dress, sandals and a pair of shorts all for $15.  One of the dresses still had the tags on it!  

One of the dresses was a white linen halter dress that I thought would be perfect for Easter.  Problem was, it was a little too short.  I decided to add some fabric to the lining to make it longer.  I found some white linen at Hancock Fabrics.  It was sort of gauzy but it was the closest match color-wise.  White is the hardest color to match!  Total nightmare I tell you . . .  

Another addition I decided to try was to add pockets.  I've wanted a dress and/or skirt with pockets for the longest time and this dress looked like it could handle pockets.  I have chapstick dependence issues so a dress with pockets sounds amazing!

Anyway, my mother-in-law is a fabulous seamstress.  She's also super giving.  I mentioned to her that I wanted a ruffler foot (which runs around $30).  She went to her sewing room and gave me one!  She said it didn't fit her sewing machine, so I could have it.  Isn't that awesome?  

I thought it would be cute to add a ruffled layer.  I had used the ruffler foot before on cotton and it was fantastic.  Then, I tried it with this linen and it was awful!  The linen was constantly becoming unraveled and getting caught on the foot.  Ugh.  I finally had to just baste and cinch the old fashioned way.  

Overall, it's not perfect but I was happy with it.  This was just 9 days after my surgery and excessive amounts of hydrocodone were pumping through my veins when I sewed it.  I haven't looked at it again since then because I know it's going to look all crazy and I'll wind up having to fix it all over again!  

Adding the pockets went much more smoothly.  I used this tutorial to guide me.  Though, instead of using their pattern, I actually pulled out a pair of pants that had roomy pockets and traced those.  That way, I knew the pockets would be big enough.  The pockets came out so cute!  The fabric on the dress is thick enough that they don't show through.

So, Easter Sunday I wore my upgraded dress with my new sandals.  I threw on a cardigan I had refashioned earlier with a bunny shaped applique and a matching necklace I already owned.  The total price of this outfit turned out to be $14!  Not bad!  This was definitely my cheapest Easter outfit and one that I'm proud of since I had a hand in it.

Whadya' think, guys?