Well, the weather is finally starting to warm up… [Or so I THOUGHT! Brrr!]

But either way, this little dress was ready for a big [but simple] update. I made it… Hmm, last year maybe sometime? The days–they blur!

Anyhoo, it is a sweet little dress with a simple bodice and skirt. When I made it originally, I decided after the fact to add sleeves… and then after that, to elasticate and ric-rac ’em.

So since the sleeves were an add-on, that made them uber-easy to remover. I just grabbed my handy dandy seam ripper, and took off the sleeves.

Shazaam. Instant sleeveless dress.

So, originally, I had thought I’d just remove the sleeves… But then I cocked my head to look at it for just a moment too long… And I was off to do more!

The pocket, though satisfactory to Sis, was just a little lacking for me. So I removed it too.

Then I gathered a couple of fun coordinating scraps and some ric-rac to make a couple of new, bigger pockets. [The trick with ric-rac is that you sew it to the front of the fabric (floral fabric, above), then turn under the fabric to reveal just half of the ric-rac design (polka dot fabric, above), then top sew to hold the seam and ric-rac in place.]

I cut two long, narrow strips to make my pockets; folded them in half, right sides together (right, above); and then sewed a “U” curve, leaving the top open. [You could also make square pockets by sewing straight down to the fold on either side of the pocket.]

Trim the excess fabric and snip around the curve so your pocket will turn right-side-out easily.

It will look like an unfinished pocket when right side out (left, above).

But since we are making a patch pocket, finish it by sewing straight across the top, closing the opening.

Once your pockets are sewn across the tops (making them “patches” rather than “pockets,” pin them in place on the dress.

Attach them to the dress by sewing around the sides and bottom of the “U.” Leave the tops unsewn to form the pockets.

Then it was on to flowers! I played around with different scraps and felt flowers I have before landing on these three fabric flowers (these are SO fast and easy to make! See here).

I hand-sewed those on, and we were good to go!

Thankfully, my little model was feeling particularly cooperative…

…Especially since the expansion of pockets was involved…

…Yep, she was pretty excited. Well, that… And the fact that we were heading to the playground, but still…

I so love giving a piece of clothing a fresh new look! So fun!!

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OH! And SPEAKING of “so fun”… Heather Bailey has issued CampClem a crafty sewing challenge!! [Sissy’s expression best sums up my feelings on this matter.] So scoot on over to our facebook page to stay tuned for all the juicy details, and how YOU can craft & sew along!! WHEEEEE!