The Perfect Sweet Sixteen Dress

ALTERED GARMENT CONSTRUCTION

ADVANCED 3-D ART

thrift shop finds, dye and embellishments

Student extraordinaire, Karisma Dev, junior, really outdid herself on this brand new experimental assignment.

I asked her to go to the thrift store and pick up several old garments that she might enjoy de-constructing and putting back together again into something new.

I asked her to choose a person she was designing for so that they could wear and model it for the blog.

She picked her little sister, Avanti, shown here wearing the finished garment.

Exquisite!

And lovely pose.

Let me show you where she began.

Below are several pieces she brought to school thinking she might be able to work with.

This lovely, flowy beaded camisole.

This light and airy cotton and lace shift.

This patterned cotton top.

A lace, jersey blouse.

And this heavy cotton button down shirt.

In the finished garment she was to combine at least two of the garments into one, using at least 3 major cuts and reconstructs, alter the color in some way (she chose dye), bring in embellishments, and then make an accessory to accompany the piece like a headband, wristlet, something along that line.

So here is the finished dress and bralet.

Karisma, you are going to have to help me out here and let me know if I've got all this right, it's been a while since you made this.

I'm pretty sure she combined the camisole and shift, used the indigo dye bucket that was out...

found some of my mother's old embroidered linens and handkerchiefs that I keep around for the kids to use...

and hand beaded the bottom of the hem with seed beads, and the linen tips with larger beads.

Her accessory was even more then I was imagining.

It was a bralet to go partially under the dress but was to be viewed from the back side.

The dress was Karisma's gift to her sister for her to wear to her sweet sixteen birthday party.

You did an amazing job with this assignment Karisma.

 And your sister looks beautiful in the dress.

I will definitely be teaching this again next year and can't wait to see what Laarnie will do with the assignment.

You are a hard act to follow woman!!

And know that I'm so very proud of you!

And this last picture is my favorite.

I love how you posed your sister off center and had her turn her head.

Very, very cool!