Mumu Turned Tunic

This is the story of how I turned a mumu that was 10 sizes too big, into a tunic I could actually wear. I was browsing at one of my favorite thrift stores a few months ago - I don't even know what I was looking for - when I saw this colorful medallion print silky dress (a.k.a. mumu), brand NEW with the tags still on it, for about $5.50. That was a lot of fabric for not a lot of money, and I was sure I could figure out something to do with it.

So, I brought it home, and then it sat in the closet for a few months. I thought about how I could re-fashion it into a dress/tunic - but would it work? More importantly, would I actually wear it out of the house? Couldn't hurt to try, right? 

I found the original dress online.

It didn't look all that bad on the model. 

 

Unfortunately, it wasn't anywhere near my size and it had this horrible gathering at the neckline and pleating down the front.

I'm kicking myself because I accidentally deleted the "before" photo of me in the too-large dress, but it looked something like this...

Eventually I decided to just go for it! The first thing I did was cut out the pleats! 

I sewed up what was then the front, and made a smaller v-neckline, and decided to turn the front of the dress into the back of the dress. 

All that was left to do was shorten the hem (I had to take about 12 inches off). 

This photo was my inspiration. A bold printed fabric with a chunky belt.

I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I actually received a number of compliments the first time I was brave enough to wear it! Not bad for a $5.50 refashion.

If you have a miscellaneous item of clothing you want to experiment with, I encourage you to try it! If something is too big or you don't like a portion of it, take it in or turn it into something else. Better yet, find something for cheap at a thrift store, and if it doesn't go as planned, you won't feel as bad. Don't be afraid - you might really like the result!