Dress to pullover

And it is Make and Mend Monday again! :)

Some years ago (to be precise in December 2013) I bought two really nice jersey knit dresses (in fact, it is the same dress twice...). They are black, made of a nice and soft cotton + cashmere mix knit and my favourite colour: happy black. There is/was a little bit of lace around the neckline. Unfortunately, washing them several times made them shrink lengthwise I think.

Anyway - they are too short now. Or maybe my body has changed. Maybe I've grown? Or my taste in dresses (length) has changed or whatever. The thing is: I love the material, but will never wear them again as dresses. I just know that. Because they've been sitting in the wardrobe for more than a year now. I've put them on several times again and again, with different shoes and tights and over trousers and all - nope, it's not going to work. 

I have several options now:

• I leave them in the wardrobe for another 15 years until I have the heart to throw them out/give them away. (not really sensible)
• I give them away to charity right away. (NO! I love the material! I don't want to give them away!)
• I cheat myself by convincing me that they look alright and I will wear them the way they are. (which I won't and I am trying not to do that any more!!)
• I try to alter them into something I actually will wear. (a bit of a gamble, might turn out alright or just horrible. But as the case is somwhat lost if I leave them in the shape they are - I've got nothing to loose, really!) 

As I want to give them a second chance, I decided to shortem them to be longish pullovers. I've got a pullover that is sort of similar to that style and I really like wearing it.  So, here's what I did:

1. Compare length of existing well-liked and worn pullover to dress and mark length with needles
2. Cut and serge and then make a broadish hem with a triple needle. 
3. I've grown out of the lace. It turned out to be attache separately at the neckline so taking it off took just 5mins.

(As I liked the outcome when I did that with the first dress, I did exactly the same with the second dress). 

Now it's a pullover. : )