I made this dress last year.
I loved it but didn’t wear it all that much. It suffered from “too nice to wear” syndrome. And then, this Summer, I decided it actually looked just fine with flats and I could wear it whenever I wanted. So I wore it. And then I had to bend down to help E with something and I heard a rip…
Ooops. Not a seam come undone but an actual rip in the fabrics, right at the cap sleeve – underarm. Not a great spot for visible mending and impossible to mend invisibly unless… I always felt the cap sleeves didn’t fit quite right on me. Turn it into a tank dress? Nothing to lose right?
I put the dress on the dress form and pinned a new armscye. Tried it on, looked good. I sewed right along my line of pins to keep the layers together. Then, I took a deep breath and cut, leaving about 1/4″ next to my seam.
I took another deep breath and repeated the process on the other side. I tried the dress on at that point and the armhole was gaping a little. So when I finished the new armhole with bias tape, I pulled it tighter where there was gaping. I was lazy and just topstitched the tape in place after turning it inside. Slipstitching might have been neater but since my hem was topstitched, I figured it would match.
And it fits!
Depending on how I stand, it still gapes a bit…
… and you can see some ripples where I pulled the bias tape tighter.
But the rip is gone! And the dress seems to sit better on me without the cap sleeves.
Now, maybe I can move on to some not mending projects?
Creative mommy at home to two wonderful little girls, trying to juggle family, sewing, exercise, family, knitting, photography, and did I mention family?
Deux souriceaux 
OH That happened to me too, one of my favorite dresses in the same area, also a cap sleeve.. I haven’t done anything to fix it (lying- I tried to sew up the rip but it just ripped again
) Now I just give it dirty looks whenever I see it… Maybe I’ll see if I can pull off fixing it with your method, you dress looks great now!
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Thank you! I think there might be something about more fitted cut on cap sleeves in non stretch fabrics that doesn’t work for chasing kids around. I do know that I have much more freedom of movement now…
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Looks great sleeveless.
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Thank you! I find it suits me better like this but looks a little more casual than the cap sleeves did…
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I think the modifications were an improvement! I really love the back of the dress too, and I feel like a tank style suits it better than the cap sleeves. Great job!
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Thank you! Somehow, I think it wraps better without the sleeves too. The back certainly looks better than before!
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I like it better on you without the sleeves! I hate it when I tear or otherwise ruin something I’ve put a lot of time into making- it’s nice that there was a good fix for this one.
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And that fabric cost me a lot too! It was a special project and I was going to do everything I could to save it. I kind of got lucky that it was such an easy fix. I have another dress that ripped and that one just got thrown out.
I like it better as a tank dress too. Of course, this would happen just as Fall starts… Cardigans to the rescue?
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You know, I generally avoid sleeveless dresses… but that looks SO much better sleeveless! It turns the dress wearable instead of Fancy.
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I agree! It’s just better for me both in terms of looks and usefulness.
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