DIY BHLDN Yarrow-In-Flower "Dress"

I'm sorry, is that too many capital letters in the title? Hey, at least I didn't abbreviate it as the YIF dress.

When Anthropologie announced that it was starting a bridal line, I was simultaneously 1) psyched, because I was sure whatever they put out would be amazing, 2) disappointed, because my wedding was already over, and 3) meh, because anything they had would be waaaay too expensive. Well, as it turns out, I'm pretty sure I could pin the entirety of the BHLDN catalog to my Pinterest boards. I love their shoes, jewelry, gowns, and even their waste-of-money drink stirrers. Their bridesmaids dresses, though, are probably the most dangerous for me, as they're things that I might actually wear. Thankfully (?), they're too expensive to tempt me. Instead, I'm using them as sewing inspiration; after all, I have four weddings and almost as many bridal showers to attend in the next two months! I've had the Yarrow-In-Flower dress pinned for ages, and finally found the right yellow sheet at the thrift store for DIY-ing my own cheaper, more casual version. But just to make mine more practical, I decided to make it into separates: a lace top and a gathered yellow skirt. Also, for ultimate practicality, my materials are NOT dry-clean only!

I had to darken this photo significantly to get the lace to show up.
I think I'm looking particularly smug here because I just saved $343.

This is closer to the actual color of the skirt. Also, check out that ridiculousness going on on the window behind me on the left. Apparently some parents just let their kids go wild on the windows with markers and stickers. I will never understand.

I still had about two-thirds of a yard of the stretch lace that I used for my DIY Dulcie Dress; in its un-dyed state, it was the perfect bright white contrast for the yellow skirt. I simply cut out two pieces using my cap-sleeve knit top block, sewed up the shoulders and sides, and did a simple single-turn hem on the sleeves and neckline. I'll confess that I didn't bother hemming the bottom, since it won't fray or show anyway. Now I have a nice top that will go will with many of my me-made and thrifted skirts. Yay for not making orphans!

The skirt was just a 22"x80" rectangle (to save myself the bother of hemming, I used the edge of the sheet, which already had a nice, deep, 2.5" hem) sewn into a tube and gathered, then attached to a rectangular, interfaced waistband piece. I didn't have a yellow zipper in my stash, but in the interest of not buying anything new (and also because it was 9 PM and I'd already been to Joann's the day before), I just used a white 7" zipper. The zipper pull is slightly distracting, though, so I might try coloring it in with a yellow Sharpie. I finished it off by adding three hooks and eyes on the waistband. I cut the waistband just a little bit on the tight side, but I guess that just means I'll be reminded not to eat too much if there's a buffet...

Oops...looks like I forgot to hook one of the hooks.

Summary:
Fabric: 50/50 poly-cotton blend bedsheet, thrifted; nylon stretch lace
Notions: 7" white zipper, three hooks and eyes, fusible interfacing
Hours: 3.5...I'm getting a lot better at doing hooks and eyes!
"Netflix" queue: Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, and Commentary! The Musical on DVD
Will you make this again? A two piece knit top that requires no seam finishing and a straightforward gathered skirt? Indubitably.
Total cost: $5 for the remaining lace (yay, totally used it up with no remnants!), $1 worth of the sheet (I still have enough for a very full-skirted dress!), $0.25 for the zipper; let's say $7 total with the hooks and eyes. I saved $343, along with an unknown number of dry-cleaning bills!
Final thoughts: I love how wearing yellow automatically makes me happier! This skirt is also deliciously full, but the softness of the sheet means that it's not bulky. The top is nothing special, but still accomplishes its purpose. Also, I love it when I don't need to deal with fussy patterns, but still get exactly the result I wanted. It's not as expensive-looking as the BHLDN dress, but it's much cheaper and more practical for my life (not to mention not as scandalously short).

It was an extremely sunny day, but very windy. It showed off the skirt's fullness nicely, though...check out the huge shadow it cast! Okay, okay, I know that's not all due to the skirt, but still.