I find it very challenging to seam rip or cut into a garment that is precious to me - and this garment was no exception. My dear friend Lily, the designer behind the brand Eli & Barry, gave me this smock a few years back, and it has hung in my closet as the sweetest reminder of our connection.

the “before” pic - difficult to see, but the sweat stains were definitely there

the after pic: exactly as I imagined it, under some overalls

Sadly for me, I am (and have always been) a sweaty person. I also happen to be a person who wears a lot of white - so I have a lot of garments that are so thoroughly pit-stained that they are beyond-salvaging. My scrubbing stain removal method is no match for sweat stains, and my “just chuck it in the natural dye bath” makes interesting results, but they never quite cover the stains, though I tend to love the results anyway.

cutting away most of the sweat stains - magic! imagine the rest being folded in half and sewn side to side to create a ‘skirt’

The smock was stained in a noticeable way, but I just couldn’t bring myself to really do anything about it for over a year - until I fell headfirst into the puff sleeve trend, and had many hours in the car driving back from the East Coast. It occurred to me suddenly & with clarity - I could cut out the sweat stains, indulge my trend-following desire, and I could avoid sewing a new neckline. And I could do it all with things I already owned (except thread, I got on Etsy to get some organic cotton white thread, assuming that one day I will want to dye this blouse).

Just like all of my other dress-making attempts, I pulled out my dress no2 bodice piece and used that as a tracing for the bust, then I improvised the rest using the rest of the material. The body of the smock was gathered to become the new “skirt” of the bodice. The sleeves I patchworked together out of the rest of the fabric (again, all rectangles, just gathered to build volume).

I finished my seams primarily with a zigzag stitch & I applied french seams in a couple of places. I used my vague knowledge of quilt binding to make a cuff for the gathered sleeve. I attempted a rolled hem to get the most out of the slightly too short body I’d made (still working on that one, don’t look too closely at that hem). After a few lunch breaks and some time gathering and sewing seams on the weekend, I had a big puff sleeve blouse.

What I love the most about this make (besides the fact that there was no bias tape making or binding involved) is how I held onto this piece of clothing for years, felt a bit guilty that I wasn’t wearing it more often, and how, in time, the right final form for it (for me) appeared. The fabric is beautifully sculptural on its own, and I love how the puff sleeve honors that. I love, too, that I get to hold this small piece of Lily close to me, some it sewn by her, some by me. That just feels right.