1980s Williwear

This is one of my most favorite gone-vintage-in-my-closet frocks, a black cotton number by Willi Smith with a voluminous skirt and a mother of pearl buttoned back. What I did wrong was always wear it back to front, thus gradually straining various areas, notably the underarms, beyond endurance. 

Though the damage was pretty extreme, I was sad about never wearing it, so I set to work with my trusty underpatch and sashiko method, using a gorgeous length of deep violet raw Thai silk I've had forever and keep for special occasions (like the bag I made for my Tarot deck), and the 1920s French glossy floss I scored in an antique store. Then, later, did a second round using a horse (shown here in progress). As usual, I now like the dress even better. I still wear it backwards. 

Techniques and Materials

Underpatch with runnning stitch

Raw Thai silk

1920s French ivory cotton floss