Boring Dress to Pretty Pillowcase Dress

Snagged this 100% silk dress for a dollar at the thrift store! 

And this was my inspiration for making essentially a pillowcase dress. http://www.marthastewart.com/267528/diy-shift-dress

So this was the first cut...

Using safety pins I made a quick test casing on the top of the dress along it's original neckline. But I felt like it didn't have enough material for pretty gathering. I tested it again lower right underneath the armholes of the dress. I found that prettier. So then I cut again, straight across right beneath the armhole on the front a back of the dress. Essentially creating a rectangle with only the side seams sewn up. 

Then I made a casing on the top of both the back and front of the dress. I made a strap 60'' long to string through the casing. You could also use a ribbon. I wanted to only tie one side of the strap to itself if want two separate pieces you'll need longer than 60'' (I just used 1.5'' of a 60'' fabric) 

Then I added a belt from the same color as the straps. I used about 9'' of 60'' fabric for the belt (using 2 pieces of 4.5" x  60". Creating a 4.5"x 120" then folded horizontally and finished off).

This refashion was super easy! And I love how it looks, especially with the matching belt! And even better total cost for materials: $1 for the dress + $2 for coral fabric for straps and belt = $3