Remove the Collar From a Dress

I found this dress at Target on the 75% off rack for $6.00...so of course I tried it on...and I loved it!...except it had a collar. See, me and collars don't get along too well. I have a shorter neck...so I feel like I lose it all together when I wear one.

So here I am trying the dress on, loving the fit everywhere...but the neck (which is the LAST place I normally dislike!). So I folded the collar under and loved the look...so I decided there had to be a way to remove it...and I took a chance on the $6.00 dress.

Here is what I looked like in the dress before:....:)

The collar was top stitched on (not between any layers)...so I took my seam ripper and started taking it off. I had hoped that the fabric underneath was going to be finished and I wouldn't have to do anything at all...but no such luck:)

I thought hard about how to take in the raw edges without it looking like I did...so I finally decided that since this was a wrap dress...I would take in the edges 1/4" all the way around the dress.

So I folded them in 1/4", pinned, and sewed.

And TA-DA! A collarless dress for my tiny neck:)

So what did I do with the collar? Recovered an old headband for my daughter of course! She has a pair of leggings this exact color (also from Target)

I'm going to call this project free since I didn't have to spend any additional money to complete it. Don't you love it when that happens? Plus now I have a dress AND a headband for $6!