A shredded seam

A friend gave me this slip, which had sentimental value to her, because she thought I'd be charmed by its sweet colors and soft lace.  It was, however, a little the worse for wear. 

THE DAMAGE

The two side seams were shredded open at the bottom, too damaged in the tearing to be re-sewn there unless I wanted to make the slip smaller.  And why would I make it smaller when that kind of damage usually comes from the skirt diameter not being big enough to let the legs move?  So I decided to make it have two slits, to give the legs room to move!  The openings were already there; they just needed neatening up. 

MENDING

Click through the gallery to see the steps I used to make an open slit and face it.  I did the same on the other side of the skirt.  I could have made my facings larger and then made the edges meet at the center of the slit, like a welt pocket, but I didn't remember to cut enough facing fabric, and it wasn't terribly pretty fabric anyway. 

FINISHED

Faced opening...

. . . veiled by lace.

And here's the finished look, on the right side of the fabric.  Let the lace fall back into place over the slits, and the slip is usable again!