Hat Refashion: Old Hat, New Hat

Once upon a time I had a favorite hat.

Until the sad, sad day that the snap broke in the back.

I bought a new one in blue, but I couldn't part with this one.  

I decided to see if I could resurrect it somehow.

I sketched out this little idea out and turned it into fabric appliqué.

Then stitched it onto my hat covering the old design.

To fix the back I just picked out the seam and took out the plastic snaps and added some velcro in its place.

I think it came out kinda cool!  

It's definitely a unique piece.

I have another old hat I want to try this out on, too.

I like that I can wear my fabric art pieces.

Super fun!

What do you think?

Erinn from Sticky Genius

Sequin dress refashion #1

I sadly had this dress in my closet and it was never worn. We are talking about years (7?) and never worn. It was gorgeous with tags still on it, but for some reason it just didn't work for my shape. I thought I could change it up but never had any idea on what to do, until I keep seeing all these cute shirts with open backs. Now I don't want to wear them without any support but didn't want to show off my bra. I decided to cut off the top part of this dress and turn it into a crop top I could wear with some of these tops.

Sorry no pics on.... I still have my winter wardrobe out. But it actually has bra hooks to be adjustable. This is part 1, which can be found here, I plan on turning the skirt portion of the dress into a top.

Cheers,
Lauren

Dresses on a string..

Three on a row..
Easter holiday and long evenings in my hobby room along with my sewing machines... = Happiness!! ;-)

This time I forgot to take pictures of before..  but I have used t-shirts, curtains and jeans.  All cotton fabrics.

The one to the right, is the "sister" of the one I blogged before..

 This is an old curtain and a t-shirt.. and some lace.

The old Lee Jeans and the rest of the curtains...

Refashioned Bog Coat Refashion

A long time ago, I used a velvet skirt to cut out flowers and make arrangements to applique to my version of a bog coat. Follow the link for one idea of how to make one.

In my version all the excess is folded in like two big tucks in the back. Also the length of the sleeves is controlled by adding a cuff. I also folded in the front edges and added a bit from the skirt for a collar and bits from the waistband to make fastenings.

That long ago!

But I never did like how short it was in the front. With a skirt it was fine, but with trousers not so happy.

Happily, bog coats have plenty of room and it still fits me. But I dislike the shortness even more.

A while back I was sorting my cupboards and found that I still had one panel of the velvet skirt.

The other day, I realised I could add some sort of band to the bottom and I would be happier.

So, I cut 2 6inch wide strips. I stitched them together folded lengthwise and started pleating them onto the bottom of the bog coat. A bit of stitching...

And now, I like it much better.

Slightly peplum-ish but not over the top.

Pantone Projects (no. 2)

Time flies when you're crazy busy, but my second Pantone project for 2014 is finally here!

Right there.

Project no. 2 is on the redder (more red?) side of "radiant orchid," but radiant it is. I found it while thrifting with a friend last year. It had a lot of potential, but the saggy neckline reminded me of that Jennifer Lopez dress (you know the one).

"Waiting for tonight, ohh-ohhh!"

The original elastic was shot, so I opened the casing, pulled out two feet of stretchless elastic, and closed the casing. (I could have replaced the elastic, but I didn't need the neck to stretch.)

Let's unscandalize this dress.

But it still didn't feel right. The top was somehow both constricting and billowy,  so I removed the purple-y polyester lining, which kept it from hanging properly while I wore it. I also chopped several inches off the bottom.

Bon voyage!

And then I proceeded to do something stupid. I decided to do some quick touch up painting while wearing my newly finished dress, because I'm smart like that. Needles to say, I got brown paint all over my dress.

After several days soaking in a mix of soapy water and "It's Awesome" cleaner (and a variety of other minor calamities) I was able to save the dress. 

Finally!

There is more about this refashion (and all the hiccups along the way) on my blog. I had originally planned on my next Pantone project being my Easter dress, but with my track record lately, maybe I should aim for Thanksgiving.

- Elizabeth
aka The Hungry Octopus

Now blogging at www.TheHungryOctopus.com!