Patterned Shorts DIY

I'm back with a quick refashion using a free pattern I found online and this thrifted maternity top I picked up for $2.50. I loved the pattern and border along the bottom hem.

The shorts pattern can be found here at Elle Frost, a fashion blog with inspiration and diys, and if you jump over you'll see that the final product is different from my own. I'll explain why along the way ;).

The bottom border was what sold me on this top as the perfect piece to become shorts. I cut across at the waistline and laid the pattern pieces to make sure I'd have enough fabric(after having printed, cut out, and taped together). I used them 'loosely' as a guide when cutting out the pieces for my shorts. I didn't want to do more sewing than necessary, so I kept the side seams of the top intact and opted out of making the rounded hem and side slits that the pattern calls for. Then, all I had to sew was the front and back seam, the legs and the waistband (with elastic). Super easy! Here's how they turned out.

This is my first pair of patterned shorts and I love them! They're light and comfy for lounging around, but also for being out in the heat. I did add a little bit to the width of the pattern pieces as I knew I wanted them to fit loosely. Can't wait to make an actual copy of the original pattern with some leftovers from my stash! Hope you stop over at Elle Frost for this free pattern and more fashion inspiration :).

Hope you liked these...you can find this post and many other refashions at my blog Little Did You Know.

Peace,
Andrea

Tribal Again!

I started with this thrifted dress I picked up for $4 (I believe).

It's actually very cute, fits me perfectly, and I could have left it, but I felt like messing around with the flexibility of this dress. So, I simply seam ripped it in two finishing off the bottom as a skirt and the top as a bandeau.

Here's the skirt.

Here's the bandeau.

Now that I've got two pieces, I can play a little more with how I wear this. As a dress, still, if I prefer...or separately!

How about you? Do you cut into perfectly good clothing just to make it something more? If not, maybe you should give it a try ;). Hope you enjoyed this one. If you'd like to see more of the process you can find it here. Happy Refashioning!

Peace,
Andrea

A Long Time Coming

This refashion started in April. It actually got as far as only needing to be hemmed to finish it up. And then it sat. I was gone much of May, and then June kinda rolled by... Well, it's time! I finally finished up hemming it by hand and get to show you how it began and the final product! Yay ;)

Here goes.

I started off with this homemade dress that I thrifted for $5. I bought it because it was homemade, not because I particularly liked the dress or the fabric. But I knew I could turn this piece around. Literally.

The back, to me, seemed like it should be the front, while the front (with the zipper up the belly, the strange gap at the top of the zip and below the buttons...) seemed like it should be the back.

So, I chopped off the top of the bodice including the sleeves, turned it around, created a cutout in my new back, chopped off the hem to make straps, took some in so that it fit, tweaked here and there, and finally finished off the skirt's hem.

And guess what? I really really really like it!

It's perfect for twirling :).

And the before and after. I'm so glad I could save this dress, and though it is a bit dark, it's such a light cotton fabric which is perfect for the heat and humidity we're experiencing. Yay for summer dresses! Yay for saving someone's homemade piece and giving it new life!

Hope you enjoy this as much as I do, and if you have any questions on how I did this (as you may with the lack of step-by-step shots), feel free to check out my blog or ask! I'd love to hear from you :).

Peace,
Andrea

Cropped Leather Jacket

So I came across this leather jacket in our building's 'giveaway' area.

I really like the cutouts, the simplicity of the design (no lining), and the color. However, it was boxy.

I wanted a more modern look and immediately knew I would crop it.

Leftovers! I'll save that for a later project :). The new cropped length was great, but now I needed to tackle the boxiness of it all. I did so by adding darts in the back. And here they are from the outside.

 Here's the final result.

I love how simple the changes were and what an impact they had! Well, what do you think? An improvement or would you have left it? I can't wait to get to work with the leftovers from this one...I'm thinking a clutch/purse, iPhone case...I'll combine the two! If you want to see more of this project and my process, you can find it here. Happy Monday!

Peace, 

Andrea

Making 'Easy' Complicated

I'm gonna start off with my before and after pic...I know, I know, that's crazy talk! ;) But there's a reason for this. Take a gander:

Looks like a long fitted t-shirt turned into a shorter fitted t-shirt that can also be worn as a crop top. And that's what it is! However, the process looks nothing like what it should have. Simple chop and hem, right? WRONG! I went through three different versions of a refashion before settling on the final 'after'. 

First, a two piece crop top and skirt set...easy enough! Chop, add elastic and hem.

Then, I thought, no, this is too tiny for me and I would never wear it...maybe I'll make a peplum!

I tried gathering...

I tried pleating...

And I didn't like it.

So, I cut the 'peplum' part back down to size and reattached it to the cropped top, threw in some elastic and there you have it. That's how you make 'easy' super complicated :-D

Here's that before and after one more time for good measure:

Haha, hope your recent refashions have had fewer personalities than my own...for more info on this crazy project, hop on over here. Happy Refashioning!

Peace,
Andrea

Kimonos

I've finally jumped on the kimono bandwagon, folks! Back in May I thrifted this lovely silk robe and had plans to refashion it immediately. Well, I went away for almost a month and two weeks after getting back have finally tackled it! And it was pretty simple. Here's where I started:

Now, all I did was chop it off just above the pockets (giving it a curved hem) and finished off the raw edges with a  rolled hem. I was at first skeptical, but I'm loving it after all! AND I still have the whole bottom part to use up in other fun projects...here's the before and after:

To see more ways of styling this cropped kimono, you can check out today's blog post here.

This next kimono is made from scratch, but just as quick. I started with this thrifted piece of vintage polyester fabric:

I cut it according to the dimensions on Merrick's amazingly easy-to-follow tutorial (hate patterns so anything using two rectangles and 3 straight lines of sewing is the best kind of 'pattern' in my book!) The final step was to cut the front with a rounded hem, which is optional. No finishing off as I won't be seeing any fraying with this fabric!

And there you have it! A fun kimono-style jacket perfect for a cool, rainy day :). I got immediate compliments when I decided to wear it just after finishing it...another reason I decided not to hem ;). I couldn't wait to put it on! Seriously, go check out Merrick's version, as the fabric she used is amazing and her styling is impeccable.

Look here for more info on this piece :).

Peace,
Andrea

Playing catch-up

Hi all,

I've been out of the loop for a little over two weeks now, and finally have internet access! So, I thought I'd catch up on a couple of quick and easy refashions I've done since being back in MI.

The first is a no-sew refashion of this hand-me-down t-shirt from my sis-in-love. She and my brother both attended UofM and I'll sport a shirt with my beloved state's name on it anytime :). However, I don't wear many t-shirts (unless its solid gray, white, or black) and quickly got to cutting this one up. Sans sleeves and collar, I trimmed up the collar as close to the seam as possible and then tied it around the center back to give my new top a racerback.

Now I've got a new workout top to throw on when the really hot days of summer roll around.

This next one I made just before coming to Michigan. I took this thrifted men's shirt that had some discoloration in the white stripes on the sleeves...

And using my reversible mini, made myself a striped skirt. I washed it, and lo and behold it discolored more and much much worse :-/. So, I threw it in my suitcase and while here, put it in a dye bath. I wanted more of an ombre effect, but that didn't work out so well...it is only slightly lighter at the bottom than at the top. However, it totally covered up the discoloration and made this skirt wearable, which was the goal!

 I wore it with my favorite gray t-shirt yesterday for a day playing with my son and nieces.

To see more, you can check out my catch-up post over on my blog. That's that for now, but I went thrifting while here and found a few pieces to refashion, so hopefully I can spend some time with them this weekend ;). Loved going back through all of the posts you all have been sharing lately, and just have to say you all are awesome!!! Keep it up :)

Peace,
Andrea

Vintage Floral

I found this really sweet homemade vintage floral tunic at the thrift store a couple of months back. The only two issues? Discoloration at the neckline and a constrictive neckline...I think the neckline needs to change ;).

After taking care of that neckline, I decided to lower the hem as well so that I can wear this as a dress, or a tunic. (It looks so cute with skinny jeans or leggings!!!) Today, being warm, prompted me to style it simply with a skinny belt and flats (not pictured).

If you want a couple extra details, your can see my blog post here. Here's the before and after shot. It was so cute as it was that I didn't want to change it much, but those two tweaks made all the difference in updating this sweet piece. So pretty!!! :-D

Peace,
Andrea

#MMMay14: New Refashions!

I decided to pledge along with Me-Made May this year and my pledge was to wear me-made items everyday this month, make two pieces from patterns (something I NEVER do) and complete 10 refashions. Well, I have completed two refashions and wore them together today!

The first was this sleeveless lace top that I thrifted last month:

I turned it into a peplum tank by cutting off the bottom half, opening the loops and resewing them together before gathering and attaching it to the top half again...but it was kinda loose so I added a few pleats in the back at the new waist and then gathered the sleeves at the shoulder as I didn't like the original width. Here's how it came out:

My next piece was this thrifted floral t-shirt:

I cut it up the center, shortened the length and finished off the raw edges with twill and bias tape. Now I've got a new cropped floral cardi that I'm absolutely in love with!

Come see a bit more on these refashions and how I wore them today here. Hope you like 'em because I'm crushing on the two together big time! ;)

Peace,
Andrea

A Button Clutch

Made a sweet little clutch this morning and thought I'd share :) I've got a more involved refashion on the way, but that can wait when there is something so quick and easy to be made (who says instant gratification is a bad thing?) :).

I started out with this $1 thrifted woven mat.

I selected a few vintage buttons and grabbed a vintage snap, sewed up the sides of the folded mat and sewed the buttons and snap in place.

And now I've got a little pop of color to complete my spring/summer outfits!

If you want to see a bit more or the button items that inspired this clutch, head on over to my blog. Until next time!

Peace,

Andrea

More Bathing Suit Modifications + A Coverup

Continuing in the theme of bathing suits and modifying them to work for me, I got to work on the other refashion I did last year that needed some extra tweaking.

I'd originally inserted inch wide elastic at the top of these new bottoms, but that wasn't working well for me and I wanted a bit more tummy control, so I replaced it with super wide elastic I found at the thrift store last year. I also removed the elastic/rubber from the leg holes, and by simply overlapping the ends a tiny bit instead of an inch, I gained two extra inches for each leg hole...much more comfortable and flattering! Come see the step-by-step here.

This suit, refashioned last year, had one final piece that I wanted to modify and fix. The halter top.

I removed the initial gather I'd made in the center of the bust, then reshaped it and inserted a soft foam cup bra for support. Come see how that went down here.

Finally, I played around with mixing & matching my bathing suit pieces and made myself a quick coverup from a scarf. Find the tutorial and mix&match details here.

Think I'm ready for summer and days spent at the pool or beach! Hope you enjoy these refashions and can see more ways of making your suit fit and flatter to the max!

Peace,
Andrea

Modifying a bathing suit

I've decided to revamp my bathing suits and thought I'd share as I'm addressing issues that some of us deal with when bathing suit shopping. I know when I'm buying a two-piece, I need two different sizes, which can make a one piece even trickier...how to over come this? Just give up bathing suit shopping, right? No way! I'm taking bathing suits that I've refashioned once, still had fit issues, and am now refashioning again. I'll start with this hand-me-down maternity suit. It went from a two-piece halter tankini style to a three-piece convertible high-waisted bikini set. But it still wasn't working for me. It flattened out my already small bust and I never felt comfortable or confident enough to wear it...ever. once. So, I got to work :).

I started off with the 'convertible' piece...

modified an old strapless bra...

And made a new flattering top!

Now, to transform the halter top into something just as cute so that I can switch up the look of this suit :). Here's a look at the before and after:

And if you want a bit more detail, take a look over here. Thanks for reading, and let me know what you think! I'm pretty much in love with this style of top and am glad that it is so flattering for my size...yay for a bathing suit victory! Would you or have you ever customized your bathing suits to work better for you? Keep an eye out for another post where I tackle too-small leg holes (another suit) and the halter top from this suit!

Peace,
Andrea