The Knee Boot’s Connected to the Ankle Boot

 got a really cute pair of knee-high boots many years ago and kind of wore out the tops of them, the bottoms were fine though. I got a replacement pair on a great deal and planned on just pitching the old ones… but never did.

Left: Old Boot. Right: New Boot.

Thanks to Pinterest, I found a post on easily converting knee-high boots to ankle boots and thought of my beloved, worn out boot. (I wore the boots under my jeans a lot during college which is how they got damaged.)

I measured and cut them off at the height I wanted and used hot glue to keep the tops folded over. I did a little sewing to keep the zipper capped, but this could probably be done with hot glue as well for a no-sew refashion.

Here are my new old boots:

 You can read more about my boot refashion on my blog, ProbablyRachel.com. There also a link to go vote for my Tea Party Dress Refashion for a Best DIY Blog Post.

Men's Polo to Blue Scarf

Thanks to your advice on a previous refashion, I finally set to tackling the old men's polo and turned it into an infinity scarf.

My husband's old polo had some little wear holes in the shoulders, so he gave it to me. He's learned not to just pitch his worn out or damaged clothes!

He first asked if there were a way to fix these, but there are too many and I'm not that talented!

I cut off the top and bottom of the shirt and a side seam, made it into a fabric tube, then righted it and stitched the ends together.

Sorry for the mirror selfie

You can read the steps (and why there were so many!) on my blog at ProbablyRachel.

Dress to Date-Night Top

With 2013 wrapping up and 2014 planning in full swing, I've been so busy with work and trying to do the holiday rounds that I haven't done more than sew a button back on in weeks!

However, I have a "cheater" refashion from this summer that I haven't shared yet. It was a quick and easy solution to this awkward dress:

The lightweight jersey fabric was so comfortable and the print was fun but it made a short girl like me look much shorter.

I literally just chopped the dress off a few inches below the belt loops and it was ready to go. The material doesn't fray so I didn't have to go to the trouble of hemming the edge. Then it was off to dinner at a new restaurant with my husband.

You can read more about this top and what I did (and will redo eventually) with the bottom of the dress on my blog probablyrachel.com.

Men's Shirt to Little Black (Pinstripe) Dress

I found this short sleeve button-down shirt in a bunch of my husband's old things. The material is very soft and I liked the way it felt so much that I wanted to wear it!

I removed the things I didn't need, turned it backwards on my dress form, pinned, stitched and trimmed and ultimately ended up with a dress!

The details and more pictures are on my blog at probablyrachel.com.

It didn't turn out like the picture I had of it in my head, but for my first time refashioning something that my husband used to wear... I think it's okay!

I have an old polo of his that developed a few wear spots,  but is a lovely shade of blue that I'm trying to figure out what to refashion it into. Any suggestions?

A Utility Garter

For my friend’s wedding, the other attendants and I settled on a cute, one-shoulder, chiffon dress. It looked good on everyone, which is excellent and pretty rare when putting five different ladies in the same outfit.

I have type 1 diabetes and although my insulin pump is tubeless, I needed to have the receiver for my continuous glucose monitor with me a the dress didn't have pockets so I needed another way to carry it down the aisle with me.

I started with a nude thigh-high stocking:

I cut off the stocking, fashioned a pocket, stitched it on and carried my gear with me all day and night.

The step-by-step of how I made it is available on my blog.

Baring Arms Dress

I got this short sleeve, blue ruffle dress new for a whopping $8 on clearance at Target to wear for Easter. I wore it on Easter, neglected to get a picture and wasn’t thrilled. The sleeves were just okay and didn’t quite feel like they fit quite right. There wasn’t anything wrong with the dress, just a little eh in the sleeves and possibly overwhelming in the ruffles.

This dress didn't need a lot. It was clear that sleeves weren't  a good look on me. After getting rid of them, I tackled the overbearing ruffle a was pleased withe final product.

More on what I did and how I wore this dress if on my blog.

Pink Lace

I could call this refashion: the time my husband thought I was making lingerie.

Since graduating from college, I’ve gotten a bunch of my stuff that my parents had been storing for me. I really didn’t bother looking through it because it was stuff I’d lived without for four years. After we bought our house I started organizing, sorting and getting rid of things. I started with a scrap of hot pink lace. When I held up my finished project and showed Brad, he asked me if I had made lingerie.

I pinned, cut and stitched then ended up with a pink lace top.

I posted my process on probablyrachel.com

A Tea Party Dress

I picked this dress up at Goodwill for $3 to wear to my friend’s bridal shower tea party.

I obviously knew I couldn’t wear wear it as is and not be shunned. I was wearing jeans under it when the picture was taken!

I never intended to wear it that way, I saw the great print and waist on it and decided to make it look something like these dresses from Kohls ($100 ), Macy’s ($59) and Forever 21 ($19).

I snipped, sewed, shortened and added straps to get this dress:

I outlined my process on my blog here.

Just a Trim Dress

I've had this dress hanging in my closet for years and could count on one hand how many times I'd worn it.

I pulled it out of the closet for a complete overhaul, with the intent to completely replace the top portion. When I put it on for my mirror before picture, I kind of liked it again. But knew exactly what it needed...

The sleeves and awkward bottom trim had to go! And that was pretty much it.

More details and how I ended up wearing my dress can be found here.

Purple Patterned Sundress to Top

I’ve had this purple patterned sundress for a long time. I’m pretty sure that it was given to me shortly before leaving on my first cruise in 2009 (fun fact: that was when my husband proposed to me). It was great for relaxing in Florida and in the Caribbean, as well as getting ready for my wedding…

But now, it’s been hanging in the closet in the spare bedroom because it’s a wee bit short for a respectable married lady to wear. I love the pattern(s) and breezy fabric so it was slated to have a new life as something else.

After some chopping, hemming, more stitching and tying... my too-short sundress, became a top. Perfect for a cookout.

The details and more pictures are on my blog, Probably Rachel.

I was happy to christen my new dress form with this refashion. Can't wait to do more!

My First Refashion: A Sweater

I'd like to say a quick hello as a newbie member of the Refashion Co-Op, I'm excited to share my refashion projects with you all.

On my own blog, probablyrachel.com, I write about a bunch of topics including marriage, owning a home, making things and of course sewing projects. I constantly find myself thinking about things in the refashion basket and what potential they have. I thought it would be only fair to share my first real refashion and what got me started altering my clothes.

It started with an old pink sweater...
It was nice enough but pretty scratchy on the inside. It also made my fine, thin hair stand up with static, occasionally giving a shock when pulled on or off. But it had a great detail on the front.

I decided that this traditional sweater would have a better life as a cardigan so I snipped, sewed and attached a couple of ties on it... and voila. A tie-front cardigan that doesn't make my hair stand on end!

The full details on this refashion can be found here.

I'm looking forward to sharing more of my projects with you and continuing to be inspired by your designs!