Another t-shirt dress

Back when it was still hot outside, I made this t-shirt dress that I neglected to post. So here it is. I started with two-shirts - a lovely, well-fitting ladies shirt and a huge blue men's t-shirt.

I loved the ruched sleeves of the gray shirt, but the hole-y bottom hem had to go. I made a skirt out of the men's shirt by cutting it out like so.

I sewed it along the side seams into more of an a-line shape. I sewed it with right sides together until I got to about 3 inches from the top edge. Then I flipped it right-side out and sewed the rest of the seam with the wrong sides together. This made it so that I could fold down the top few inches and have a waist-band of sorts on the dress. I joined the skirt to the shirt like so.

And here is how it looks with the waistband folded down.

Pretty comfy. Thanks for reading.  

-Amy

Superman dress

It has been almost a full month since my last post. I have been hard at work getting some new items ready for sale in my Etsy shop. I am using my refashioning skills to make cool dresses for girls who like things that clothing manufacturers think only boys should like. For example, I know a girl who loves Superman and Supergirl, but not all the pink and purple colors Supergirl clothes come in. To make her dress, I started out with this boys' Superman shirt and a men's red shirt.

I chopped the hem off the boys' shirt so the length was one inch more than I needed. I cut the top off the men's shirt to give me enough length for the skirt of a girl's size 6, plus an extra two inches. I gathered the skirt, turned it and the shirt inside out, and pinned the skirt to the inside of the shirt with one inch of overlap, then I stitched it down with a zigzag stitch.

I turned it right side out and folded down the overlap, so that the blue shirt hung over the skirt. I stitched it down 3/4 of an inch from the edge of the blue shirt using a stretch stitch. Then I did another row of stitches 1/4 inch from the first one to mimic the hem of a regular t-shirt.

Here's how it looked from the inside - no raw edges! I decided it needed red sleeves, so I cut some armholes.

I used a sleeve template to cut two sleeves from the red shirt, maintaining the original sleeve hem.

Once the sleeves were sewed in place, this is how it looked. 

I am pretty excited about this project and the other ones in my Etsy shop. Check them out if you get a chance. Or make your own dress for a cool girl who likes superheroes and comic books!

Thanks for reading! -Amy

Sleeveless top

I recently made a few simple changes to this black top. I wanted another sleeveless shirt to wear on a vacation/family reunion. It was funny - everyday, at least one person asked if my outfit was refashioned. They seemed disappointed when I said, "No." But at least I know they are interested in what I do!

For this top, I just removed the little wing-like sleeves, took in the sides a bit, then stitched around the arm holes. Quick and easy!

Thanks for reading!

-Amy

Jumping on the kimono bandwagon

I have been seeing a ton of kimono DIYs lately, and I wanted in on the action. Fortunately, I found this drape-y, silk-y top at a rummage sale for the low, low price of 50 cents! Okay, so it is polyester, but it is washable, which is a definite plus. And it is covered with lovely little peacock feathers.

The gathered waist that made it so unflattering on me was the first thing that needed to go. Here's how it looked before I did anything to it.

I started by unpicking the elastic shirring along the waist. If you ever need to do this, here is an easy trick. On the inside, there will be lines of straight elastic thread that have regular thread stitches looped around them. Use a seam ripper or scissors to cut the elastic thread at each side seam and in the middle. Pick out the tail of one piece of elastic thread, so you can get a good grip on it, and just pull it out. It should slide free of the regular thread pretty easily, especially since it was cut in the middle for a shorter length. Once you have both pieces out, the regular thread can just be lifted off from the outside of the shirt. It only took me about 5 minutes to get all the gathering out this way. Here's what I was left with.

My piece now had the nice boxy kimono shape, but not the opening on the front. I used some sharp scissors to slice it right up the middle, then folded each raw edge over twice about half an inch. Once the sides were stitched down, it was ready to go.

I have been wearing it with tank tops for a little more coverage without getting too warm. Trendy and cost-effective - a win-win. Thanks for reading!

-Amy

Luxe sweatshirt, take 2, and Workshirt, part 2

Last fall, I made this lace front sweatshirt. At the time, my computer was acting up, so I couldn't post the pictures of the process. Well, I made a similar sweatshirt using the same method, so I thought I would post it again. This time, I started out with this Rock & Republic top I got at a yard sale.

I liked the silver studs at the shoulder seams, but the whole lion/crest thing wasn't really doing it for me. So I cut out the entire front panel. 

I used that piece as a guide to cut out my replacement fabric, a sheer, shiny silver/black material.

Then I pinned the shear fabric in place, again using the front panel as a guide.

I removed the lion panel and stitched the sheer fabric all the way around along the existing seams. Here's how it looks now.

Much improved, I think. 

I also wanted to share an update to this blue workshirt I made in May. I thought it needed a patch. My dad, a Harley guy, was kind enough to let me peruse his stash of patches. I picked out this cool Harley Officer Training (HOT) one. It adds just the right touch.

 Thanks for reading.

-Amy

A skirt into a dress

A lot of you  lovely ladies have been posting skirt-to-dress refashions lately. It's a classic, and here's my version. I started with this maxi skirt that overwhelmed my 5'2" body a bit. The "polka dots" are really small bulls-eyes, like the Target logo. 

I removed the elastic from the front part of the waistband and tightened up the back elastic a bit.

I marked a line with pins straight across the front of the skirt where my new waistline would be, then stitched the top layer to the lining all the way across.

Just below my new seam, on one side seam of the skirt, I stitched down the end of a short length of elastic, maybe 6 inches long. Then I stitched the other end of the elastic to the other side seam of the skirt so that it brought the two sides together on the front of the skirt just below the seam I made. Finally, I stretched the elastic out so I could sew another seam just below it, encasing the elastic. When I finished, it looked like this.

I didn't trust the top to stay up on its own, so I made a strap from a length of ribbon I had on hand. I folded the middle section in half and stitched it together, then made it into a V in the center.

Finally, I added the strap to the front of my new dress. Here's how it looks.

And from the back...

Hopefully, the black won't be too hot for summer. Thanks for reading!

-Amy

Lace-panel t-shirt

For a long time, I had this lace-y top from Modcloth pinned to my Refashion Ideas board. I finally got around to making it, with lace left over from this refashion. I started out with a plain sky-blue t-shirt.

I took a piece of lace and laid it atop the shirt to figure out where I wanted the scalloped edge to fall.

I pinned under just a bit of the lace along the edge of the neck band and stitched it down , then trimmed away the excess lace close to the stitches.

Working my way around the lace piece, from the shoulder seams to the armholes, I pinned under the edge of the lace and stitched it down, close to the existing seams, one section at a time.

Finally, I sewed down the scalloped edge, very carefully, then trimmed out the part of the t-shirt that was inside the seams very, very carefully. Here's how it turned out.

And here's the close-up.

I love how it looks, and I hope it will be nice and cool when the weather turns hot. I wore it here with a strapless bra, but I may need to buy a regular one in a cute blue color to wear with this shirt.

Thanks for reading!   

-Amy-

Tuxedo shorts

For a few years now, I have had these too-small shorts in my drawer. They were an optimistic purchase when I was losing weight, but I never got to be quite small enough for them.

I decided to add a stripe of black fabric to each side seam to mimic the look of tuxedo pants. Digging through my scrap stash, I found some black sleeves left over from this project.

I cut 3" wide strips from each sleeve, then examined the shorts to figure out how best to open the side seams. I thought I would have to cut them, but the waistband also had side seams. So I got out my seam ripper and got to work. Once the seams were open, I pinned then stitched my fabric strips into both sides. I top-stitched either side of both stripes to stitch down the seam allowance. It was really difficult to get a good shot of the stripes, as they are pretty subtle, but here you go.

And a close-up of the shorts from the side...

Although I am glad to have another pair of shorts in the rotation, I am afraid these won't get a ton of use in the hot weather, since they are black. Therefore, I have been plotting several refashions involving cut-outs and lace panels. Stay tuned!

-Amy

Put a bird on it

I am in the process of making some cool and comfy clothes for when it hits 90 degrees this summer, like the polo dress I posted last week. Today's refashion is another t-shirt dress, inspired by this dress. I started with this cool XL blue men's shirt that had velvet birds on it. I also used a boring black v-neck shirt that fit well in the body but was a tad too short.

I chopped the sleeves and the neck off the men's shirt to make a trapezoid shape and cut off the lower half of the v-neck.

I took in the sides of the blue shirt to the width of the v-neck and also to make it a more flattering, less boxy shape. Then I turned the blue shirt inside out and tucked the v-neck inside, with right sides together and raw edges lined up. I pinned the shirts together all the way around, then stitched the seam with a stretch stitch.

I folded the seam allowance toward the black shirt and top-stitched it down. Here is the finished dress - a close-up and a full-length view.

It was very easy, and it took less than an hour. And it is so comfy! Thanks for reading!

-Amy