(too tight) Dress to maxi skirt

I bought this dress in a summer sale for €15, knowing that it wouldn't fit. It was a small S size, almost XS (nothing to do with me eating too much chocolate easter eggs:)) but I really loved the petrol colour. It may seem strange, but I saw potential: an affordable maxi skirt in a beautiful color. That was a challenge I couldn't resist:).

In case you were wondering... the tailor's dummy on the left is in my size and as you can see the dress really is too tight. On the right you see the beautifull back with gathered elastic. I wanted to reuse the top edge for the waistband. A quick solution with a complete elastic waistband wouldn't work since I wanted to keep using the buttons. 

After measuring the length of the skirt I cut off the top. Then I took off the edge of the top. The combination of elastic with a front hook and eye fastening was perfect for my new waistband. It was a little to long for my waist, so I would have to take it in.

The fastening at the front made it possible to keep using the buttons as you can see on the picture below. Unfortunately I hadn't realized that there could be too much strain/pressure on the hook and eye on the inside. I was afraid the fabric would tear. That's why I added another supporting band on the inside, also with a button-opening. 

Not one but two waistbands!

I may have underestimated creating a solid waistband, but I'm still happy with the result. Still loving the petrol colour!

If you're interested in the complete making off, and/or the unexpected tear I discovered (and how I fixed it), you're welcome to visit vermaakster.blogspot.com. Until next time!

 

Men's Tie to Headband

 Hello Refashion Co-op. I found these fabulous purple corduroys at the thrift store and wanted something else purple to go with them. I decided to make a headband. (I am trying to grow out my bangs so my hair is driving me crazy!)

This tie matched so well. 

I used the narrow end of this tie. I left a bit of extra length on each side of the headband. 

I used my hot glue gun to attach the tie to the headband. 

I tucked the cut end inside with a dot of glue to hold it.

My headband was done quickly and I liked it a lot. Thanks for reading along, go to I Can Work With That for more how-to info.

 

Dress to Raincoat

 Hello Refashion Co-op. I found this unusual dress that was made from faux leather/pleather/vegan leather/vinyl/plastic. I thought it would make a great rain jacket. 

Before and after. 

I turned the dress around and cut the dress open and added a zipper. 

I added a belt like a trench coat would have. 

This was a fun project and I like the lightweight jacket I ended up with. Thanks for reading along, for more details go to I Can Work With That.

Removing Jean Pockets

 Hello Refashion Co-op. I found these jeans at a thrift store and they were super soft. They felt like sweat-pant-jeans. I loved them and thought hey would be so comfy. 

Do you see something is a little "off"? What is up with these pockets??

 

I had to remove the lopsided pockets. I unpicked the stitches from the inside so I would not damage the front of the jeans. 

 

There were some white marks from the stitches on the front of the jeans. I used black and blue permanent markers to make little dots on the white marks. It sounds crazy but it filled in the missing color really well.

 

I liked the plain dark wash without any pockets (Or stitch marks.) on the front. Thanks for reading a lot, to see more go to I Can Work With That.
 

 

 

A bow for bow sleeve shirt

 

Hi everyone,

The 14th anniversary Refashion co-op in February encouraged me to do some digging into the archives and statistics. For example, which blog posts were popular over the years, which refashions are unforgettable (too many!). Where do our readers come from (all over the world!) etc etc. I'll be sharing some fun facts and throwback refashions with you in the coming months. After all, Refashion Co-op is a treasure trove filled with refashion gems worth cherishing. 

Best read post
One of the things I wanted to find out is which post had gotten the most views over the years, I was curious!

Well, here it goes: out of 7982 posts(!), the best read post is Bow sleeve t-shirt by Andrea (aka Little did you know). Her post was published on march 7th in 2012 and has been viewed over 247.000 times (yes really)!

Andrea's Bow sleeve t-shirt

Now the fun part is that Andrea mentions in her post that she actually got her idea from fellow Refashion Co-op blogger Ruby Murray! And Ruby had shared her refashion 'long sleeve to bow sleeve' here a year before, in march 2011. 

Ruby's Bow sleeve tee

So you could say that Ruby and Andrea both were responsible for the most populair post on Refashion Co-op! Congratulations to you both, it's such a fun and simple idea. I immediately liked it when I saw it and I absolutely want to try it myself.

What's your favourite refashion shared here on Refashion Co-op? Let us know in the comments!

Ruby explains the whole process in her post and if you're into easy projects, you should look into it. According to Ruby it's 'quick and easy and you'll be done before you know it'! I guess that's my cue, until next time!