Knitted refashion #1 - my sister-in-laws gloves

Over New Years I had a great big think about how I could combine two of my favourite DIY crafts: knitting and refashioning. Mainly because during my virtual chat with Zoe where I was made to think a lot about my refashioning endeavours, and I must admit that I just don't get as much sewing done as I would have liked.
However, since our move to Munich in 2012 (we are back in Denmark again) I got much more into knitting again. Something I had given up a bit after my pregnancy (damn those swollen fingers). I also felt so inspired in Munich that I finally began designing my own knitting patterns (it's amazingly fun with, sometimes, mind-numbingly complex maths, phew!!). So I just didn't feel like spending time behind the sewing machine and that's usually where refashions take place. But, luckily not always!

So here I am bringing my first installment of a knitted refashion project, with absolutely no sewing involved. My sister-in-law had these nice gloves that could convert to mittens, but only for the 4 fingers. The thumb was left out in the cold. So I added a little cover for the thumbs for her. Now all 5 fingers can be warm and toasty. :-)

You will find the entire project with instructions and more photos on my blog. 

Thanks, 

Eddie

Thanks for all your help!

Some of you may remember me asking for ideas for this project back in December. I just remembered that I hadn't posted the results on here (it's not on my blog as it was a gift).

The robe originally belonged to my boyfriends mother, she gave it to me last year to refashion into something for myself. Instead, I made her an infinity scarf and clutch from it! Below are a few more photos..

For more refashions, or to follow along Check out my Blog: Buttons and Birdcages

You can also follow me on BlogLovin or Like My Page on Facebook

And, as a parting gift, here is her son wearing the items :)

Spruced up!

Spruced up!

Hello and happy Chinese New Year!!

I found this cute red dress which said it was my size, but it wasn't. I bought it anyway (that's what's sooooo good about refashioning!)

Slightly too everything...

I popped it in a tub of dye - Rosewood Red from Dylon to give it a less tartan-y and deeper and richer feel. I know, it's still pretty damn tartan-y...

Way too long

I then popped it on a dress form and brought it in, there was a side zip thank goodness - and raised the hemline.

It was just a little spruce, but it made all the world of difference. It will now get loads of wear instead of being looked over because it's wasn't quite right.

You can see the full details here..

2ndspin

Thanks for reading!

☽AliceSaysNo☾

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The zip up sweater

My toddler is in love with a PBS show were the children wear a red sweater with a trolly. I need to make this for him.

1. Found the red sweater that I could alter.

2. I found a zipper that was just an inch shorter than the sweater.

3. I cut the sweater down the front.

4. I sewed the zipper on to the sweater.

5. Sewed the patch onto the sweater.

TaDa a perfect sweater!

Sew wool hats from old sweaters

I have been trying to learn more about knitting recently and have been going to a local knit cafè group. One of the members has been collecting knit and crocheted hats and scarves for a local organization that helps homeless people in the area. I figured that I would be able to help out more by sewing some hats rather than making them with yarn. (This novice knitter and crocheter is pretty dang slow!) I know we've all seen and/or sewn hats from old sweaters before and there are gazillions of them all over Pinterest, so this is really nothing new to most of us. But isn't it great when you can take just three abandoned sweaters (I didn't end up using the red one) and in a few hours turn them into...

...six warm winter hats and caps that are all unique and, more importantly, will keep heads warm on those who need them most?

If you're interested in seeing the different techniques I used, check out this post on my blog, Cucicucicoo. I know I've been pretty absent here lately, but I have a bunch more wintery refashions coming up!

Reindeer Sweater Cardigan to V-neck Sweater

This is a super easy refashion. This polar vortex here is forcing me to refashion all winter clothes.

This sweater's buttons instantly fell off as soon as I put on the cardigan. Like poof! Drop, Drop! I didn't like the buttons and it was too long to fit over my hips without strain. So I decided I needed to shorten the sweater, which simply I folded the band up from the bottom and sewed across. Then to turn into into a v-neck by sewing the middle bands on top of each other and then sewed a long rectangle. All of the buttons came off. Here is my finished product!

The comparison

For more of this refashion click here. I love my new sweater! This is my 7th refashion for this year, I have a 99 refashion challenge and now I have 92 left! LOL.

Cheers,
Lauren

Large boxy t-shirt refashion

I've been hoarding a few massive t-shirts for a while now.  They're all sentimental in some way, shirts I wore when I had my first boyfriend, or friends left behind when they moved away.  They're all baggy and old and in need of a revamp to turn them from something languishing in my fabric box to something I would actually wear out and about, but they all remind me fondly of a certain time in my life.  Ah, nostalgia.



This was a large boxy t-shirt I inherited when a friend emigrated at the end of vet school.  She's originally from Washington State so I pulled this one out of the charity bags she gave me to rifle through because it reminded me of her and the fun times we had together at uni. I should have taken a before picture, but imagine large boxy t-shirt.  You can do it.



I'm still practising sewing with jersey and I'm still struggling with the basics.  My seams never seem to be straight and quite often go weirdly ripply.  Although I pinned around So Zo's t-shirt to vest pattern to get the basic body right on this remake, the armhole openings still came out too big, despite the fact that they fit fine on my other makes with this pattern.  I guess it's because I made proper wide straps rather than using elastic, clearly I got the sizing wrong because they give me a slightly baggy-trucker look I think.  Also, looking at this photos I feel like I should have ironed this top, but then who seriously irons t-shirts?!





All in, not perfect but definitely wearable.  I've been wearing this a lot as a vest under my scrub top at work, for the warmth.  I can imagine in the summer it will be nice for beach walks with the dog, the kind of outdoor activity where I invariably end up in the sea so it's good to wear something you're not too attached to.  Definitely room for improvement, B- must try harder.

You can read similar posts on my crafty endeavours on my blog, Craft & Thrift.

White Lace

Happy Hump Day! And hope you are all refashioning!

I found this white linen sweater and a couple of yards of white stretch lace fabric on different thrifting trips sometime last year. I spent no more than $2 on the lace (I have a limit on what I'll pay for fabric depending on size) and I could have spent up to $4 on the sweater but probably less if it was a half-off day.

White sweater meets white lace!

I started by making the lace into an extra long loop of lace trim (several inches wide). I then reworked the neckline and the hem of the sweater before gathering up my lace and attaching it to the new asymmetrical hem! Here's how it came out:

And here's all the lacey goodness!

I can wear it this way too!

Loooooove a low back!

I love how this one turned out and again, though it is not totally my style, I think it is so incredibly pretty! Hop on over to my blog to check out the step-by-step :)

Here's one final look at the before and after:

Peace,

Andrea

Have you ever wanted to get into a stranger’s boxers? I have and I did (shhh, don't tell my husband). And here are the photos to prove it!

A shirt stays a shirt

With this shirt upcycling, I really achieved the most green objective for my refashion projects: no waste and very small amount of work.
Here is the large man shirt in cotton:

And here is me wearing it:

The intermerdiary steps are explained on my blog. 
I just love man shirts

Cheers
In the mood for Couture

Tweed Peplum Blazer to Skirt

This weekend, I decided to turn this too-large pink and brown herringbone blazer into... a skirt!

I cobbled together a basic pencil skirt from the sleeves, upper back, and upper fronts. The lapels formed the back slit, the collar became part of the waistband, and the pocket flap band was salvaged as a peplum - with pockets still functional!

I can go casual or professional.

If you're interested in more pics or details on the process, hop on over to CarissaKnits!

When your top half and your bottom half aren't the same size

This summer, I found this denim dress for $1 at a charity shop. It was a size 4, so it fit my shoulders and chest, but not so much around my hips. That's the trouble with being "pear-shaped," I guess. Still, at only a buck, I figured I could do something with it.

I thought about trying to keep it as a dress, but I got a bit overwhelmed with the tailoring that would be involved, especially given the decorative top-stitching that the piece already had. I decided to go the simple route and chop it down into a shirt. I used a favorite button-down as a guide and cut off the excess, much as I did here. I folded over a narrow hem and stitched it down, with the exception of the facing where the buttonholes were. This part was already too thick to fold over twice and stitch down. I just folded that part over once and used some Fray Check on the raw edge to keep it under control.

Here's how it turned out. 

Again, it was a pretty simple, quick transformation, but it made this piece wearable. And if you like my bowtie necklace, that was another refashion. You can find the instructions here at Plan B with Anna Evers. Her posts are originally written in Spanish, and the translations can be rough, but Anna has some great refashion ideas. Check her out.

It's been a while since I did a major garment reconstruction, but I am working on one now. Look for it next week!

Amy

DIY infinity scarf & beany out of a pullover!

Infinity scarf out of a pullover

Infinity scarf worn as a beany!

Hi friends!

Except my passion for rings and necklaces I also love scarfs in various colors and textures. As I was browsing my closet I found an old knitted blouse and decided to transform it into an infinity scarf and beany. With only one pair of scissors and a few stitches you can make it too! 

So let's start.

Photo 1

You will need :

1) an old knitwear (preferably a pullover)

2) a pair of scissors

3) a sewing machine

Photo 2 

Place your knitted blouse on a straight surface and cut down the sleeves.

Photo 3

Now take the remaining piece (body part) and let's go sewing it. 

Photo 4-5

Adjust your sewing machine to zig zag mode and sew 1cm the hem. 

That's it! You have all-in-one scarf & beany ready to wear and you have re-used your old knitwear, too! 

Enjoy it!

xxx

Mikalina

Failed Tee Refashion Rescue.

This started off as a tee shirt refashion which went horribly wrong. Lack of planning meant that the lace insert was off centre and puckered. Not good enough to wear in public, I was reduced to wearing it at home. I liked the braiding at the neckline so I thought that I would use that to be the inspiration for an infinity scarf. The braiding became a cool feature and now I am proud to wear my failed tee refashion rescue out in public in it's new guise as an infinity scarf.

So I created this

From this

By doing all of this. 

Feel free to see more of this @ Penelope Hanger Refashions