Sweatpants

Figured I'd slip a quick project in late this afternoon, and this was the easiest one in my pile! Cotton & Curls did this in December, and I immediately put it on my list of things to do...as soon as I found a pair of sweatpants! These were thrifted for $2:

I cut them off just above the hem, took them in a bit, then used some elastic and gathers to create these side gathers. Quick, easy, and a cute update for regular old sweats! Perfect for lounging around :)

Check out the Cotton & Curls' tutorial at the link above or hop over here to see mine.
Peace,
Andrea

Keep the old good leather jacket!

The more I sew, the less I enjoy complicated projects...the same for refashion. I started by deconstructing a pair of jeans into a top, now I just cut off the sleeves of a jacket and sew the armholes together to get a skirt.

The leather jacket I found in a thrift store is meant for transformation. The leather is so soft and the folds are nicely gathered in the front:

It was so easy to cut the sleeves and use the waist as the waist for my skirt. Another upside down project that I love so much.

Wearing a leather skirt gives a wonderful feeling. Even more wonderful when you had it for 10 euros, right?
Have the full series of photos on my blog.

Quick refashions

A floorlength petticoat (though I actually thnk it was meant as a skirt, think grunge).

Turned a kneelenght one. I sewed the bottom part to the waist.

I didn't know what to do with this skirt. The right idea just kept evading me. Until it dawned on me, that I could just do the simplest of all skirt refashions: Shortening. 

5 minutes later.
(I am sorry for the selfie and the dirty mirror, my camera was acting up, so I had to use the camera in my mobile phone).

Upcycled Fairytale/Tea Party Dress

A 'sweet and innocent' dress made from an upcycled cotton duvet cover!

This was inspired by lots of 50s style dresses i've seen around recently, and to me looks like something out of a fairytale or something you should wear to 'afternoon tea'! The top is lined for modesty and comfort, and i really like the wide halterneck straps. I based the pattern on a 50s style dress i've had for a while, but made the skirt longer and the sizing overall a bit bigger (a bit too big to be honest, it's come out a couple of sizes too big as i was expecting the shirring on the back to pull it in more!)

Still, i do like it, and will look out for bolder fabric to make more in the same design!

Dress Decorating! Birds and Buttons

I tend to pick up a lot of simple, solid colored items with the intent of adding to them or because I like to own versatile items that can be styled a number of ways. This black midi length was a little big, but I could see it had a great shape. It was a blank canvas.

I didn't intentionally pose to look I'm a total downer. "I'm all slouching and bummed because my dress is boring!" is what I'm apparently trying to say with this picture. In my last refashion, I used a black and aqua striped belt to brighten up an outfit. Out of the proverbial tons of belts that I've amassed, I must really like that one because I used it again.

More of the same from me! I aim for retro pin up style that's also appropriate for kindergarten. I hope that when February vacation is done, my 5 and 6 year olds like my birds and buttons dress.

Relive the process here on my blog, Craft, Thrift, or Die!

A Macramé Makeover!

Hello again!

London was sunny today, not a cloud in the sky, and I suddenly remembered what it felt like to feel the sun on my face... then the hail stones started, HARD! But it was too late, the seed was planted - my mind was back in summer... so cruel. Anyway, there's nothing like preparing the summer wardrobe to make me feel better equipped to see out the winter... (or am I just fooling myself?!!) So... I thought I'd share another one of my refashioned dresses from last year...

I found a Plain Jane long navy blue cotton-lycra mix dress on sale for silly money - so grabbed it!

Now, I don't have the right figure for something so... unforgiving. So you could say this is a 'forgiving makeover'! I shortened the length, added panels to the side seams, and macrame to the back... which also made it more 'racer back' than before...

Apart from the fact my fencing needs sanding down and re-painting, what do you think? ;)

And am I alone in using refashioning to disguise the bits of me I don't like..? I feel like the design-y bits help pull the eye away from my lumpy bits...

Before and After!

See the full refashioning here...

Thank-you!!

Gema x

The T-shirt refashion project #3 [Backwards]

Before:

I turned the T-shirt backwards so back became front.

I cut the SHINE decoration of, and sewed a piece of lace in its place.

I also made pleats above and below the lace.

And I lowered the new neckline slightly.

After:

Simple front

Decorative back:

  (I will probably ad a piece of string horisontally to keep the low scooped back together).

More refashions on my blog Saga i farver

American Girl Doll Dress Refashion Tutorial

Jen here from the Diary of a MadMama blog.

I wanted to show you a quick and super simple refashion I did recently for my daughter's American Girl Doll.

I started out with a 49-cent infant's vest that I found at my local thrift shop.
After taking it in at the shoulders and side-seams, it made the perfect little sweater dress for an 18" doll.

If you'd like to see the full tutorial, check out the full post at Diary of a MadMama.

Have a great day!
~Jen

Pantone Projects (no. 1)

Winter is drawing to a close (Good riddance, right?) so it's time to get started on some spring projects. And what better way to get into the springtime spirit than by kicking off my spring refashion series celebrating Pantone's color of the year, Radiant Orchid?

For my first Pantone Project, I pulled this coffee stained purple dress from my stash.

You can't see the coffee in this picture, but trust me, it's everywhere.

I started by removing the awkward triangles of fabric in the neckline and unpicking the cuffs and fabric inserts in the sleeves.

Undo the sleeves.

Next, I chopped off most of the skirt, leaving only about 6 inches. Then, I tossed the soon-to-be top into the leftover dye from my last skirt refashion. The fabric is synthetic so it didn't take much of the dye, but it took on enough red to camouflage the coffee.

Before and after the dye.

The sleeves were too long and didn't have much of a shape, so I cut them in a curve.

Shaping the sleeves.

Then I hemmed the sleeves and the bottom of the shirt. I was left with a boat necked, peplum top with fluttery sleeves...

... and some confessions to make. 1) I'm not really wild about Radiant Orchid. It's pretty, but not a color I see myself wearing very often. 2) This fabric is kind of itchy. 3) And I really don't like peplums, which you may remember from my turtle jacket. I'm afraid this top may have to be relegated back to the closet or the thrift store from whence it came.

But I do like the sleeves and the neckline, so maybe there's hope. There are a few more details about this project on my blog. 

There are three more Pantone Projects in the works. Perhaps the color will grow on me.

- Elizabeth
aka The Hungry Octopus

Now blogging at www.TheHungryOctopus.com!

Maternity Sweater Skirt Refashion

What does a pregnant woman do when she only has 6 weeks of pregnancy left?  Sew up a storm, of course!  (Remember, good logic leaves her brain when the baby enters the womb!)  So I rationalized that I’d better do something with those maternity skirts that I never wore for one reason or another.  Enter the maternity sweater skirt refashion!  

 I started with this long black skirt from Motherhood Maternity.  The problem?  Well, there were many!  It wasn’t made for a 6 foot tall woman...no maternity clothes are, thus it was yuck length!  The second problem was that the material was so lightweight that it was almost immodest to wear (read: see-through) not to mention terribly cold!  Which lead to a third problem; the slit was ripped, fixed, ripped again, fixed again, etc.  Yeah, so basically not wearable! 

Then there was this sweater.  Yep!  For real!  But the person who gifted it to us intended for us to refashion it, not wear it.  Too big for anyone in this house, too scratchy to wear without anything underneath, too thin to be refashioned into a sweater skirt without a layer underneath.  (If you are a regular refashion-er, you immediately see where to go with these two things!) 

Well, do you think that’s an improvement?  Those items are definitely more wearable now!

To read all the step by step information and for more skirt fun, visit our blog, Skirt Fixation!

In the Mood for (refashioned) Couture

I was so smitten with In the Mood for Couture's chemise très écologique that I just had to make one for myself…(with an added tweak or two of course):

a large button down + a pair of knee socks =

a fabtastic wrap top!

Make one for yourself with my quick step-by-step

Denim Skirt Collage

I purchased a plain denim maxi skirt for a few dollars at a thrift store. It fit well, but I found it kind of boring. I tend to wear a lot of solid colored separates and since I’m no whiz at accessorizing, my “look” can be pretty dull. So I decided to try to add some pizzazz to this plain denim skirt. Using a stained vintage tablecloth from my stash and leftover fabric scraps from other projects, I used the denim skirt as my "canvas" to create a fabric flower collage. More details are available on my Blog post.

Red Coat Refashion plus bonus baby shoes

I found this red coat at one of those by-the-pound thrift stores and I don't even think I paid $2 for it. It was a fabulous red. But just sooo oversized. Ill-fitting. And also was a bit odd. I undid the lining. Slimmed down the sleeves and the waist area. I then fixed the pockets to be side pockets. Plus I visually fixed the buttons. Everything was finished with bias tape.

I used the leftover wool to make baby shoes. I have more wool so I will probably make more. I just find them darling. And wahoo for using up scraps of fabric and buttons from old refashions!

Coat post here. Shoes post here.

Cheers,
Lauren

***Update: Tartan Refashion

***Update: so, I did end up adding that zipper :) Hop on over here to check it out!

Soooo, who goes into the thrift store and comes out with some crazy plaid/tartan pants?

Well, for $2 on half-off day, I do! Don't they suit me?

Maybe a little big, but that simply means there is a lot of extra fabric to work with! So, after chopping off the legs, unpicking the crotch and waistband, pinning it to my shape/size and sewing everything thing (minus the legs and a few scraps) back together, I have myself a new skirt!

Those legs (minus 8-9 inches) got sewed together and along with a couple of brassy buttons and a piece from some thrifted suspenders, were transformed into a crazy cool cowl scarf that I can slip on over my head (well, it does muss my hair a bit but I'm not fussy).

AND there are still all those scraps left over...but I'll leave them for another day :). If you'd like to check out the tutorials for both, hop on over here.

Here's the final before and afters:

Hope you like these two!

Peace,
Andrea

Leather details

Last month, I turned a silver cowl-necked sweater into a zippered cardigan. You can see that post here. At the time, I debated added some black leather strips to either side of the zipper to make it look more like my inspiration piece. Well, I finally got around to doing it. I used a very thin suede, sewing the right side down very close to the zipper, then folding it over and top-stitching the sides farther away from the zipper. I like the extra bit of edge it lends to the sweater.

Once I got brave enough to work with leather, I decided to tackle another project I'd been thinking about doing for a long time. I'd seen a sweater with elbow patches and a back panel across the yoke. I decided to try that idea on a blazer. Sadly, I forgot to take a before picture, but I used a nice wool blazer with a gray and navy herringbone pattern. Here's how it turned out:

I. used a dark navy leather and hand-stitched the elbow patches in place. I wanted a very even stitch, so I used a serrated pattern-tracing wheel to make little pinpricks at even intervals all the way around the edge of the patch, about a quarter of an inch from the edge. This also helped to get the needle through the blazer and the patch, though it was still difficult. I sewed a few inches along one side of the patch, then a few on the opposite side, to make sure it was laying flat on the blazer. The back panel was even trickier. I didn't want to hand-sew it, so I used a leather needle on my sewing machine. The top and bottom edges went pretty well, but the sides that curved around the sleeves were thick and made the thread break. It came out alright, though. I think it looks pretty awesome, and I might even be brave enough to try refashioning more leather items in the future.

Thanks for reading!

-Amy

Comfort and Lace

Oh tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy…..and lace.
If I’m not comfortable, I’m not gonna wear it.  Stockings? nope.  High heels?  No way.  Jean skirts that ride up my belly and dig into my skin?  That’s one that I can work some magic on.   This was a Land’s End jean skirt from a thrift store.  I was happy that it fit me in the store, but every time I wore it was not fun.  Not comfortable.  Around my hips, the metal closure dug into my skin and around my waist it was too loose and bumpy.
I took off the denim waistband with my seam ripper, admiring Land’s End’s nice sewing job.  Then I grabbed one of my worn out but favorite camis with a deep lace edge and arranged that to become the new waistband.  I ignored the zipper, sewing the stretchy fabric right over it.  It’s like a pull on maternity skirt now with a built in “belly band”.  The band is sewn on at the top and the bottom of the lace so it will stay put.  It looks like I’m layering shirts, but it’s really the skirt!   I’ll get a lot more (comfortable) wear out of it now  EVEN THOUGH I’M NOT PREGNANT.

Looking at the waistband piece, I realized it would be really easy to sew that baby back up and snap it around my waist.  It’s the right size, after all!   I added a flower hair clip to cover up the metal snap closure.  I won’t wear it with the denim skirt, but I think it would be cute with a dress and a cardigan.

What do you think?  Have you ever removed a waistband and then reused it?   I was surprised at how easy it was to remove from the skirt and how easy it was to sew it back up!

Love,
Amy Jo at The Little Moments

Morticia to Free People

For such a dramatic change this dress was incredibly easy to refashion! Just a hem and a fixed zipper in the back for a pretty awesome transformation..

Check out more pictures on my blog, Buttons and Birdcages

I'm also on BlogLovin and Facebook if you wanna follow  along :)

Have a lovely Tuesday, Everyone!