Refashion Runway: Kentucky Derby Hat

When I saw that Kentucky Derby Hat was on the last of the Refashion Runway challenges, I was ecstatic. Every year I refashion a hat to wear during my annual Kentucky Derby Party. My personal goal was to make it far enough into the competition to be able to make the Derby hat....and I made it!
I had this hat laying around since last year's derby refashion. Plus every Derby hat needs a fashionable dress to match!

The Hat:

I grabbed some fabric spray paint (which is super fun to use) from JoAnn's. I sprayed underneath the brim with the white paint and the whole outside with the rose gold paint (swoon!)
Over the years I have accumulated a basket FULL of faux flowers from Michaels, JoAnns, Hobby Lobby and even Dollar Tree! I took a look through my stash of faux flowers and found a few pieces that I think would tie my hat to my floral dress!



I added this beautiful pearl and sheer ribbon I also had stashed in my ribbon box!

While the white paint underneath the brim was still wet I laid the hat down on some white lace material I had and carefully cut the width of the hat out. Let that dry!
I cut 3 long pieces of this silver sparkle tulle and folded them accordion style and stitched the ends together.

Now to fire up the hot glue gun! I began piecing my hat arrangement together. First some pink cattails and the silver sparkle tulle.

Some feathers and blue flowers.

Roses to match the dress material.

Lastly, I finished up adding the flowers and leaves. I always like to make my arrangements on the back of the hat.
The Dress:

I removed the sleeves and cut the dress at the waistline.

The front of the dress had buttons, which I removed and stitched together the front seams. Then took the sides in and cropped it short (bold move for myself)!

Since the Kentucky Derby is a spring sport, what better way than to celebrate spring fashion than with a wrap skirt! The original dress came with was matching sash. I sewed a casing at the top of the dress to fit the original sash. On one side of the dress, I made a buttonhole, which will be used to thread the sash through so it can be tied together.

Hey Y'All it's Derby Time! (Not really, it's February and 18 degrees outside Burr!)

I paired my hat and dress with these vintage shoes that were my mother's wedding shoes and then my wedding shoes :)





I told you making Derby hats is my most favorite thing! Here are my past hats and now my most current hat!



Happy Refashioning!!!

Don't forget to vote for this week's challenge!

Refashion Runway: Southwest

*So sorry I forgot to post this last week. You can't vote on it but you can see take a look!*
When I think of Southwest I think of cowboys or ranchers. Then I got to thinking about Southwest fashion. These cowboys need rugged durable clothing for their tough work outside in the elements. With that being said I thought to myself why can't I mix rugged with feminine style? I found this perfect suede dress, crocheted skirt and sweater dress as my materials!

The Sweater:
Daytime in the desert can be sweltering heat but the nighttime temperatures drop drastically. This is why I featured a long sweater in my Southwest refashion.

I cut the front of the sweater to open it up. Then hemmed the raw edges of each side.

I removed the cowl from the sweater.

I switched the black buttons into silver buttons. Nothing says Southwest to me like silver!

I had been hanging onto this shirt for the perfect project and it looks like this was it! I love the geometric design of the embroidery which to me is very Southwestern style.

I stitched the shirt panel and the crocheted panel together.

I cut down the length of the back of the sweater and added the new panel I made.

I removed the pockets.

Another thing that makes me think of the southwest is Navajo drawings. I found this adorable lizard picture online, which I cut out and make it a stencil. I pulled out my trusty fabric paints and went to town!

I used a decorative stitch while stitching the front into a v-neck.

I added the bottom hem of the crocheted skirt to the bottom hem of my dress, which gave the suede the feminine touch I was looking for!

Once my v-neck was done I added a small amount of the crocheted material into the V.

I was lucky enough to have these beads stashed away for the right project! I think this buffalo nickel button is PERFECT for this project!









Mr. Lizard:





*My turquoise ring was my great grandmothers :) *
The Front:

The Back:



Happy Refashioning!!!

Robin's Egg Blue

Hello Refashion Co-op. I found a white knit type sweater dress at a clothes swap that didn't Appeal to me at first. The giant puffy sleeves were a real big "NO!". The blah white color wasn't great either.

I decided to do some magic with Rit dye. (Not sponsored in any way.) I thought a new fresh color would help.

It really did help. I loved the new Robin's egg blue shade so much. I made a simple skirt and top outfit.

Thanks for reading along, for more details and pictures go to I Can Work With That.

Plenty of Plaid

Hello Refashion Co-op. I found a great plaid dress at a clothes swap but it turned out to be too tight. So what did I do?

I added some of the dress to a denim jacket. I used the ruffle and the collar to make the jacket more fun.

I also made an apron. Will this keep me from making a terrible mess when I try to cook dinner? I'm not sure. We'll see.

Thanks for reading along, For more pictures and details go to I Can Work With That.