Tank top used as a "pattern" for dress

I've discovered what many of you have known: that you can use a piece of clothing to serve as a pattern. The cloth was Walmart's cheapest - but I liked its nubby black and white texture. The tank top fits me perfectly so I used it as a pattern of sorts. Armed with chalk, scissors, and iced coffee, I traced the tank top on the folded fabric, then sliced with the scissors. The full story is on my blog, the Embarrassing Disgrace.

Scissors, chalk, tank top, folded fabric, and iced coffee to fuel the project!

Fabric inserts were used to fill in sides...

Shaped hemline, simple semi-scarf collar, and side inserts... with a smile!

Refash-MAN: His Shirt & Shorts

EASY!! With the 95ºf weather, The Husband needed lighter-weight wearables.

I made his long-sleeved shirt a short-sleeved one by using the measurement of one of his other short sleeves, from shoulder to cuff. That way the length would look correct. And I made his shorts out of army fatigue pants by using the same color dark green thread to hem the bottom of the leg, cutting just at his knee and hemming 3/4 inch. 

Albert the Family Dog photo-bombs again! Army fatigue shorts close-up.

I like the pink/orange contrast with the dark green fatigues...

And the pink & orange striped shirt is still MANLY enough for Himself...

Muddy Purplish Sheet to Sweet Pink Kimono

When sheet met me, I seized my chalk, yardstick, and scissors and followed the instructions for the retro Magic Reversible Kimono. (Only one sheet meant only one-thickness kimono, not reversible, fyi). Then I made my own bias tape with which to trim the neckline and fill in the too-open back. The fabric used for the bias tape came from scraps of Wal-Mart discount polyester. The trim's creamy shininess complements the pastel pink that I ultimately dyed the sheet. (First it had a proper bleach bath, then I dried it out then dyed it in RIT Pastel Pink). For more info and photos, you are welcome to visit my blog the Embarrassing Disgrace. Hope you like the result!

The Muddy Purple-Hue'd Sheet

Pleased with my Petal Pink retro kimono! 

Wearing what I re-fashioned

What I'm wearing today:

Refashioned denim dress (JCrew): Dyed it darker

Large short sleeve shirt to sleeveless blouse

The challenge: Not wind up looking like a Larry the Cable Guy sleeveless shirt. The method: Remove the sleeves AND the top part of the collar. The result: An Asian-like collar and a breezy sleeveless blouse. I really fell in love with the deep blue color to begin with; the styling was just too 1980's for my taste. Besides, it is over 90º F today, so it was high time to lighten up the shirt to a blouse (which is more lady-like, methinks).

Little Sweater Hat

What a mess! The sweater was so full of moth-holes and tears that I didn't even think to take a "Before" photo (sorry guys!!) But I did take a few photos of the little hat, which you can read about on my blog the Embarrassing Disgrace. (At the end of that post, I talk a little bit about medications that make you gain weight.) 

Feeling like a "refashionista" means making clothes to fit your body as well as your style. I recently gained a ton of weight due to necessary but fattening medications. So I decided to be plump and healthy and live with it. My style is to refashion and adapt myself, as needed, to what life throws at me. 

Side view

Rear view (you can see the pilling, not the moth-holes)

Thrifted Sheet Caftan Fail to Nice Skirt

That's it, I give up: That Horrid Caftan must die!! So I take my scissors and chop, chop. The bottom half of That Horrid Caftan serves nicely as a skirt with an elastic waistband. Charmed, I'm sure! I wrote about it on my blog, the Embarrassing Disgrace.

That Horrid Caftan (puppies screamed when I wore it)...

Now I have a nice skirt in lightweight fabric for Summer fun: Woo-hoo!

Pocket shift from an old sheet

Three-sided "pillowcase" principle...

The Purple Pocket Shift, un-embellished

The old sheet started out cream colored, but - OOPS! - I forgot to take a photo. I dyed the sheet twice; the first time I used RIT Dye Black, but only one bottle. It turned out purple-ish, and sort of blah. So the second time I dyed it I used RIT Dye Dark Brown plus a half a bottle of Black, and the color came out much richer. At the neckline I hand-stitched a silk tie scored ages ago at the Goodwill thrift store. I didn't use a pattern, and instead went by the pillow-case principle: Three sides stitched up with the bottom undone, and the neck cut out of the top. Annekata supplied the inspiration and the idea for pockets. Please feel welcome to visit me on my blog, the Embarrassing Disgrace.

Gnarly Sweatpants to Black Beret

My old sweatpants were pilled, stretched, and just plain gnarly. But the fabric is soft, cozy cotton so I thought a beret might be sweet on a windy, rainy day like today. Only one leg was used, too, so lots of fabric is left to play with. I followed the guidelines of Annekata's beret tutorial, to give credit where due. And you can see the whole process of making the beret on my blog, the Embarrassing Disgrace.

Chopped up gnarly sweatpants...

Sporting the sassy black beret!

Cheeky Re-fashion...

My jeans skirt, composed of The Husband's ancient Levi's, started tearing. The rear left played peek-a-boo with my personal assets. What to do?
Work it, Sister!
If it's a peep show they want, then it's a peep show they shall have:

"Rear Window": An unintended performance.

A purple strip seemed appropriate to the occasion...

Now it's a Purple Peep-Show Window Woo-Hoo!!! 

Hats

Hats aren't too hard to make, and I found many tutorials online to guide me. I'll be writing up a tutorial as I make a brand new (refashioned) cap. Keep an eye open for it later today on my blog, the Embarrassing Disgrace.

Here are a couple of the hats I made out of scraps from other refashions:

Levi's scraps to cloche (w/this pattern)

Kid's jeans to BERET (w/this pattern)

Beret & refashioned tunic

Blah caftan to "OK" caftan: Woo-hoo!

In mid-May I tried to free-hand sew a caftan out of an old sheet. (Blah caftan's story is here.) Indeed, it was a shapeless garment, the kind of nightshirt worn by characters from PBS Great Britain. After perusing Refashion Co-op it occurred to me AHA!: Stripes can go both ways; plus, I'm not too old for knee-length.

BEFORE: Boxy & PBS-nightshirty

That's better!! Read more on my blog, the Embarrassing Disgrace.

Tunic Refashion

Hi everyone! My camera died and it took me a few weeks to find a decent (refurbished) one at a cheap price. Of course, trying to post without pictures would be silly, right?!!? Anyway, it's "back to the drawing board" and the sewing machine now that Mr. Sony Camshot is part of the family. Heh heh
The tunic is my first attempt at free-hand sewing (I'm a newbie, a novice, to sewing). "Sew Homegrown's" tutorial on how to make the Beginner Maxi Dress informed my process. You can read more about this tunic on my blog, the Embarrassing Disgrace.

TUNIC: Made from purple linen/cotton Joanne discard;
Side inserts from a re-fashioned GAP shirt dyed yellow.
SKIRT: Re-fashioned prairie skirt from an earlier post
BASTAAD wood clogs, thrifted

Touch of Yellow

"What I'm Wearing Today" - The dress & blouse were refashioned with RIT Dyes; the blouse had its sleeves chopped off. Either the sleeves had to go, or the buttons would have burst off. (Something off about GAP tops... do they purposely manufacture them for the bosomless?!!?) Clogs are yellow floral Sanita's. You can find more refashions on my blog, the Embarrassing Disgrace.

"Touch of Yellow"

Tunic from trash!

Yes, I said "trash." I dug up the bottom piece of the tunic from an earlier refashion... out of the trash scrap bag. Oops! Oh well, it was saved from garbage night in the end.
The dark brown linen dress was a little too darned tight for comfort - not tight in the "sexy" way, just plain squeezing like a sausage. Ugh or should I say, "oink?!!?" hah hah
So I chopped the brown tunic, pinned the bottom of the blue knit skirt to it, and sewed. Voila`! A tunic that is comfy and cute to wear. Very simple. The Tunic Upcycle story is told on my blog, the Embarrassing Disgrace.

Pinned then sewed...

Voila`! A cute tunic I'll actually wear...

Albert the Photo-bomber strikes again!
"The End"

A Quasi-Prairie Skirt

Out of two pairs of Levi's, come two skirts. This is the second one and I used the technique for making a Prairie Skirt, following the guidelines from Sincerely, Kinsey's tutorial.

You can read about A Tale Of Two Levi's, Part Two: The Quasi-Prairie Skirt on my blog, the Embarrassing Disgrace (go here for Part One). Both are tutorial-style posts.

Pleased as I am with this particular skirt's comfort and fit, Albert the family dog photo-bombs relentlessly.

A Two Levi's: from the 1970's and no longer wearable as pants...

WHAT I'M WEARING:

• Thrifted tee turned backward for a boat neck
• THE quasi-prairie skirt
• Thrifted Robert Zur quilted leather moccassins

Albert, the charming gentleman-dog, steals the photo...

"The End" *snorfle*

Levi's skirt: A tutorial

Hi All! I was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at 4:30am this fine morning. I made an A-line skirt from two pairs of Levi's, and will make a prairie skirt with the top piece of one of the Levi's at a later date. I took pictures and posted a longer tutorial on my blog, the Embarrassing Disgrace.
Here are front and rear views of the the skirt, which I plan to wear often.

What I'm Wearing Today: 

• Thrifted striped boatneck top
• The A-line skirt I MADE THIS MORNING Woo-Hoo!!!
• Thrifted red quilted ballet flats (hence the pose)

Might need to take an iron to it, but it's so comfy!!!

I purloined my husband's carpenter jeans!

My husband's employer buys clothes annually for its staff, so the man has more jeans the people wear on Earth Day. I purloined his pants, bleached them, and dyed them by following the superb guidelines for bleaching denim from The Little Giggler.
I used RIT Dye "Petal Pink," so that my husband would not want them back! Today's post on my blog, the Embarrassing Disgrace, has more photos.

Washed and dried and still lookin' filthy!!

What I'm Wearing Today:

• Thrifted denim blouse
• Refashioned (dyed) cardigan
• The Jeans in pale pink
• Sanita's wooden clogs

Refashioned Blouse for Summer

I've held on to this blouse (from a thrift shop) for several years because I liked the dark color and its small pattern.  But its cut makes a girl look too much like General MacArthur, what with the shoulder pads and poofed cuffed sleeves... read about this refashion and also, see an abysmal failure of bleaching denim on my blog, the Embarrassing Disgrace! 

Gen. MacArthur's shoulder pads...

Nifty blouse for Summer! YAY!

Upcycled maxi-dress to sleeveless top

This was a VERY quick and easy 'upcycle'. The word works better than "refashion" because the maxi-dress was truly trailer-trash tent-like. So it classes it up a bit, chopping it at the waist and hemming the top. Read my tale of woe on my blog, the Embarrassing Disgrace!

Pressed & pinned the bottom hem

• Upcycled sleeveless top 
• Goodwill Garnet Hill jeans skirt
• Goodwill red suede loafers
• And a goofy smile!