Recycling Shoes!

Did you know that shoes are the perfect thing to be recycled? And it isn't difficult at all! Look what I made out of a really worn-down pair:

...well, the shoe on the left is the new one, hope that is obvious... :-)))

This is a great project even for a shoe-making beginner and I will post a how-to video asap on my blog Of Dreams and Seams.
The best thing about it is that you need no special equipment or materials. This is all I used:

You can find some pictures of the process on my Blog, but as I said, I will make a tutorial soon. I just couldn't wait sharing this with you... ;-)

All the best to you,
Katja

Dress Shirt goes Fashion!

Another women's short-sleeve blouse made from a guys dress shirt? YAWN....

Well, that's what I thought too, but I happened to have this great shirt from my husband (good quality, lovely Jacquard-cotton!), and I also happened to need more short-sleeve tops for summer.

Some brain-storming later, and remembering that less is more, I came up with this:

I have a tendency to overwork things, adding details in too many places, even though I really like clean lines and simple shapes. So this time I only went for the special shape of the arm holes/sleeves and I'm very happy with the outcome. And it was super easy to make! I basically just left the original yoke intact, cutting around it, re-sewing the side seams and creating the "cut-ins" at the arms/shoulders... Oh, it's perfect sun-burn protection, too ;-)))

I posted a step-by-step on my blog Of Dreams and Seams.

Here I am wearing it with a re-fashioned skirt, which I enhanced with a men's tie:

There are more pictures on my blog, also for the back view, and I played around with different combinations. The one with the red skirt is an entirely me-made look, with a knitted skirt, a necklace made from a tie (tutorial!), and the shoes I made in London...

Happy refashioning to all of you, and have a great summer!

Best,

Katja

Concert Robe: From Drab to Fab!

Hello Everybody! It's so good to be back and see everyone's contagious refashion creativity!
I had to take some time off blogging, with life being very busy around the winter holidays... and then it took some time to get back on track. I'm sure many of you know how that is...

I did continue refashioning though, even a fancy concert dress, in which I then sang some New Years concerts. It's a bit out of season right now, but I want to present it to you anyway.

I had bought this dress very cheaply from China a long time ago, something I would never do anymore these days. But since it was already in my possession, I figured I'd better make the most of it and upcycle it.

The amazing bead-embroidered tulle fabric I bought for the purpose cost more than the original dress...

....but after a LOT of hand sewing I really think it was worth it...

I posted some more pictures over at my Blog: Of Dreams and Seams, with some more detailed information about the how, where and why...

Best to all of you!

Katja

A shirt and a skirt are getting married!

Well, I had these two items in my closet and they were a perfect match - as if made for each other!

I think this project makes a pretty funny "before and after"...

 I added a nice back band closure for a good fit...

...and am very happy with the outcome!

As always, step-by-step pictures are posted in my blogpost over at Of Dreams and Seams.

Best to all of you,
Katja

Linen-Shirt Re-make!

Summer is here and I think the best thing to wear on a hot day is loose linen or silk tops. This shirt was handed down to me from my generous husband (who dislikes the fast wrinkling...). It was in good shape, just -well- a man's cut and size...

I know pin-tucks are usually placed closer to the center, but I didn't want to take off the collar and I needed to get rid of some excess width on the shoulders anyway, so I placed them further out than normal. I think it adds a lovely twist with them going over the shoulder and all the way down the back...

I added a full step-by-step on my blog Of Dreams and Seams. It is a very fun and quick project and should work with a wide variety of oversize-shirts! 

Happy sewing to you all out there!
Best, Katja

Fabulous Vintage dress, finally wearable!

I might not be known here as being hesitant when it comes to cutting into vintage garments. However, this was different. I got this beauty from my aunt, and the craftsmanship that went into it is just amazing. So I underlined and shortened it entirely without making any permanent changes...

It's made out of a gorgeous white eyelet fabric, meticulously sewn and with a perfect fit! What was wrong with it? Well, it was basically, uhm, see-through. It dosn't look that objectionable in the photo, but I would never have gone out on the street like that, wearing only a skin-toned bra and panties underneath...
 If you are interested how I copied down the pattern...

...and sewed it into the dress (by hand)...

...come visit my Blog-Post at Of Dreams and Seams: The Promise of Summer!

Now all we need are rising temperatures!
Best to all of you,
Katja

The London Coat!

Why is it that I always make coats?! Now it's a daily fight between my Amadeus coat and this one, I want to wear both of them all the time... I wish I was as passionate about making pants!

This coat used to be a wool dress from the Sixties (probably...), which I bought in a Vintage second-hand shop in Berlin. This is what it looked like:

After a lot of fusible lining and adding vibrant blue details, we get to my coat:

As always, a lot of pictures from the making-of-process are on my BLOG, though not as many as I wanted to add.... My plan was to make a hood-tutorial, but the drafting ended up trickier than expected. I used a pattern-making book and did it all professional-like, but the hood didn't end up the way I wanted it at all, so I re-drafted and draped around on it, and there is no way to tell you clearly how I ended up with this.... But at least it ended up the way I wanted it!

Why "London Coat"? Well, it has a hood, and from what I hear about the weather in London, a hood might come in handy. As you are reading this, I am taking a course in London, and if things go as planned, I'll post the end-product on my blog afterwards. Let's keep our fingers crossed!

Best to all of you,
Katja

The 90 degree trick, again!

Ok, I warned you... here comes my simplest re-fashion EVER. But I believe it's worth posting anyway, and I hope you agree...

I had this really, really wide knit sweater, which I actually liked. The problem was that I couldn't really wear it under coats without looking like a stuffed turkey, that's how wide it was in the torso... :-)

I couldn't just take the sides in, because the sleeves would have ended up too short. So I did the 90 degree trick again, as in my last refashion project HERE...

Unfortunately, I forgot to take a before-shot. Here is one, after cutting into the sides, but you can still see the original shape/size...:

What happens now? You cut open the sleeves and turn them into the bodice, while the bodice pieces become the sleeves:

For a little more information on the process, please visit my blog HERE. But as I said, it's so simple it was done in three steps... :-)
My next refashion is a bit more complex again, I promise!

Best to all of you,
Katja

Two more sweaters!

Dear Re-fashionistas out there - my sweater refashion extravaganza goes on... you could also call it "how much there is to get out of one single red sweater from your husband"...

Here are my projects #2 and #3. One super simple, from a cashmere sweater with an ill-fitting turtle neck and glue spots:

...and one a little more challenging from a never worn Granny sweater to a funky pocket piece:

There are two separate posts on my blog for them, as always documenting step by step and adding a bit of refashioning wisdom where needed. :-)

 The pale rose sweater post is HERE

The brown Granny post HERE

Or just visit me at Of Dreams and Seams for all kinds of sewing and refashioning tutorials and some other things. I will be making shoes again VERY soon... :-)
Thank you all for your wonderful inspiration and for putting Creating over Consuming...
Best to all of you,
Katja

Sweater Refashion Extravaganza!

Yes, some of you might remember my T-Shirt Refashion Extravaganza... Well, half a year later, the sweaters are calling me! :-)

Here is my first transformation:

An oversized, super unflattering (for me!) vest gets a new chance as a super comfortable, quite flattering knit dress, paired with an old knit sweater from my husband, which had a hole. The sweater. Not the husband.

As you see, many more sweater refashions are to come...:

If you'd like to see making-of pictures and hear me babble on, feel free to visit me at Of Dreams And Seams.

Best to all of you!
Katja

The Amadeus Coat!

Here is my newest refashion! I turned a two-piece wool costume into a coat, which I have worn every day since finishing it....

I bought the costume at the flee market for a ridiculous amount of 5 Euros... Here is the before and after:

I kept as much of it intact as possible, replaced the pockets (actually turned them into real pockets instead of just flaps as on the original...), the waist band of the skirt became the belt. The whole thing is fully lined of course...

You can read the full how-to story on my blog Of Dreams And Seams HERE.
Have a fabulous New Year everybody!
Best,
Katja

Yeehaw, the Cowgirl Dress!

Whoa, I am so sorry I have been away that long. Thanks for keeping me on though, and I shall make it up by a bunch of re-fashions within the next weeks!
Here is my most recent one:

I made this shirt-dress out of an old shirt from my husband and a pair of pants of mine that had almost identical colors. The pant legs turned into the sleeves...

I added more making-of pictures on my blog, but I would actually love to have you come over for a visit for a different reason: I was given two blog awards and would love to pass them along to smaller, not so well-known bloggers. So give me your suggestions, and yes, it can be yourself! :-)

Best to all of you!
Katja

T-Shirt Recycling Finale!

Well I am calling this the finale of my mini-series, but I am sure there will be many more t-shirt refashions in my future. It was so much fun!
These dresses are basically made from the remnants of my upcycled shirts, and I posted a full tutorial on my blog: Of Dreams and Seams.

I added a piece of new crepe fabric for the skirt part, but since so many old shirts went into the top part, I think it's legitimate to still call it a refashion-project... ;-)

I made slight changes and variations between the two versions, all talked about in the tutorial...

Do you all buy less and less clothing too? I love it!
Best to all of you,
Katja