Someone gave me three unused bandanas in lovely bright colours
I couldn't decide what to make for myself with them, but in the end decided on a patchwork Colette Sorbetto top, by cutting the bandanas into strips and patching together. I didn't do the pleat down the front because I thought I wouldn't have enough fabric.
I made bias binding out of a sash from a skirt.
You can see more photos here and read how I got round running out of bandana fabric.
I loved the blue colour of this man's large t shirt so much that I wanted it for myself
I cut the neck out to make it lower, removed the sleeves, shortened it and cut the sides down to fit, and hemmed all the edges.
I had some blue and brown flowered fabric which was a sample piece I got from the charity shop one time, which I thought looked good with the blue. I cut a couple of sections out and sewed them on with a straight stitch and frayed the edges for a worn look
I started out with two men's t-shirts, one black and one white.
I didn't want to be advertising lager so the first thing to go was the Carling logo
I then cut the neckline lower and removed the sleeves, then placed one of my t-shirts on top and cut the sides away.
I cut half inch strips from the white t-shirt and pulled them taut so that they rolled up.
I used these as my thread to 'darn' the hole and make running stitches to decorate. I thought I would have to make holes for this thick thread to go through but it pulled through very easily using a darning needle.
After sewing up the sides, and hemming the bottom, neck and sleeve edges, it now looks like this
Now I'll be honest and tell you that when I had the idea to do this, I intended to keep the hole at the front, but it turned out to be indecently low, which is why it's at the back. I wasn't going to do anything with the other side but as it turned out to be at the front, I did the lines of running stitch with the t-shirt thread to tie in with the back.
I forgot to take a before picture of this blouse, but it was exactly like this one (except for the colour)
which I altered in this post.
I took it in as before, and shortened the sleeves and hem, but this time I also altered the neckline. I cut away this piece from around the neckline
made some bias binding out of one of the cut off sleeves, which I used to bind the new neckline, so that it ended up like this
I bought this lovely silk Chinese style blouse from the charity shop, but as you can see it was too big for me.
I sewed two pin tucks on either side which run up the front, over the shoulders and down the back. This took nearly an inch off each shoulder and took the body part in by over three inches. It's got splits at the sides with the fancy knotted buttons which I didn't want to mess with, so I just took the sides in a little bit, tapering them towards the bottom, and shortened it. I also shortened the sleeves.
You can see more photos here.
I bought this blouse from a charity shop which I think may be maternity wear as there's so much fullness in the front
There's like a bib of pin tucks at the front with the part below it gathered on. I unpicked the gathers, flattened it out and restitched it whilst also forming a new vertical seam, and added a couple of darts in the back. I also shortened the sleeves and the hem
I used some of the bits I had left over to transform this blouse
There were tabs on the sleeves of the other blouse which I sewed onto the inside of the collar stand
I shortened the sleeves and used the other cuffs
and used the tie belt to form a design and it now looks like this
you can read more about it here and help me with a dilemma!
I had this dress that felt too bare across the front and I didn't like the metal discs on the straps either
I cut all the discs off and then my idea was to attach some more fabric to the back bodice and bring it round to the front, sew it to the straps and form sleeves. I bought some dark grey net but soon found out that my idea wasn't do-able because it pulled too tight, so I had a rethink.
I cut a length that would cover the back bodice and extend about 8 inches either side. I sewed it to the bodice all round the edge. I did the same to the straps at the front. Then I made another layer by cutting a sleeve shape and sewing it into the armhole but leaving the bottom open so that all the layers hung down like handkerchief edges.
The net doesn't fray so I didn't need to do any hemming.
You can see more photos here
If you want to change the look of your LBD for Christmas why don't you try this idea?
I started out with this plain velvet dress
and used a bit of sheer black fabric with silver spots on to make some ruched sleeves. I also cut out a couple of circles of the same fabric and pinned them to the dress behind a diamante brooch.
I only wanted a temporary change so I tacked the sleeves in for easy removal, but of course they could be properly sewn in.
Searching through my wardrobe I came across this maxi dress
It was quite shapeless, so I took it in a bit at the sides to give it more shape and lopped the bottom off.
From the excess fabric, I cut two eye-shaped pieces and sewed them into the armholes to form floaty sleeves
My husband gave me a couple of t-shirts, and as they were quite thick I decided to make them into a long sleeved t-shirt for myself.
I laid a t-shirt of mine (with the sleeves tucked under) on top of the grey one and cut around it, slightly larger to allow for seams.
I cut a strip from the blue t-shirt and sewed it diagonally across the front leaving the edges raw to curl naturally. I drew straight lines of different lengths within the blue strip, sewed round them, then cut along the lines to reveal the grey behind. I also sewed a couple of blue strips to the wrong side of the front above and below, and then cut through the grey to reveal the blue behind
I used three panels pieced together for the sleeves, grey at the top, blue in the middle and the bottom of the original grey sleeves at the bottom to keep the hems. I did the same kind of slashing on the blue part of the sleeves to show grey that I had stitched behind.
After attaching the sleeves and sewing up the sides, I removed the ribbing at the neck and added a strip of blue, and another along the hem, allowing them to curl up and this is the finished result
I've got a gorgeous pink and white coat which I loved just the way it was, until I saw someone else wearing the same coat! It's quite distinctive so I didn't want that to happen again and decided to dye it.
I also had a lemon coloured linen shift dress which wasn't really my colour, so I thought I could dye them together using blue dye and hopefully end up with a purple coat and a green dress.
I bought a Dylon machine dye and threw in a pink t-shirt which was way too bright for me and a white t-shirt of my son's which had a mud stain on the back which I have never been able to get out.
Here is the before
and after
I'm really pleased with how they've turned out. The lining of the coat didn't take the dye so I've still got a pink lining and also pink buttonholes. The buttons are still white so I'm thinking of changing them for purple or pink, I haven't decided yet.
The dress turned out blue not green, probably because it was such a pale yellow. It's got embroidery along the bottom which also hasn't taken the dye, but now the yellow flowers stand out against the blue.
The pink t-shirt turned out dark purple with blue edging, and the stain on my son's now blue t-shirt can't be seen, so all in all it was a success.
Just a quick update for the jeans I showed the other day.
I put the bias strip on the bottom which has really brightened them up
and also used it on the pocket edges to tie it in
I had this pair of jeans which were slightly too short and also too dark for my liking
I tie dyed them using bleach and added extensions on the bottoms, cut from the bottoms of an old pair of jeans. I sewed this to the outside with the cut edge at the top and the original hem at the bottom so that they wouldn't need hemming. I frayed the top raw edge of the added on pieces.
I love how the bleaching turned out but I think the bottom bits looks a bit drab in comparison and have thought about adding a trim to brighten them up and bring the look together, like these
You can read more about it here.
I had a long sleeved reversible t shirt that I hadn't worn much because the sleeves were a bit tight.
I cut off each sleeve like this
and cut out the centre of the front and back in a similar curve (forgot to take a photo).
I then sewed the side seams and neatened the top edges, and reverse appliqued a stem and leaves on the front so that the reverse of the t shirt showed through.
When I sewed up the bottom, instead of sewing from side to side, I put the side seams together so that they were in the centre. This brought the shoulder straps together rather than being at either end.
I made a yoyo to use as a flower and finished it off with a button in the middle.
My husband didn't want this shirt
So using the Colette Sorbetto pattern with sleeve, and changing the buttons, I made it into this for me
I had to tweak the sleeves a bit, which you can read about here.
