Black Beaded Beauty - in progress

This is the project I just started working on a couple weeks ago...

I found this black silk dress at the thrift for $9.99!  Obviously 80's judging from the massive shoulder pads, I knew I could do something to update it.

It looks pretty shapeless hanging on the line, but the sheer silk beaded outer and solid silk lining lay very sexily weighted down with all the beads. 

I've already removed the sleeves (and shoulder pads) and have spend over 4 hours removing and saving all the sequins and beads from the sleeves to reuse after altering.  I plan on making a sort of halter neckline and drooping back for a really sexy cocktail dress, if I can just get up the courage to make the first cut...

You can read more about my Slow Fashion obsession at www.SlowFashioned.com!

~ Jessica

2XL Shirt to 2T Dress

I found this pink XXL t-shirt at the thrift store for 99 cents last week. The fabric was just such nice quality that I had to buy it and figure out something to do with it!

It appeared to have never been worn! The fabric was just in such nice condition, 100% cotton, and in my daughter's favorite color...PINK! Plus it has such neat details: I loved the neckline, and the slits on the side -- so for 99 cents I just couldn't pass it up.

I actually decided to work with the details I liked so much and basically made a mini version:

It ended up to be about a 2-3T size tunic dress, looks great as a dress or with leggings or shorts! I used all the same details too, but with a little more gathering, higher neckline, and a little less slit on the sides. Plus, I have tons of scraps left over for future projects!

After the first time wearing it, my daughter stated that she hates wearing undershirts (which is definitely required with this low cut neckline) so I pulled out some scraps and sewed in a panel of contrasting fabric:

Possibly the best 99 cents I've ever spent!

You can read more about my Slow Fashion obsession at www.SlowFashioned.com!

~ Jessica

Scarf to Skirt Set: Zero-Waste Re-make

I was feeling mighty inspired when reading over my fellow Refashion Co-oper's recent work and decided to find a fun project to work on.  I stopped by a thrift store and found this cute pink scarf:

The scarf looked brand new, and had a 'Converse One Star' tag on it from the line of shoes and accessories Converse does for Target.  It was only $1.99... and believe it or not I got 20% off because I had brought in a bag of things to donate!

This transformation was completely ZERO-WASTE!!! I based the style of top off of my daughter's favorite tank top that she just grew out of.  And realized that I could use a series of rectangle pieces to make use of every part of this large rectangle scarf. With the only exception of the arm-hole curves which I used for pockets in the skirt! Even the elastic was salvaged from another project and the tag was re-placed in the skirt.

I really had a fun time making this skirt & shirt set, my first zero-waste project (not just from yardage) was really fun and interesting, and I put a lot of work into the details: keeping the un-hemmed edge, but finishing all inner seams with self-enclosed French Seams. I really enjoyed designing and sewing every detail!

I enjoyed this project so much that I am definitely going to try more zero-waste re-designs.  This was a great 'starter' re-design project since it used a rectangle piece of fabric -- I look forward to more challenging shapes and re-configurations in the future.

You can read more about my Slow Fashion obsession at www.SlowFashioned.com!

~ Jessica

Darn it ... or don't!

Don't you just hate when you get holes in your socks?  I do! Most of the time I find a hole I simply toss the pair of socks on my mending pile to fix later and choose another pair to wear that day.  As you can guess, the mending pile builds up...

Over the past couple of weeks I've been catching up on my mending: patching jeans, hemming dresses, fixing heirloom quilts... and at the bottom of the stack was two pairs of socks that needed to be darned...

A pair of my Smart Wool socks and a pair of my daughter's white socks.

I was feeling a little more inspired than to simply darn them, so I dumped out a bag of knit scraps and some buttons and we both got creative:

We picked out our favorite scraps and buttons and created sock-puppets to die for!  My daughter giggled with delight as she chose teeny buttons for the eyes and gathered long strands of t-shirt scraps (all left overs from other projects) into hair.  Her pretty 3-eyed monster even has a forked purple tongue and pink button necklace!

Now instead of wearing our old socks on our feet they have a new life as sock-puppets!

You can read more about my Slow Fashion obsession at www.SlowFashioned.com!

~ Jessica

Evening Gown Turned Tutu

I am attending a friend's birthday party tonight, the theme: Tutus.

Although I have quite a collection of costumes, I had no tutus. My daughter (a lively 3 year old with a love of all things frilly) has 4 tutus, they won't fit me... unless I wore one on each thigh that is -- so headed to the thrift store in search of anything that could work...

I am a dedicated follower of the Slow Fashion movement and try to limit my clothing consumption to only sustainable, secondhand, and re-fashioned pieces. Like many other contributors here, the thrift store is my go-to for clothing, accessories, materials!

I really lucked out when I found this beautiful girls size 12 bride's maid gown:

It was practically brand new, and only $5! Although it was not a tutu, it had 2 yards of netting underneath its full-length layers. Instead of just harvesting the netting (and saving the excess for another project later) like I had originally planned, I decided to include some of it in the design: like the front petal opening and convertible straps...

Here is the finished tutu:

I used the lining, netting, and some of the exterior fabric along with some elastic that I'd saved from an old pair of leggings that lost their stretch (and were subsequently transformed into leg warmers). My favorite detail are the two little roses I made from some of the extra material and the ties made from the straps -- style details I took from my daughter's tutus.

Tonight I will be sporting this evening-gown-turned-tutu to the birthday party. I just know it'll be a hit!

You can read more about my Slow Fashion obsession at www.SlowFashioned.com!

~ Jessica