From Baking (well an Apron) to Bucket Bag!

Why does everything get so busy the second fall hits?!? I sure don't know but I haven't touched my sewing machine in WAY to long. Anyhoo it was time to get back in the swing of things. I have made a few purses in the past but somehow never managed to keep one for myself!

I started with a worn out and torn leather jacket and this oh so cute apron. I almost wanted to keep the apron, but since I never wear the numerous ones that I already own I decided that this was a better idea.

I constructed a pattern and made quick work of cutting the pieces to fit.

I decided to use the pattern fabric behind the draw string to not wear on the leather and to add a pop of color to the top of the bag.

Body of the bag completed! From there I decided to add the special touches! 

I decided to line it with a bright red and use the apron ties on the cross body strap. I also decided to add tassels on the draw strings for the top of the bag!

Completed! I am super happy with this bag and am thinking of making an embellished jacket next! Till next time stay creative and happy refashioning!

From Frumpy to Fitted

 Hey everyone! Sorry long time no post this last month has been crazy! I have been updating my wardrobe and flowy tops are becoming super trendy! This top was among my many thrifted items I found on vacation. I loved how the fabric flowed and it is the perfect length to wear with skinny jeans or leggings. Problem was it was huge, the armholes were well into my rib cage, and all in all it looked sloppy. It was a super quick refashion because I simply took in the side seams making the arm holes smaller and making the bodice more fitted.

It took some time to try to figure out how much I wanted to take in to give it the right amount of flow and fit. In the end I am very happy with how it turned out and I think it will pair with long cardigan well this fall. Till next time stay creative, and I promise I have something good coming soon!

Dressing Gown to Dressed Up

Just a fast refashion today! I was inspired while on vacation to wear a dressing gown into a kimono. Well after purchasing this one I felt it still looked like a robe and needed to be taken up a notch by adding some rockin fringe!

 By adding fringe and omitting the belt I feel it looks far less like a robe. I may add more fringe later, but for now I like this amount! If you want to know more about this refashion take a look at my blog post! Until next time as always stay creative!

From Long Sleeve to LBD!

My final vacation refashion...I think. I love finding over-sized cotton t's at the goodwill! This lovely super soft black one was found a few weeks back and knew I could do something amazing with it!

I swear I'm wearing shorts in this photo! Little black dresses are among my favorite wardrobe pieces, so that's what I set out to make! This was a dream find I love the mock neck and the sleeves will add extra fabric for me to work with.

I dissasembled the sleeves and ripped the side seams out of the t-shirt. Then I laid my favorite swing dress over it for a pattern.

I'm sorry it is hard to see as they are both black but you get the idea! I traced around the arm holes and down a bit to get the shape of the sides. I decided to make this slightly more unique than a typical swing dress. This was done by not trimming the curve of the shoulders and shaping the length into a triangle. Then sewing them on either side of the dress.

Overall I am quite happy with how this turned out!  The only changes I may do are to take off a little more at top of the arm hole to give it a better shoulder line. Also it may be a bit short, but I will always wear shorts under it so I will always be covered! It could work belted or not, but I think I may like it better belted than hanging free.

If you would like to see more about this refashion please check out my blog! Until next time stay creative!

A Shameful Refashion

Another refashion for my oh so soon vacation, this time it is a pair of distressed shorts! I am not actually ashamed of this refashion, but I'm sure everyone including my dad will be pleased. There will more than likely be at least one comment about wearing shorts with holes in them!

I started with this pair of jeans. They were actually quite nice jeans, but I got them for around a dollar so I don't feel that bad about turning them into shorts. If you care to see my inspiration shorts you can find them here.

I simply chopped them off to a long Bermuda length so I can give them a nice cuff, and after cutting the length I started distressing. Now I know most of us spend quite a bit of time mending holes like this, trust me I have patched my fair share! Ever since I made the doily blouse I have been wanting a nice pair of dark wash distressed shorts to pair with it. After working with them a while I realized with a cuff they were going to be a bit snug around my thigh which is the exact opposite of what my inspiration was. So I did as I almost always do and I added a modified gusset.

Adding a triangle to the side could look quite unusual, but I think with the distressing it doesn't look that odd. To keep the cuff neat I tacked it down using the existing seams.

If you would like to know more about this refashion check out my blog! I am quite happy with how they turned out and I am rather excited to wear them! I have one more refashion to post before my vacation! Stay tuned it may be my favorite!

As always till next time stay creative!

from skirt to vintage inspired crop top

Hey everyone! I am gearing up for a trip home to Minnesota (I'm calling it a vacation) and I could use a few new items to bring along! For this refashion I started with a way to small skirt. It fit one of my thighs, and you can literally take a look.

I knew I didn't want to leave this as a skirt it just isn't my style and there was a limited amount of fabric to work with. Thinking about this I decided to make a vintage inspired crop top to pair with my high wasted skirts! 

For this refashion I flipped it and used the top band of the skirt as the bottom band of the top. I then cut the top to be wider in the front and narrower in the back and gave it a simple hem. For the straps I used the existing bottom hem folded it over, sewed it, and cut it at the hems to create two straps. Thankfully they turned out to be long enough to make a cross in the back. Finally I added the ruching in the front for a vintage vibe. I paired it with a black bandeau here, but it can be paired with any color. For more detail about this refashion take a look at my blog post. 

Until next time stay creative!

All Doily-ed up

I love how hot this summer has been so far! I haven't had a nice hot summer for a while, but with saying that I had few warm tops to wear! I picked up this one thinking I would use it as supplementary fabric for another refashion, but I fell for the small collar and odd embroidery. I pretty much ripped all the seams besides where the neck attaches to the front. I attached the sleeves to the sides for more flow, and with adding a doily to the back created a light racer back look.

For more information and photos about this refashion you can take a gander at my blog post. As always till next time stay creative!

Ghosts of Shoulder Pads Past

I swear every time I go into a second hand store I fall in love with a blazer/coat/blouse and it has sky high shoulder pads. I swear some can double as sleepwear...meaning the pillow is on your shoulder! I found this jacket a few weeks back and fell in love with the pattern! 

Look at these shoulders I am far from impressed, but with a change in the dress code at my workplace I am in need of a few blazers. I will fully admit that I was terrified to undertake this refashion, but I couldn't wear it as is so the risk was worth it.

I'm sorry I really should have moved my hair to give you a good side by side comparison, but I think you can tell that the shoulder on the left is very straight and the one on the right is sloped.

Here is another side by side attempt. Along with taking the shoulder pad out I took in the shoulder by pulling the shoulder and arm in and sewing it in a semicircle rather than the pointy elliptical that it was originally. 

Overall I am quite happy with this refashion! I definitely think it is far more wearable and modern now! If you would like to know more about this refashion please visit my blog post. I actually did the post as a three part shoulder pad eviction! As always till next time stay creative! 

Two for One Refashion!

Hey everyone! I know it wasn't to long ago that I did a yoga pants to shorts refashion, but with the climbing temps and the success of my last pair I felt the need to whip out another! I also created a matching headband out of the leftover leg segments!

The shorts were basically the same process as last time I adjusted the bottom hem because these pant legs were narrower and out of a thinner and stretchier fabric.

 For the headband I decided on a turban style that can be worn with my hair up or down for a more bohemian vibe.

I am really happy with how both of these refashions turned out. The headband in particular I plan on making a few more in different prints to wear on the hot days to come! If you want more information about these refashions or to see some cute photos of my dog please see my blog post! As always till next time stay creative!

From Pregnancy to Poolside!

Before anyone gets the wrong impression I am not expecting, but this super fun maternity top needed refashioning!

I love the print but it wasn't long enough to be a dress with just taking off the sleeves. So I decided to make straps that loop around from the front and the back, and tie at the shoulder. I wanted to keep this dress simple and fun.

I adore this dress it is light, easy going and would be perfect to walk on the beach! Maybe I should visit the maternity section more often!? For more information about this refashion feel free to visit my blog post!

Until next time stay creative everyone!

The Long and Bike Sorts of it

With summer in full swing I needed a few more pairs of shorts to go under my skirts and dresses that I wear almost every day. I previously bought a pair of bike shorts and wanted something similar in style, but was unwilling to pay retail for. I had the idea to use yoga pants and chop them off to my desired length.

I really like how they turned out and I will defiantly be making a few more pairs. Who knows maybe they will convert me into a shorts girl! For more information about this refashion visit my blog post. As always until next time stay creative!

One Chop!

Recently I have been on a refashioning streak, but only finally getting the time to create a good post! I will give you a hint to the reason why!

I found her for $12 at Goodwill! Came complete with all its accessories and just needed a little oil to get her singing again! She is WAY more portable than my other one, but considering my other one was created in the 50's it may have been as portable as they came at the time. I am going to start with a simple refashion that I have already worn and loved!

This is the simplest refashion that I have done in a while, but I think it had great results. I simply chopped off 10 inches from the bottom, got rid of the ties, sewed everything up, and gave it a new hem! Adding a few accessorizes made it a great light on the go dress that I think will be perfect for transitioning to fall. For more details on this refashion check out my blog post! Until next time stay creative! 

Leather Backpack

With all the events going on this summer I decided that a small backpack would be the perfect accessory for farmers markets, outdoor concerts, or simply long walks with the dog.

I found this small leather backpack at the goodwill outlet. It had been well loved and was partially broken but for $1.60 a pound I decided it was worth the attempt. 

I added a scrap of leather to mend the piping that was worn through. From there I thoroughly cleaned the leather. The color of the leather was rather uneven, because of the patina from the previous owner. To partially remedy this I used shaving cream to slightly darken the leather.

On the right is before the shaving cream and to the left is after. It gave it a nice caramel tone that made a lot of the patina look intentional rather than dirty. In addition I wanted to give it a bit of a bohemian vibe. 

 In doing this it also solved another issue involving patina. The previous owner had carried it by the back loop a considerable amount. As a result it was quite a bit darker than the rest of the bag and made it look dirty. 

This was one of the lesser involved refashions that I have ever done, but it could prove to be one of the most useful. If you want to know more about this refashion please feel free to check it out my blog. Till next time happy refashioning everyone!