How to Make the Waistband Bigger on Your Jeans

Happy New Year Everyone!

If you're anything like me, and your sweet tooth got the best of you over the holidays, don't despair and definitely don't get rid of your too small jeans. Instead, alter the waistband to fit again even without advanced sewing skills.

Click here to read the entire article. You can even view the video version if you'd like. 

Here's to a 2017 filled with fun sewing projects!!!

The Renegade Seamstress

(Beth)

Celtic Knot T-Shirt Headband

March is here in all it's leprechaun glory. 

Time to get out those old green t-shirts and make some cute celtic knot headbands.

To see the entire tutorial click here.

Happy refashioning!

Beth

There's a New Sheriff in Town

It’s that time of year again! Time to pull out a few thrift store finds from the bottom of the pile and create a fun costume for Halloween. My motto is quick and easy these days so I kept it pretty simple.

I started with a homemade fake suede skirt and a Roper dress that was a little too much of a good thing, but perfect for a sheriff costume.

Click here to see the entire tutorial over at The Renegade Seamstress.

Time to Vote For Your Refashion Runway Favorite

It's finally time to vote for your favorite Refashion Runway seamstress.

Head on over to The Renegade Seamstress to see how the 8 talented contestants interpreted the first week's challenge: Floral and Geometric or Stripes.

I think you'll love what you see!

Beth

Kimono Vest Goes West: Make a Kimono Cardigan From a Dress

 I LOVE the idea of a kimono vest. Long enough to cover up those BBQ potato chips that decided to hang out with me for awhile, yet open and airy enough to see my cute new skinny jeans underneath.

AND I just happened to have this dress hanging around the studio in all it’s 90’s floral and broomstick  glory, sooooooo…..

With a few snips of the scissors and a couple of straight seams…

I took my new Kimono Vest and Went West.

Click here for the full tutorial.

I wish I could bring you all to the incredible Que Linda Ranch where my friend, Linda took these pictures just moments before the sun went down behind the Eastern Oregon Elkhorn Mountains. The beauty of this place inspires me at any time of day or any time of year.

Well, tomorrow is the big day.  Stay tuned to vote for your favorite in the first challenge of Refashion Runway: Season Three over at The Renegade Seamstress.

I can’t wait for you to see the way these creative women interpreted the Floral and Geometric or Stripes Challenge.

See you tomorrow.

Beth

YAY! It's Back! Open Casting Call For Refashion Runway: Season Three

Yay!

I'm happy to announce, it's finally back!

Refashion Runway: Season Three!

All of the creativity and talent brought by all of the contestants of the first two seasons was so impressive. I'm really looking forward to seeing what Refashion Runway: Season 3 will bring.

Here’s how it’ll work:

Much like Project Runway and The Great British Sewing Bee, we’ll choose eight refashion seamstresses (or seamsters) to compete in weekly challenges. The refashions will then be scored by their fellow competitors and open to a popular vote. The scores will be combined to find a weekly winner and one competitor will be out (not without a prize for participating though). At the end of the series, whoever is left will not only receive a nice prize but will be crowned the winner of Refashion Runway: Season Three!!

It's such a great way to meet new people who love to do the same thing we do.

To find out more and how to try out for Refashion Runway, 

click here.

I can't wait!

Beth

aka

The Renegade Seamstress

Denim Do-Over: These Boots Are Made For Walkin'

What do you get when eHow asks you to put a project together and the only rules are to mix lace, feathers, jeans and an old keychain?

Why some boots of course!

I was asked to participate in eHow’s #ProjectThrowdown.

They chose 6 bloggers to create something from lace, old jeans, feathers and an old keychain. We could do anything we wanted with those items and were allowed to add to the list. When we finished, we were to post a step-by-step tutorial on our sites.

The project with the most repins wins!

Today is the last day to repin my project, so I'm giving you my cute look and asking you to go here and repin my project if you haven't already done so. (Are my competitive pants showing?)

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You can go here to see the entire tutorial over on The Renegade Seamstress.

Thanks for always being so supportive of my sewing adventures.

Beth

PS: Exciting news!

Coming soon... Open Casting Call for Refashion Runway: Season 3

Cute Sweater Tote

 You can make this sweater tote quickly and easily from any sweater you might have around the house. 

All you need is an old sweater, a couple of wooden handles, and some cute lining fabric. 

In less than an hour, you can be carrying around this cute bag.

Perfect for carrying your laptop and your favorite book. :)

Click here for the how to instructions. 

Then, if you don't want to waste a thing, you can add the sweater sleeves to a leather vest to create a trendy jacket. Click here to see how it was done.

Have a wonderful day! 

Beth

aka

The Renegade Seamstress

Wrap Up in Style With This DIY Wool Blanket Coat

Look!

Is it a cape? Is it a shawl? Is it a poncho?

NO!

It’s a BLANKET COAT…

and apparently, all the major designers have them in their 2014 fall collections. You can be right on trend and easily refashion one from a blanket you might already have around the house.

My sweet husband says I’ll be the best dressed mom at the state football playoffs next weekend. I love him!!!

I found this wool blanket at my thrift store awhile back and have been waiting for just the right moment to use it.

It’s so soft and I love the fact that, like me, it made it’s way out west from Minnesota.

Click here for the rest of the tutorial and your chance to win a copy of my new book, The Refashion Handbook.

Happy Refashioning!

Beth

Flannel Leopard Print Infinity Scarf

I'm participating in the Dress for Change Week the first week of April. For her senior project, Sheyanne Root, has put together an amazing project to help young girls have dresses to attend school. If you haven't already joined this worthy cause, I highly recommend you check it out here.

During this week, I'll be wearing the same dress, but accessorizing it differently each day. I thought it would be fun to try to make an infinity scarf from an old pair of flannel pajama pants. 

I love how it turned out and it was super easy to do.

You can find the entire tutorial here at The Renegade Seamstress.

Have a great week!

Beth

Denim and Doilies: A Delightful Dichotomy

Denim, so rugged and strong.

Doilies, so delicate and fragile.

But combine these two completely different textiles to create a delightful dichotomy by adding doily sleeves to an ordinary denim vest.

You don't even have to have two matching doilies.

You can win this cute denim and doily jacket. 

Click here to find out how to make one and how to win it.

Have a great week!

Beth

Cropped Denim Jacket

I hope you all enjoyed your Fourth of July holiday! This was my red, white, and blue outfit for the day. I was feeling very patriotic. :) 

All the pieces were refashioned, except the hat and the boots of course.

For those of you who like a shorter jacket, here's a quick and easy jacket refashion. It's great to have a little jacket to put over your dresses for those cooler summer nights.

Click here to see the jacket refashion tutorial.

 

Click here for the bracelet refashion tutorial.

Click here for the dress refashion tutorial.

Happy Summer!

Beth

Boho Chic Cowgirl Shirt

It's just about time for my little Eastern Oregon town to come to life. Once a year, during the first full week of June, we host the Eastern Oregon Livestock Show.

4-H and FFA kids come from all over to show their horses, pigs, sheep, steers, and goats. 

Not to mention the parade, the rodeo and the carnival.

It's a super fun time of year for everyone.

This year, I thought it would be appropriate to refashion a cowgirl shirt to wear.

Here are the two lucky winners from my stash, both are huge on me and neither are very flattering by themselves.

But when they come together as one, it's a whole different story.

You can click here to find the entire how to tutorial for this Boho Chic Cowgirl shirt.

Yee Haw!

Gussy Up Your Denim

Usually by the time spring gets here, my soul is begging for color. 

This refashioned denim jacket was just what I needed. 

I thought it would be a quick and easy project but it actually took a few tries before I came up with an easy way to do this. Hopefully, this tutorial will save you some time when creating your own custom yoke jacket.

Happy Spring!

Upcycled Sweater Beret

I hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day, filled with lots of sweets and surrounded by your favorite people!

Here is a tutorial for a quick and easy sweater beret made from the front of an old sweater. 

Happy Saturday, and hope it includes a little sewing!

Beth