Reimagined Raincoat

For once I remembered to take before pictures.  Sort of.  This is more a repair than a refashion though, so the base coat is the same.

This is one of a series of raincoats that are given out as part of the kit for my kid's high-school exchange.  Given it happens every year (and how many raincoats do you need in a dry climate?) this one was on its way out.  But I didn't want to donate it as it has her name and school etc embroidered on it. So firmly that it was never coming off.  I know because I tried until I made holes.

Additionally it had accumulated a large number of tears like this one.  They were very visible when repaired so they needed to be covered, along with all the identifiers.  It's a very well made coat and it's lined and cosy.  With lots of interior pockets.  So I decided it was all mine.


I spent a lot of time planning this refashion and it got quite elaborate before I calmed down.  There was going to be stenciling and embellishments and applique and embroidery...in the end I used recycled denim circles and a little embroidery for detail.

The denim circles were made with a sewing machine attachment that sews a perfect circle.  It fits into the bobbin cover / plate hole, you spike the fabric at the appropriate radius, set the stitch type and length - I've used a zigzag / satin stitch - and hit the pedal.  I made a lot of circles so I could play with placement and have many left for other projects. They're designed to fray at the edge.

I've already worn this a few times since I finished it and it's great to wear.  Unlike some raincoats, this one breathes so I don't overheat while striding around, and it cuts the wind.  It also has a hood if I get caught without an umbrella.

Happy refashioning!

Mimi

80s jacket rescue sans shoulder pads

Take a look at those shoulders hanging right off the end of Gabbi's form!

As you may have guessed, this is an 80s era jacket.  I think it was my Mum's. It was actually made in Australia (gasp! - doesn't happen much now) and quite well made too - fully lined and quite good pattern matching.  Awesomely capacious patch pockets.  I'm pretty sure it's a polyester blend fabric, which I don't love, but it's okay for what I had planned and it's clearly very durable.  The buttons are horrible though, a very cheap looking plastic.

To work - obviously those shoulders needed revision.  Since the sleeves were too short on me, I decided to get rid of the whole shebang and just cut the sleeves and oversized shoulders off.

The sleeves were filled with this weird orange powder which got everywhere.  I believe it to the be remains of the disintegrated foam shoulder pads.  The sleeve caps were also padded.

I pinned in the new shoulder edge 5cm shorter (about 2 inches in the old money) and also tapered them to my sloping shoulders.  Then I cut both the outer and the lining fabric to the new line.  I also added bust darts which is why the vest hangs so much better on Gabbi in this photo than the jacket did previously.

I removed the buttons.  Although the jacket was double-breasted I like the jacket hanging loose so I've left buttons off  The buttons holes blend in quite well, even in real life.  Maybe I'll change my mind but I've already been wearing it this way.

And those huge pockets are indeed awesome.

Happy sewing!

Recycled jean jacket made from old jeans

I made this recycled jacket, for my tween, out of old jeans from my teen. I love how I could breathe new life into jeans that were sitting in my "refashion pile" (doesn't everyone have one of those?!).

I used a pattern I have for a button down shirt and made some changes.

The back was made by sewing scraps of fabric (using water soluble fabric to hold it all together). 

For more details, hop on over to my blog: Falafel and the Bee.

Third time lucky

Trying to recover my sew-jo, so I started with something easy - my favourite rain coat revisited:

Not that exciting a coat I know, but I love it because: it's not black, it's a bit big so I can wear it even over really thick winter clothing yet it's a thin layer, it's got huge pockets, it's waterproof, windproof and it's warm.  In short, perfect!  But the collars and cuffs wore through - so while I was searching for a new perfect rain coat, I decided to re-new them.  Which I've just done for the third time, because I still haven't found the perfect replacement...

I'd already unpicked the previous cuffs and collar before joining Refashion Co-op, if you look closely above you can see the reinforcing for the collar button in version 1 fabric.  I kept those pieces when I replaced them to use as pattern pieces:

Version 2 was from a flimsy fabric and only lasted one year, so this time around I chose a sturdy quilting fabric.  It was surprisingly difficult to find something suitable that worked with the green of the rain coat. 

All done!  I always wear the cuffs turned up because the sleeves are too long, and the little bit of cherry blossom print in purple, green and gold makes me smile.  Finished, just in time for Spring here in southern Australia (doh!).  Wishing I'd got around to this months ago.  

A few more detail photos, partly because I love the hallucinogenic buttons so much and managed to get an exact replacement for a damaged one.  Not exactly in keeping with the cherry blossom, but they're too fun to change again just now.

Thanks for the inspiration fellow Refashion Co-opers! 

MimiMade

(And if anyone can tell me how to post photos side by side, that would be super helpful!)

Dye hits and misses

So I bought some dye to do a pair of jeans that had faded but were in great condition, navy to get them as dark as I could. And the jeans turned out great! I tried a little ombre effect on a couple of other pieces just to see how they'd come out...one, I knew wouldn't take the dye very well as it was a cheap rayon piece...the other was 100% cotton but still didn't achieve the depth of color at the bottom that I was looking for. So, I may need to rerun that through a navy and black dye bath to see if I can achieve the look I was going for. Well, here a few pics of the pieces as they were and now are!

This is an identical of the before of the now sleeveless jacket.

Taking a dip!

Another dip!

The rayon...you can see the gradations...sort of ;)

The jeans are super dark! Love it! (the darkness of the photo helps add to that, hehe) but they really are dark!

 I've got an XL denim top to jacket coming up in the next couple of days, so stay tuned :) Here's a sneak peak of the before...

Hope you all are well and keep up the refashions, because I love seeing everyone's ideas and the creations that come out of those ideas!

Peace,
Andrea

LittleDidYouKnow

Winter Coat Refashion

So here's an old coat. This cost me about $12, at Vinnies,  back in the mid-90's, when I was at uni.

Here's the new version.

I reshaped the collar, cut a new hemline, and used the offcuts to make epaulettes, button flaps and big piratical cuffs. The buttons were in my stash, also an op-shop find from ages ago.

I managed to use most of the original coat, the only bits left are the original tie belt and about a 30cm square piece of material. Maybe I'll make a matching cap.

The little patches cover an original buttonhole and a couple of mothy/worn spots, as does the little strip around the collar.
For more detail on my process, have a look at the blog: http://makebakesisters.wordpress.com/2012/07/28/the-epic-coat-refashion/

Cheers, have a good weekend!

Funky fall jackets

Hello everyone!

Hope you are having wonderful summer! I started to make some more jackets just to be ready for fall. I've already posted some 'refashions' for jackets before - now I took it to the next level. I played more with design - the jeans I was upcycling were mens Pall Mall, darker ones. I did acid wash to lighten up, but the color was still not good, so I tie dyed it in most possible brights. It turned out great. I wanted to finish with hand embroidery, but then I changed my mind and used studs. We are going to rock after all this fall, right?

I have some more pics of both jackets here.

Altering a Blazer (The Easy Way)

Blazers are such a trend right now, and the great thing about them is that they're classic and timeless. A good blazer can be worn in so many different ways. My favorite is with shorts and a cute tee for a summer date night, but you can dress up skinny jeans, wear it with dress pants, put it on over a short floral dress, or with cropped pants and sandals. 

However, it can be wickedly difficult to buy the perfect fitting blazer. When I was in college, I shopped for months trying to find one, and I never found it. But now that I have a sewing machine, I can buy any blazer and make it work. I found this cobalt blue blazer at Salvation Army for $.66. The only downside was that it was 10 sizes too big for me. I took out my scissors and sewing machine and in about 30 minutes I had the perfect blazer. 

The steps:
1. Cut off sleeves
2. Hem the sides and back seam of the vest part
3. Hem the sides of the sleeves
4. Re-attach the arms
5. Wear your blazer everywhere you go!

Click here for the full step-by-step tutorial.

Thrifted 60's Coat Refashion

I found a fantastic coat at the thrift store, but alas it was too big. I love the 60's a-line style, the color, and the big texture of the weave. I checked the construction and saw that it would be easy to alter. I ended up taking in 4" on each side, but I kept the a-line style because that's one of the things I fell in love with.

I love the 3/4 length sleeves. I can wear bright long sleeves for a fun accessory.

It's thick and warm, easily dressed up and easily dressed down. I'm pretty sure it's my new favorite coat.

 

I hope you stop by my blog to see other sewing DIY projects or read more about this coat refashion.

 

Finally I made myself a Jacket!

Hiya! On the Saturday I did a major clothing clearout at home...my pile to get rid of is now lined up along my bedroom wall:

On Sunday afternoon I decided I wanted to make something & seeing all these unloved clothes gave me an idea... So I grabbed these old jeans that didn't fit great anymore & a dress my sister had given me from the pile:

 I cut them up:

Then sewed them together & this is what I ended up with:

I wore it today at work & it's super comfortable & the denim sleeves are nice & warm too :) Thinking about trying another style with some other unworn jeans of mine!

Another Anthropologie Inspired Denim Jacket

I love denim jacket refashions so I have created the "Little Dame Denim Jacket". You can turn something that is plain and sturdy into an amazing statement piece. This jacket started it's refashion life in a thrift store. It is a H & M jacket that is sized euro 98 which is a regular size 3 kids. It is in fantastic condition so I wanted to turn it from plain to designer. Although it is a child's jacket, this concept can easily be applied to an adult jacket. My first denim jacket refashion was based on an Anthropologie denim jacket. See my Well Travelled Rock Chick Jacket to see a similar refashion on an adult scale.

So start with your plain denim jacket

I don't like wasting any of my vintage fabrics. This beautiful 1960's-1970's linen tea towel was originally used in my Anthropologie Inspired Tote refashion.I had some left over fabric so I cut a piece fabric and ensured that the rose was central. The back of the jacket had three panels. I cut the fabric with pinking shears to sit in neatly in the central panel. This I then sewed into place.

Okay I will admit that these fabric roses are new, but they are just divine. I pinned these over the central rose panel to cover the edges and to create a cute border.

So this is the back of the jacket as modelled by Penelope Hanger who has now started up her own refashion Facebook Group. 

Love the red roses border. I think that it really lifts the jacket.

This is a close up of the back of the jacket. Very individual and unique.