Apple Orchard Dress

I haven't posted in 30 days. This is wrong, and I'm sorry. :)

For those of you who don't know, I'm working on my 365 Day Refashioning project over at ReFashionista. It's been a doozy, lemme tell ya. When I first started this challenge, I remember telling people "It's not hard at all!". I decided early on that I wasn't going to let this project take over my life. It's no fun making cute clothes if you don't get to go out and have a life in them, amirite? The first thing to go was my regular gym time. :/ I haven't been in months. Now, if I got up at 5am every day, I could probably make time for everything, but why in the world would I do that? So, yes...this project is challenging, and I am having to give up a lot of "me" time to make it happen. But it's also one of the most rewarding things I've ever done. :)

Enough babble! Let's get to the refashion, eh?

I started my day with this awesome piece of doilyness. :)



I love the fall colors in this dress. With a few tweaks, it’ll be perfect for a day at the apple orchard with friends! :)

That collar needs to get outta there! I picked it out with my seam ripper.

Removing the collar meant completely undoing all the stitching around the collar. No biggie. This is really easy to just pin back together and stitch up.

I still hated the length and those sleeves, so I chopped those off as well.

Now my dress is perfect for a lovely fall day spent apple-picking! :)



It was a bit chilly in the mountains, so I kept my favorite nubby black sweater handy. :)



This trip really put me in the mood for fall. :) I’m ready for sweaters, boots, warm cookies, and tea. :) Bring it, Fall!

You can read more about this refashion right here. :)

Cheers!

An Early Fall Frock

I began my day with this Extra Large JCrew dress that I found for $1.



I love that bright coral hue and the soft jersey fabric. This has the potential to be a great dress to help me transition into fall!

Of course there’s just too much of it for me, so I got to work. I took in the sides 1 1/2 inches all the way down, then chopped off some of that length!

Now I have a great dress that’ll work for the end of summer, all the way through fall! :)





You can read more about this refashion and my crazy 1 Year Challenge at ReFashionista.net!

Cheers!

Almost Dusk Dress

I shouldn’t play favorites, but I have to let you know…I love refashioning old lady dresses more than anything else. There. I said it, and I’m standing by it. :)



Most of these bad dresses I get are by Liz Claiborne. Liz. Liz. Liz. Tsk! Tsk! What the hell were you thinking?

I ripped out those shoulderpads, chopped off those massive sleeves, took the whole thing in a good bit and shortened it.

I think it looks quite awesome now! :)



I cinched the waist with the obi belt I made for my trouser dress a few months ago. :)


You can read more about this refashion on my blog, ReFashionista. :)

Cheers!

Take Me Out of the Ball Game

This top began as a perfectly boring baseball tee.

This was a castoff from Sid & Nancy (a local consignment shop). The neck was all stretched out.

No worries! That stretched-out neck is going to come in quite handy. :)

I turned the tee inside-out, and pinned a line from one side of the neck to the bottom of the shirt, leaving one of the arms on the other side. I ran it through my machine, and chopped off that leftover sleeve.

Now that boring tee is anything but!






You can read more about this refashion at ReFashionista.net. Don't forget to check out the awesome Nana by Sally giveaway! :)

Cheers!

Yikes! Stripes!

I don’t know exactly how to preface this oddball, so…um…er…

Check this out! :)



I ended up chopping this dress into two parts.



I’m going to forget about the top part for now, and work with that stripey skirt. I decided to turn the bottom of the skirt into the top of a new dress! :)

It didn’t quite fit me, so I added elastic, using the existing hem as a casing. Then, I hemmed the new bottom edge.

I think I’ve removed the Yikes Factor, don’t you? :)





You can see more of this refashion at ReFashionista.net, where I'm remaking something new every day for 1 year! :)

Layers o' Lace Top

I get a little giddy when I find a dress that is truly bad.

There’s nowhere for this dress to go but up! I removed the skirt and the sleeves. I also changed up the neckline a bit.

Now that scary dress is a much more fortunate top. :)

You can check out the full tutorial on this refashion at ReFashionista! :)

I can't wait to see everyone else's lace refashions this week!

Viva Las Vegas Dress

I needed a dress for a lovely friend’s Las Vegas themed birthday party. I chose this one for its sparkletude.

Check it out..It still had its original tags!

After a good bit of cutting, slicing, and taking-inning(?), I think my new dress is Sin City worthy, don’t you? :)

You can read more about this refashion at my blog, ReFashionista. I'm one month into my 365 day project! :)

Breakfast Club Top

Today’s top began as a boring silk 2X blouse.

Obviously, it’s way too big for me, and not very exciting. I liked the soft pink though. The color reminded me of Molly Ringwald’s top in The Breakfast Club.

I got started by chopping off those sleeves. Temps have hit the 100s here, so we’re going sleeveless today! If you’ve ever been to South Carolina in the summer, you know that walking outside is like walking into the sweaty armpit of a giant baby. :/



Next, I took each side in about 2 1/2 inches. I still wanted my top to be a little flowy, but I was drowning in the original.


Next, I chopped a half-oval shape out of the front of my new top.


Then, I hemmed the raw edge.


I pressed all my new hems and seams and was done. At first I didn’t like it. I would have to be a good 6″ taller to not look frumpy in this thing. But after styling it with a thrifted belt, a pencil skirt, and my tweed Puma espadrilles, I think it’s okie dokie! :)

You can check out more of my refashions at ReFashionista.net, Where I'm making something new every day for a year to help the local Women's Shelter! :)

Frolic in Clover Dress

I wasn’t going to be doing any frolicking whatsoever in this dress when I first found it.

The pits on this dress were a bit worn, and it’s missing its original belt. No worries! I lopped off the dress at the top (removing the pit problem entirely). I hemmed the new top, and took the dress in from the back.

A question I get a lot when making strapless dresses is, “Wait a sec…how does it stay up without elastic or anything? Won’t you just be tugging at it all day?”. The answer is, no. When you custom fit something to yourself, it’s going to fit much better than the off-the-rack stuff you’re used to…just another reason to start sewing, if you don’t already!

You can see a more detailed tutorial on how I made this dress at ReFashionista.net, where I'm showing a new refashion every day for a year! :)

Cheers!

Skirt is Shirt

Recently, I invested in a new dress form! I can’t believe I’ve gone so long without one. It’s like having a clone I can use to try on things, experiment with drape, and pin! I haven’t decided on a name for her yet.

I decided to let her help me refashion this skirt.



Now, this is a perfectly nice skirt. Sadly, it’s too small for me (a size 0…crazy!), plus it has a couple of small stains on the waistband that I couldn’t get out in the wash. Happily, it was a freebie!

I decided to turn this skirt into a top. First, I cut out the lining. Then, I put it on my dress form upside-down and pinned it where I wanted the neckline and arm holes to be, and ran it through my machine to make sleeve-ish things. :)

Now I have a fun, blousy top made of oh-so-very-soft silk. You can’t even see the small stains due to the way my the fabric drapes.






You can see a more detailed tutorial of how I made this top happen right here.

Cheers!

A Denim Skirt (Why didn't I have one of these already?)

I can’t believe I haven’t owned a denim skirt in years! Seriously…This is a casual southern wardrobe staple! Today, I sought to rectify this situation with this Eddie Bauer mumsy number (a freebie…yay!).


As is, this is fairly awful. It looks like something my 3rd grade teacher would have worn. To take this skirt from spinster to sassy, I first made a big cut to make it a length I liked.

I wanted to let the hem fray, but I didn’t want to leave my skirt looking quite so unfinished. Luckily, I had a spool of super-thick thread made for sewing denim in my stashy stash. I sewed two rows of straight stitches above the line where I didn’t mind letting the skirt fray.



That’s it! I now have a wardrobe staple that has been missing from my closet for oh-so-long!



You can check more refashions on my blog, ReFashionista!

Cheers!

Yo Bolero

This piece began as a rather frumpish blouse.



If you squint a little (or just enlarge the photo), you can see some of the coffee stains that I originally didn’t notice when I first snagged it for a buck. Stains are usually a deal breaker for me. If you can’t get them out, there’s not much you can do. :/ However, I had a plan!

I cut the top off a good bit, and opened up the front to make a jacket. I took in the blouse from the back: Once to make it smaller, and then a smaller bit on the bottom to keep it from being gapey.




I’m really happy with how this new piece contributes to my wardrobe by making any dull neutral much less blah with its awesome print.



Whaddyathink?

You can see a bit more about this refashion at ReFashionista.net.

Trouser Dress!

Take a lookie look at what I made from a pair of size 40 men’s trousers I bought for 50 cents!

I cut the top part into a pearish shape and added an elastic waist. Then I made an Obi belt out of the fabric from the legs to cover the ugly elasto-waistband…almost a completely No-Waste refashion!

I wore a simple LBD under my new skirt, and voila! The whole thing looks like a dress. I suppose it doesn't realllllly count for the 'Around the World in 80 Dresses' challenge, but it's still pretty cool!

This was inspired by a line of trouser dresses I saw a while back online, but I CAN'T remember the name of the designer, and my Googling has been for naught. :( Do any of you guys know what I'm talking about/ who the designer of some nifty trouser dresses is?

You can see a bit more about this on my blog, ReFashionista.

Jet Setter

Lately I’ve had the travel bug…big time. When I found this top for 50 cents a favorite thrift store, I immediately became wistful.

It doesn’t look like much with my bed head and my Costello specs, but look closer! Airplanes!!!

I turned this top around, and made a fun new tank top for a beautiful Sunday!



The front looks spiffy, and check out the button-up back!



You can read more about this refashion at ReFashionista.net. Cheers!

Tube Top Italiano

I love getting free stuff! My friend, Heather gave me this top she purchased while on vacation in Italy. She had worn it a few times, but it mostly just hung out in her closet.

As Heather has great taste, this is not an ugly top. It’s actually quite fetching! I loved the grey hue and the extreme softness of the fabric. However, the sleeves really weren’t my style, and I’d probably never wear it as-is. Not a problem. I removed the rosette, and pinned each side of the top right where the sleeves began. I ran each side through my machine and lopped off the excess material. Now I have a cute and elegant lil tube top!

You can check out a more detailed post about how I refashioned this top right here. Ciao!