Tactical Goals. Rough Approach.

Y’know the character of Fiona on Burn Notice? I SO want her skill set -- but not her shape. Tough as she is, she does look like a stiff breeze would knock ‘er over. I also want her hip bags. Fanny packs were tacky when they first came out (and will ever remain so) but you just can’t deny their hands-free usefulness. Happy mediums can be found.

In this case, you take some bits of old leather jacket (picked apart while waiting at the dealership for the new front brake pads to be installed on your husband’s Passat) and one of the funkier airline amenities bags you got when you turned left recently (for the life of me I can’t recall which airline but it is a One World) -- 

(and don’t bother with the buckle in the end) -- and you get:

The leatha is like butta but even though some 16s worked fine, I don’t want to sew any more without proper needles. Because of being quite involved in getting my 2013-long blog A Year Without Craft Supplies up and running  my refashioning has suffered a bit and my craft room is, to put it mildly, a disaster area. Perhaps I should add 'utter and complete'. I despair of finding those leather needles so I can make a smaller mobile (cell) pouch for the other side. 

IWOM 

Leather Mullet Skirt

Well, that is what I nic-named it anyways...

I love working with leather. Love it. There is something so satisfying about recycling a cast off jacket or pair of pants or even a purse into something stunning. I've made bags, pillows and cotton shawls with leather pockets but I have never made a piece of clothing. Until I made this skirt.


I call it the mullet skirt because although it is business up front with the pencil skirt lines and colour blocking....


It is all party in the back with the western style panels and three rows of leather and suede ruffles. I love it. And although I almost messed up (I learned about zipper placement!) It fits perfectly. It started out as two very unattractive leather jackets:

 

I hoarded these two jackets for over a year, waiting for the perfect project. I actually cut off the arm of the red one to make some pretty amazing pillows. But that was all I would allow myself. I am so glad my patience was rewarded. 

I hate to leave you with those photos, so I'll just post one more of the ruffles. 

Of course there are a few more photos over at my blog Until Wednesday Calls. I have lots of tutorials in case you feel like staying to browse. I love to sew and to repurpose and have been on and off again refashioning since the days of Wardrobe Refashion. In fact I met some of my best blogging friends on that blog. So now that I have finally made my inaugural post, I hope to post a lot more here.

Cheers, Melissa

Contrast Cuff Shirt Refashion

I'd been wanting to do this refashion for a while, and finally found the perfect shirt to use! A little sheer, a little flowy, it beamed at me in all it's off-white glory from the racks.

I then used some scrap leather, a needle, and thread to create a "contrast cuff" look. I love it and it was so easy to do! Took less than an hour!

You can see more detailed instructions on how I did this (and how you could do it) on the blog by clicking here.

You can also see how I styled it to wear for a date night by clicking here!

Best wishes, 

and happy refashioning!!

Ashley of To Catch A Thrift

(itsy) Bitsy Books

Our local charity shop has a take-it-or-it-goes-in-the-rubbish box just inside the front door. I usually avoid digging through it because if the charity shop thinks something belongs in the bin, it probably does. However, on my last thrifting expedition I literally tripped over this beauty dangling over the edge of the box – most likely attempting an escape before it got dumped in the trash:

 a groovy patchwork leather purse…just what I had been looking for to mate with the leftovers from my secret book safe to create…

 …fanfreakingtastic mini book pendants!

Here’s how to make your own with stuff you already have in the house