The color of Christmas-Red Dress Refashion

What color better describe December other than red, the color of Christmas. and taking red as an inspiration, I decided to refashion this fabulous vintage Leslie Fay striking red dress.

I think it's equally as bold as LBD are. What to you think? I hope you like :)
Check out my blog, Made by Evyline, for more details..

Compai Inspired T-shirt Refashion

Believe it or not I managed to actually refashion something just for me!!

Move over kids this one is for the Mamas.

It has been unbelievably hot and if I had my way I would just do everything in a sarong like I would when I was pregnant but alas it's just not do-able right now (unless I happen to have a massive bowl of chicken laksa then I might be able to get away with it...hehe)

Armed with my $3 op shopped copy of 99 ways to cut, sew, trim and tie your T-shirt by the every so awesomely inspirational Compai girls and a plain singlet I devised a plan...

Find a top that would allow for the following:

-maximum air flow during the hot days

-cover up enough of my lovely body to be happy with (you know the marks that giving birth leaves you with?)

-looks sexy

-that I could complete in 15min or under (had to pick up the kids from school... not in the top though).

Tah Dar...

The top is super easy to put on and is pretty much like wearing a bikini top.

My favourite part by far is the back...

I know right?! For the first time in years I remembered I had a tattoo back there... Hurray!

Now you can see the other books the Compai girls have written here. They are about denim and scarves... NOICE. But I have post it notes stuck all over the pages of my book ready to make a few more so stay tuned!!

Oh... I also joined in the Buy Nothing New Challenge last month and blogged about all the wonderful things we found under my husband bed. Think of all the things you would love to have all at once... That's pretty much what we found here.

Around the World in 80 Dresses: sundress to sundress

Another dress for the challenge! So far I count 10 dresses have been refashioned and posted ... so here's #11 for our little community! A sundress into, well, a sundress.

Before:



It's just a leeeeetle bit big on me. Nice, unflattering length; sleeve holes low enough to show off my bra; plenty roomy for big dinners and then some. After:



More fitted! Shortened! And best of all ... SLEEVES!!!

So here's what I did. Step 1: Shorten straps (handy trick if you are petite like I am!)


Took up the dress by about 2.5" on each side by flipping the dress inside out and stitching 1.25" from the original seam line. This lifted the entire dress so that the empire seamline hit under my bust instead of just above my natural waistline. As a kid, my mom used to adjust some of my dresses like this until I grew into them.

Step two: add smocking in the back to pull in the waist. I threaded elastic thread into my bobbin and made rows of stitches 1/4" apart. I marked where my natural waist falls, and smocked from the empire seamline until my natural waist. You could probably just mark your natural waist and smock 1" above and 1" below the waistline to cinch in at the narrowest part of your waist.


Step 3: Hem skirt. I cut 6" off the bottom and hemed it up with a narrow hem. At first I'd planned to stop there, but when I tried the dress on and looked in a mirror, it looked a little ... underwhelming. My body type is such that, if I don't somehow emphasize my shoulders, I tend to look very rectangular (whereas if I incorporate my shoulders into the silhouette then it gives the impression of an hourglass). So I used the 6" fabric strip from the bottom fo the dress to play around with sleeve options, and this is what I settled on:

Slightly pleated cap sleeves.

Much better!

More on my blog.

Welcome to the Refashion Co-op

Welcome to the Refashion Co-op!
We are going to launch the site on the 14th February (Valentines day) and you are all invited to come along and sign up as contributors or follow us as readers. In the days following there will be posts where you get to meet the editors and see their favorite refashions and the contributors will join in with their first refashions. We can't wait to see you all!

A bit more about us:
We came together around a shared love for refashioning, or making over old garments into new garments and accessories, to create a space dedicated to refashioning. When Wardrobe Refashion closed down, we were all sad to see the iconic blog end it's run, and this project was set up to keep the online refashion community alive.

This is a collaborative blog, a space for contributors worldwide to showcase their finished projects and share techniques. We also envision it as a place to gain inspiration, and further the dialogue around sustainable fashion, consumerism, personal style, and frugal fashion. Most importantly, we hope this will be a space to connect with like-minded folks by fostering a sense of community among contributors and readers alike.

Our contributors are our most important asset, as it is your ideas and your creativity that drive this site! As Editors we primarily provide logistical support to ensure the site runs as smoothly as possible.

Together, we can take this movement to a new level! Let’s spread the refashion love to more people, encourage one another to take creative risks, and celebrate in our successes along the way.

Welcome to our new space. We hope that you will join us on this journey.

Your Editors,

Bryony
Debbie
Eddie
Erica
Jenni
Jessica
Jillian