The more spots the better

I've had this shirt for ages, and wore it a lot for a while.  It's what my friend calls a 'home jobbie' - someone (other than me) made this shirt quite carefully and used a good quality polyester (?) fabric.  Only she was shorter and wider than me, and it never felt quite right. 













So I put it aside for years waiting on a solution.  The trouble with navy is that it's quite hard to match - this one has quite a lot of black, and then, there's the polka dots.  And then one day at a sewing class someone brought in fabric to swap and there it was!  I like the fact the dots are a different size, I think it looks more intentional.  Finally, I could add the extra length!  First I took it in at the princess seams front and back, because it was wide and boxy - I went a little too far though, and ended up reverting the back seams to their original position.  A little boxy can be a good thing - the shoulders looked weird when it was too tailored.






But it still wasn't quite right.  It looked unbalanced - and so the sleeves got a band of dots as well.  Then I changed the buttons as I added an extra buttonhole right at the bottom.  Seeing I didn't have a matching button I removed them all and made them all different - so that looks intentional too.  Plus, I love odd buttons.

 

Happy sewing!

 



Quick runs

Because my sewing life has been in a bit of a slump, I decided it was time to get some quick runs on the board with simple projects (not sure what the sport metaphor is about, I am soooo not sporty).

Apart from some mending jobs I won't bore you with (but which made me feel virtuous and reduced the piles around the house), I adjusted these jean-style cotton trousers to fit:


 

Looks like a mistake right?  Not at all - I have a sway back and I don't like the gaping I get when I sit down or ride a bike or similar.  The elastic gathers the excess in against my back and  the waistband smooths out when I wear the trousers - I never tuck in tops anyway but, even so, they don't look weird on.  It's quick and it's easy and it works.   I use safety pins to get the fit approximately right, then take a few more cm off the elastic each side as it tends to fit looser than I wanted when sewn.  This doesn't work with jeans though, the denim is usually too heavy for the elastic.

Then the hems - I'm tall and trousers are never long enough so I always check the amount of fabric left in the hem and the wear on the bottom edge.  These aren't too bad, a few more sprays with vinegar before washing and the previous hem marks will fade out - not that anyone but me probably notices even now.  I use grosgrain ribbon in the very edge (1cm or less) and turn under and blind hem by hand.  Usually more skilfully than I have here.  But I was in a hurry, and it doesn't show on the outside, so I'll live with it.

 This shirt "fix" was even easier:

 

 

I tried the shirt with the sleeve scrunched, rolled and left hanging and it just looked better left alone - so, sleeve tabs be gone!


Back in my sewing groove again.  Happy refashioning until next time!

Mimi

Dress To Shirt

Before: nice dress that I bought at a thrift shop. I liked it as is, but thought that I would get more use out of it as a shirt

 I just cut off some length and hemmed. Easy : )

Re -Refashioned Dress To Top

Original dress - these are widely available at my local Goodwill

Originally refashioned a few years ago to this summer dress that I probably wore a few times

I recently refashioned the dress again,  to this top with new pleating and belt loops

Back view - I messed up here - so I replaced the print fabric from a scrap that had leftover from another project

Belt loop detail 

Refashion Of A Refashion

Original garment: shirt dress

 

Which was refashioned into a tunic shirt last year.

 

This year I transformed it into a sleeveless shirt. I took out the

 elastic waistband, changed the neckline, and added darts for a fitted look.

Shirt Refashion From A Dress

I found this dress at a thrift store and didn't try it on first. It was a tad too tight, so much that I couln't breath in it when zipped up. So I added it to my refashion pile. I ended up making a shirt that is a very versatile  piece in my wardrobe. The shirt is the bottom part of the dress. (The hem line is now the neck line)

Before

 

 

 

After...



No Sew Vest

I bought this hooded jacket at a thrift store to wear as is but the sleeves were way too tight. So, I chopped off the sleeves and the hood and was left with a cool vest that I love! I cut close to the seams and didn't have to sew a stitch.

 

Before

 

 

After



A Little Something Patriotic

Well, I had jury duty ALL of last week, so all I have to share is an old shirt I had made for the 4th of July. I took another of my husband's old shirts, cut it into a somewhat fitted tank, and did a sort of sideways hi-low cut.

Forgive the bad pic quality...

For the dye, I used masking tape and spray bottles for a soft, vintage-y look-- the colors are faded and a little blurry, which was, for once, the look I was going for! I absolutely love this shirt; any day that's not the 4th of July it's just a cool statement piece.
Have a good week, everyone!
Julia

All you can do with a t-shirt and a shirt!!!

Do you still remember this refashion?

Well, I finally found out what to do with the leftovers, and have turned them into a lovely skirt + panties + headband for my little G. I still want to make her a tank top or something, but I have to check if there was enough left from the white t-shirt.

follow the steps I gave closerly HERE.

T-Shirt Recycling #3

This time, I have a refashioned refashion for you!

Originally this:

 ...became this sad little number that never saw the light of day:

...and now finally gets to live to it's full potential as a cool cowl neck!

Such a small change, such a great improvement. It doesn't always need much...

More at Of Dreams and Seams, and very soon the grand finale of my t-shirt refashion extravaganza!
Best to all of you,
Katja

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

T-Shirt Recycling #2

As promised, here comes my next t-shirt recycling project. This dress is a lot less beach, and a lot more elegant than the first one. Still, it's a jersey dress you can simply throw into the washing machine like any old t-shirt (which it is, basically...):

It even features a little zip pocket, which cannot be seen well in these pictures...

These are the shirts I used:

Again, lots of step-by-step photos are posted at my blog: Of Dreams and Seams. Thank you for reading - take care and happy sewing!
Katja

Girl's dress from a man's t-shirt

I wanted to make my daughter a dress out of a big men’s t-shirt, and we finally found the perfect shirt. I have been teaching her money management recently by shopping at garage sales, and my Angry Birds fan spotted this XXL number for 50 cents. Note her “Can Mom really make something out of THIS?!” expression.

I wanted to try out so many cool ideas on this dress (Make it a halter! Sew it like a baseball jersey! Add a ruffled hem!) My little fashionista, however, wanted it very simple. She is six and has some strong opinions.  So I took a dress of hers that fit well and laid it on top to get an idea of where to put the side seams.

I stitched along the pin lines and cut off the excess. When I was finished, the dress looked like this.

I thought about doing something fancier with the sleeves, but we decided they looked good at three-quarter length. She was really excited about her new dress, and I can’t wait to try a different style next time. Hopefully, she will give me more creative license then!

T-Shirt Recycling!

Look at the pile of t-shirts I had sorted out from my closet!

What perfect little paradise for a re-fashionista! Loads of projects are coming up :-)
For the first one, I chose these three shirts:

...and turned them into that:

Many more pictures and a few step-by-step pictures are at my Blog: Of Dreams and Seams. It was ridiculously fast and easy. I also have the next project all ready to go, so I will be posting again soon.
Best to all of you, and thank you for all your inspirations here at this fabulous Blog!
Katja

American Idol Style

Last season on American Idol, the most striking fashion statement for me was not from J.Lo or Stephen Tyler. It was this guy:
Some cowboy guy in Hollywood week. He was a pretty big jerk and went home.

But can you see his shirt? It's plaid that's been tie-dyed!! I've been swooning for months.


Finally, I had some leftover dye and a nice-fitting plaid shirt, so I took the plunge!

Mine came out a lot more pale and less allover blotchy than his (the bad photo quality doesn't help-- it's actually darker in real life), but I love how it took a nice preppy shirt and made it a little surprising. Hurrah for tie dye!

Julia

Introduction + DIY Painted Tank

Well, since I missed introducing myself on the first post I made, here is a little bit about me.

I am deeply in love with my husband of 1 1/2 years. He is the one who encouraged me to finally start a blog when I would blog-stalk all my favorite fashion bloggers. We love being active and playing sports, but lately we've also realized how much we love staying home and spending time together watching Grey's Anatomy or just reading. 

I am also one of nine kids. Yes, nine. No, my parents were not Catholic and contrary to what many socially inept people have asked, they did know what caused children. :) Aren't my siblings gorgeous? I love being in a large family, most of the time. 

My husband and I recently moved to a Chicago suburb, AND we went and saw the Bean. I was thrilled about that. I think I was excited about it because of the scene in The Vow where they went and took pictures. It was beautiful. My recent blog is called SecondHand Couture, and I would be absolutely thrilled if you fellow refashioners checked it out and followed me. Leave me a comment that you're a new follower and I'll follow you back!  

So, I will leave you with this project after my long introduction. On the Fourth of July, I couldn't find a shirt that I wanted to wear, and after trying on approximately 1/4 of my clothing, I decided to just paint a shirt. That's right... paint a shirt. I wasn't sure if it would work or not, but I loved it!

 It was simple to make, and if the lines aren't even, you don't have to measure anything, and it looks offbeat and great. I love how it turned out!

The shirt was incredibly simple to do, but if you would like a more detailed tutorial and notes, here's my original post.

I hope all of you guys have an incredible Saturday!

EDIT: On my blog in the Read It section, you guys can link up your blogs. You should do it!