Skirt lining - two ways

Since the virus I've been doing more mending, repairs and minor updates to my existing wardrobe than large-scale refashions. Partly because I haven't been thrifting / op-shopping in forever, and partly because I find it soothing to think less. 

Most of which is not that interesting to post about, but today I'm sharing some.  I keep my clothes for a long time because I like them and I worry about the environmental impact of clothing.  So parts of them wear out over time - like the linings.  

Today - one replacement and one repair.

Up first, I left this one way too long do a quick repair. It's an elastic-waisted knit skirt but office appropriate and I wear it a lot in winter (which it is right now in my Southern hemisphere home). 

 

The lining is not only ripped but wearing through, almost shattered (and impossible to photograph well).  I unpicked the whole waistband to remove the lining.  The elastic was okay still, so I reused that.

 

As the outer fabric is opaque (the lining is to stop clinging) I don't need to match the colour.  When this is the case I pick a bright colour to make me smile.  This one is butter yellow (paler in the photo than real life) and adds to the scarlet, aqua and hot pink linings I've replaced in other skirts.

The second pencil skirt lining is also well on the way to destruction.  It's ripped along the seam and the lining fabric is starting to wear thin either side.  But still reparable for many more wears before I need to replace the lining completely.

 I keep the fabric that is still in good condition for repairs and pocket bags when I replace a lining.  In this case, I used a sleeve lining from a jacket refashion.  I fused it over the damaged areas of the skirt lining with double sided fusible interfacing - is that what it's called?  The one you fuse on one side to fabric, take off the paper backing, then fuse the other side to a different fabric eg for applique.  That stabilised the fabric so I could sew it back together as normal.

Sewn back together and all finished!  For good measure I added a couple of hand sewn arrowheads at the top and bottom of the seam in embroidery thread to take some of the stress.

Happy refashioning (and mending).

Mimi

A trio of skirts

I inherited some skirts from my Grandma - she liked a classic skirt as much as I do but I've been, until now, reluctant to mess with them.  But I like my skirts shorter, so I took a deep breath and took to them with the scissors so I'd wear them.

Obviously, a hem shortening is not the most exciting refashion, so I'm bundling them.  The lilac linen blend and black wool blend skirts were straight forward - just cut and sewed both the outer shell and the linings.  The quality of them both is excellent and I've already worn them a lot - I love to save on work clothes.



On to the grey-green poly-blend skirt. I didn't love this skirt - the polyester generates static cling, it's not lined and the elastic was gone in the waist so it was going to be more work.  I later did a burn test with an off-cut and found it wasn't pure polyester as I'd originally thought but it's still mostly polyester. 

But it does have those great pockets and it's my current favourite colour.  I'd marked the hem line before I remembered to take photos.  I didn't like the buttons but decided to keep the tabs over the join between the elasticated waist and flat front sections.

I then went and cut at the final hem line rather than the cutting line - honestly!  Luckily in the kick pleat but it did mean I had to take in the back seam so I could add a back slit for walking (which had to be moved up in any case) and get around my mistake.  I was hoping to do a Dior style kick pleat but I couldn't take in the back seam that far.






 

On to replacing the elastic - not so easy as I thought. The original elastic had been sewed down with 4 lines of stitching which had to be unpicked.  It was completely perished, as was the waistband interfacing so I picked all that off as much as I could.  Even a long wash cycle didn't remove all of it. Then I had to resew the side seams and neaten everything up before adding a lining.








In a really bright colour that will make me smile and be seen by no-one else.  Then I restitched the waistband and threaded through and sewed down new elastic.  I hand sewed the tabs back on as there are so many layers and finally it was done.

Happy refashioning!

Mimi

Handmade to Hulimade

I thrifted this handmade dress today for $1...it was rather big but I fell inlove with the fabric & knew I could make it my own:

I decided to make it into a maxi skirt as I only have acouple...It was very simple: I removed the zipper, cut off the top, stitched the back opening closed, added elastic & edgestitched the new waistband casing shut..It can be worn at the waist with flats or lower on my hips with wedges...

                                           I also found it can be belted & worn as a dress too:

Love Hulibug

High Low Maxi Skirt

Let's face it, when it's in the nineties or over one hundred, a maxi skirt is HOT, HOT, HOT!

So I decided to turn this Tie Dyed Maxi Skirt made earlier this summer into a High Low Maxi Skirt.

This little trick made all the difference in the world when it came to staying cool in a maxi!

You can find the "how to" at The Renegade Seamstress

Hope you're staying cool where ever you are!

Beth

Back to School Refashion

It's that time of year again.....

Being a teacher, everywhere I go I'm asked the same question.

Are you ready to go back to school?

Well, sort of.....

My school clothes are ready at least.

This has been the summer of sewing for me.

I found this skirt and top at the thrift store. 

Both were WAY too big for me.

 And there was a bleach hole near the top of the skirt.

So quick as a wink I started cutting.

I added some quarter inch elastic fit to my waist around the top by sewing and stretching at the same time. This creates a gathered waist.

And now I've got another Back to School Outfit.

I'll go get my classroom ready just as soon as I feed my chickens. :)

I'd love a blog visit from you. 

Come see some how I refashioned the shirt and more refashions at The Renegade Seamstress

A DIY Pencil Skirt Refashion

I'm a sucker for anything blue and white so when I saw this thrift store skirt, it was a "must have" item!

But it just didn't do much for me in the hip department.

So, I cut away the fabric from the waistband.

Cut off the excess fabric.

Sewed a new side seam.

Added a casing at the waist for elastic and wah-lah.....

A new summer skirt!

The full photo tutorial can be found here at 

The Renegade Seamstress

Where are the Roses??

 
The Facts Fabric | A thrifted, seems like rayon, skirt.  
Patterns | None, refashioned on the fly.
Year | Current.  
Notions | Thread and elastic.  
Time to complete | About a half hour hour.
First worn | To take silly, late night indoor pics.  
Wear again? | I think so. I'm always so gun shy about strapless tops. I mean, it's not like I go to the roller derby or...engage in on-the-fly wrestling matches. What exactly am I so worried about?
Total price | $5 for the skirt, the elastic was free and my new sewing machine was $149 ;o) My finally-found-one-big-enough-for-my-noggin Fedora was $8. I kinda love it!

 I had such high hopes for this week. It was to be my triumphant return to the land of working sewing machines where challenges are turned in on time(ish). I was going to make something fabulous and flirty and fitted and...and....Let's just say, I had BIG plans. Alas, thanks to the absolute idiots working at my local FedEx depot, the machine that I expected to be delivered last Saturday didn't arrive then.  Every time I talk about it, I get vexed all over again. The nitty & gritty (including a screenshot of a deleted rage filled tweet) has been documented on my blog, if you care to read about it.



More pics and the resolution to the sewing machine saga of 2012 can be found here !

Summer Skirt

I had this dress leftover from a previous refashion.  It is cute as is, but the style is too young for me.

So...

I turned it into a summer skirt that I can wear : )

more about the process

Overalls to jumper

Hi everyone, so this is a refashion of a refashion.  Ever had those things that you didn't love when you were finished?  This was a pair of overalls that I got in Costa Rica at a Ropa Americana.  I cut off the legs, added some cute garden fabric I found at a thrift store on the coast.  Threw a doilie on the back and some lace scraps and taa daa.  I am wearing it with a blouse I got form Lisa on Etsy.

Gotta love Iphoto  :-)  This is my spicky haired hick look.

Simple Refashion: Dress to Skirt

A very simple refashion this time which (admittedly) done in desperate rush because I'm few days late to post my latest refashion on Refashion Co-op. So, here it is.


Before: A thrifted shirt dress with cute floral prints. I particularly like the contrasting stripe prints on the sleeves, neckline and button placket. It has a pretty good fit so I initially planned to left everything intact and just cut a good length of the hem. But the new hem doesn't make the dress look anywhere better. So, I decided to turn it to skirt instead.


xoxo,
Made by Evyline

Hiding a Stain with Embroidery: Round II

My new favorite solution for salvaging stained clothing: hide them behind some embroidery.  This pale pink skirt actually has a stain hidden behind the large pink center flower.

twobutterflies

A "hunting" we will go...

So, I've three different refashions to show today. All three were fairly simple and straightforward. Nothing fancy here, but I do love the results. The first is where I derived the title of the post today. I saw this skirt in the thrift store and it took me three weeks to decide it was worth getting (that and the fact that I got it at the 50% off sale). The hunting scene at the bottom was not my style and had to go! I simply cut across the bottom, following the slight curve of the original hem, folded it under twice, pinned it, and ran it through my machine. 

10 pts if you can spot the dinosaur toy! ;)

Yeah, I'm from MI, and yes, half of my class was absent from highschool on Nov. 15th each year, first day of hunting season (guns, that is), and I know way more about deer hunting than I'd prefer, but no, I'm not a fan of this. ;) But I love the birds, don't you?

Sorry this is so dark! 

I love the pockets on this skirt and its flowy nature...now, the next refashion is the silk top I'm wearing in the above photo. All I did was chop of the sleeves, roll over the edges a couple times and run them through my machine. I left it in its very large state because I really like the draping and blousing it allows when tucked in or belted. Here it is with some thrifted jeans and heels. It can totally be dressed up to go out, or worn casually for daytime.

Alright, the end is in sight! One last makeover to share. This is a lovely vintage dress I found at the thrift store (hmmm, sensing a theme? love my local thrift store!). Here is what I did with the bottom half...simply cut the dress in half, added elastic to the waist and there you go!

Sooooooo pretty, right?! Just wasnt working for me as a dress...

And here with the same silk top and a lovely belt and heels :)

Hope these easy refashions inspire you to some of your own! The after on the top of that dress is soon to follow, just a bit more to finish it off. And I think I'll have another hi-low skirt to show then as well, so stay tuned!

Peace,
Andrea

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