Dress to Skirt

 Hello Readers. I found this yellow dress at an outdoor market type of place and the bright yellow really caught my eye. It's such a fun happy summer color. It was a little big but that was OK, I had a plan.

Before and after.

This big poofy dress wasn't bad but it seemed like it could make a great skirt. The elastic around the top would make a nice waistband. 

I cut the shoulder straps off. You can see from the picture that the elastic was not even in height all around the dress. That's OK, I will use the straight edge for my waistband and skirt. 

 

I cut the back of the dress away from the front. This was easy. 

 

I sewed the cut edges together to make a tube shape. That was my skirt.

 

I thought I was done. I love the paper-bag waist. But... it was too long. 

  

I gave the new skirt a cut in length. It was dress length and I wanted, "skirt length". I gave it a quick hem too. 

 

The shorter length was perfect for me. And the casual vibe was just right too. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saving Stained Silk

 Hello Readers. I love silk in the summer, it's so light and breathes well. That makes it comfortable to wear when it is hot and humid. This dress was a beautiful silk. I loved the soft material and the shade of blue. 

Before and after.

This dress seemed great but there was a problem. There was a faded spot. Maybe it came from bleach? I don't know. Originally I thought I could just shorten the dress but that spot was going to show. I needed another solution. 

 

I cut the bottom of the dress off. This was going to be a skirt. Was it long enough? It had to be. I hoped for the best. I thought I could add an elastic waist to this part of the dress and make a simple skirt.

 

Here is the top of the dress. I cut the faded spot out. I wanted the shirt to be long enough to tuck into the skirt so I kept it as long as possible. 

 

Here are my two pieces. The dress was going to be a 2 piece set. 

 

I made a hem at the bottom of the shirt piece. Silk is thin, delicate, and slippery. I don't like working with it or sewing with it, but I love to wear it. I made my hem and worked it out. 

 

I got some colorful elastic and made a waistband. You can see a bit of the faded spot on the skirt here. That will be covered by the elastic. (I hoped so anyway.)

 

I folded the shirt into loose pleats and sewed the elastic waistband to the top of the skirt. I used a zigzag stitch so that I could stretch the elastic and get the skirt on and off. I really liked the colorful elastic, it was a pop of color in the blue outfit. 

 

Thank you for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tea Tins to Plant Pots

 Hello Readers. I love to re-use containers and packaging. It is sustainable and better for the environment, it's saves money to re-use rather than buy new containers. And sometimes containers can be so cute, like these tea tins. They are really pretty. You can also try this with other sturdy aluminum containers or cans.

Look at my new plant pots. 

I love tea and drink it every day. This brand is a favorite of mine. The tea comes in these super cute containers. They are a very sturdy but light-weight metal, and each flavor comes in a different color tin. There is sure to be a color tin and/or a flavor of tea you will love. Let's re-use these containers and make a little herb garden for my kitchen window. 

 

Each of these containers has a lid that fits on top and I planned to use the lids too. These containers are a great size for small plants. I am going to plant herbs but any little plant you like would work here. 

 

There was a flat bottom in each container. The container will need a way to drain extra water out or the roots of the plant could get too soggy. I would need to make a hole in the bottom of each tea container for drainage.

 

I used a power drill with a small drill bit. The size is not that important, Any small sized drill bit will be fine. 

 

 

The drill went through the thin metal quickly and easily. 

 

I made my small hole and it wasn't even centered perfectly but it's still going to work, so don't worry and don't over-think it.  

 

I needed some potting soil into the containers for the plants. 

  

I added a bit of the potting soil into the tea tins before I put the plants in.

 

I grabbed these small herb plants when I was at the grocery store last time. I hope they like their new home in my kitchen. 

 

I gently removed the wrapping and pot from the plant. 

 

I added the plant to the container. It was smaller than the new pot but that's OK, it gives the plant room to grow. 

 

I poured more of the potting soil to the side of the container. This will fill in the container and keep the plant in place securely and give the roots space to spread out as they grow.

 

I placed the lid of each container upside-down on the window sill. This is going to act as a drainage dish. 

 

I put each plant on it's lid. The upside down lid can catch any excess water and that will keep the window sill nice and neat. This is a sunny window so that will make a nice home for my new little garden. Will these herbs improve my cooking? We can only hope. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 
 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 
 

 

 

 

Add a Ruffled Collar

 Hello Readers. Let's make a men's button-up shirt by adding a ruffle at the collar. It adds a fun new shape and detail at the neckline. This was quick and easy to do. It didn't require any extra fabric. You just need a men's shirt. 

Before and after. 

Our first step is to use a seam ripper to open the collar and remove it. I unpicked stitch after stitch until the collar could be open.This wasn't difficult at all. 

 

The band around the top of the shirt is open now and I could remove that collar. It came right out and I don't need it anymore. It can be tossed out or saved for scrap fabric.

 

I cut the bottom edge off my shirt. I wanted a 2 inch wide piece along the entire hemline of the shirt. I also cut off 2 extra inches just to shorten my shirt. It was a men's shirt so it was long on me, you don't need to make your shirt even shorter. That is just what I wanted. You can leave the length intact. The only piece you need is the 2 inches of the  hemmed edge of the shirt. 

 

I inserted the piece from the bottom of the shirt that I cut off, into that neckband. The raw cut edge goes into the band like filling into a taco. The finished hemline is sticking out at the top. I gathered the long piece so that it made a ruffle around the neck. 

 

The pins and clips hold the ruffle in place. It needs to be pinned and/or clipped or it will fall out. The pins will really help keep the ruffle gathered while I sew it in. It was a simple straight stitch along the collar band to hold it in place.

 

Stitch slowly and remove the pins one by one as you sew along. 
 

 I stitched the new collar in place and it looks so cute. You can see the finished collar here. I stitched along the line of stitches that I had picked out in the beginning so the collar looks nice and neat.  

 

I needed to hem the bottom of the shirt since I had cut it. I turned the edge in twice and ironed a sharp fold. I wanted it to be smooth and the hot iron really helps.

 

I used my sewing machine to sew the new hemline with a straight stitch. This only took a few minutes but it really makes the shirt look well finished. 

 

My new collar is finished and I like the feminine ruffle. It is a fun change without a lot of time, work, or extra supplies. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 
 

 

 

 

 
 

 

Make Shorts Bigger

 Hello Readers. Sometimes we get too big for our clothes. It's sad but true. We gain weight and those clothes we loved are suddenly too tight. And what if they shrink in the dryer? It happens to all of us at some point. Let's find a way to fix that. 

These denim shorts got too tight, but it's a quick and easy fix. 

I needed to choose some fabric to put in the sides of my shorts. I chose this denim that I had on hand. You could choose a contrasting color if you want, any color will work. Try to pick a fabric that is strong and sturdy like denim. A thick woven cotton would be great. A thin light weight fabric won't hold up with the denim. You need enough to make 2 equal side panels. You can make the side panels any width you need to make your shorts fit again. 

I sewed across the top of my new denim piece. I wanted to keep the top edge from fraying. This new piece of fabric should be the same length as your shorts. You will want the side panels to be the a similar length as the shorts.

 

I turned that edge under and stitched it down with light blue thread to match the denim as best I could. Try to match your thread the best you can to your denim or the thread in the original shorts to get a uniform cohesive look. 

The first step is to cut the shorts open. I found the side seam and cut the seam open with sharp sewing scissors. Sharp scissors will give you a clean cut edge. Set the shorts aside for now.

 

Make sure to trim off any of the side seam stitching that might still be attached. The cuts need to be sharp and clean. 

 

I sewed one side of the new side panel to one side of the shorts. I made sure that the right sides were facing each other for this. I also made sure the top seam I just sewed on the side panel is at the top of the shorts. That will give me a nice neat waistband.  
 

I tried the shorts on. They wouldn't stay up yet but this let me double check the width of the side panel. How wide did it need to be to make these shorts comfortable? I needed about 2 inches at the waist, 3-4 inches at the hip and 1/4 inch for the seam allowance. 

 

I cut the extra fabric off my side panel. It's big enough for both sides. Now I can sew the side panel in on the other side. 

 

You can see my side panels are too short but I wanted to cut my shorts to match the length of the side panels. 

 

I used my scissors to cut the shorts to the length I wanted. The best part of denim cut offs is that we don't need to hem the bottom of each leg. What as time saver!

  

You can see the side panel here. It is sewn in well and the new length is fun too. 

I washed and dried my shorts to get that nice frayed edge along the bottom of each leg. 

My new shorts fit well and I was happy with them when I was done. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.