Scrubs

Hello Readers. This is a story about a sad, plain T-shirt. I thought it was a plain T-shirt. I was on the clearance rack and I thought it would be a loose shirt that would be good for layering. I was wrong.

It looks like a medical scrub shirt. And it is thick so it doesn't drape at all. It's almost like a lightweight sweatshirt. It makes me look a little bulky too. Some of that is Christmas cookies and some is this big shirt.

Here is my plain shirt. It will be easy to alter. You can't see that tag but it says XS. There is no way this is size extra small. I am usually a medium and this is big on me.

I took the sides in and made it smaller and more fitted. I created a little cap sleeve when I took in the sides too. You can see the added trim I thought would make it look less medical and more feminine. 

I used a wide zigzag stitch to attach the trim around the neckline. I liked it and added it across the shoulders to cover a tiny hole I found. No wonder it was on the clearance rack.

It was a quick and easy project because T-shirts don't fray and I didn't have to worry about finishing the inside seams. 

This is me trying to get my phone away from my 17 year old son. He is taller than I am and likes to tease his short mom. You can see I am not laughing, because it's not funny. At all.

That's it for now, go make something fun for yourself.

The Rorscach Test Sweater

Hello Readers. I found this dress on the clearance rack. It was marked down to almost nothing and I soon realized why. The top half is big and loose but the bottom is very small. It was so tight I couldn't even bring myself to post a picture.

Here is this dress out on the floor so you can see it. It is a knit so it has a little give but not much.  That skirt is never going to stretch around my hips so I gave it a big cut. I left a 2 inch waistband. I had a plan for that skirt piece too.

I attached the raw cut edge of the skirt to the binding around the neck of the sweater. I just pinned it to the inside of the neck and stitched them together.

You can see the new sweater here. It looks a little strange like this. The neck looks really tall.

 It was at this point I noticed how much the design of this sweater looks like those Rorschach ink blots. You look at some random ink blot and tell the doctor what you see. I see a tired raccoon, what about you?

Here is a closer picture of the new loose turtleneck sweater. It is a cowl neck which is like having a built-in scarf around my neck. It is very soft and cozy. It was a weird dress but it made a great top.

Thanks for reading, now go make something fun for yourself.

The Dress is Too Small

Hello Readers. Do you ever find a piece of clothing that you like but, it just doesn't fit? This yellow dress caught my eye at a clothes swap. I like red and I liked this floral design. It was like an abstract painting. It was fabulous the way it was but, it didn't fit me. 

It fit my dress form, but I am a little bigger than she is. I looked like a busted can of biscuits on top when I tried to zip up this dress. I would need to make some adjustments to make it work for me.

I used the seam at the waist to start my refashion. I unpicked all the stitches and separated the top of the dress from the bottom of the dress.  

I had a skirt with no waist band, You can see the raw edge below. I also kept the zipper in place but it was much too long now with the top of the dress removed.

I folded the edge under and stitched it down. Easy-peasy!

I unzipped the zipper and cut off most of the extra length. I left 1/2 inch of excess zipper above the waist. I folded the zipper to the side and stitched it down. 

The waist fit me so I didn't need to alter it at all. It stayed up very well with just the zipper so, I stopped my work.   This red sweater that worked with the skirt so my outfit was already finished. I had my dress form model it because.....

It was so cold and windy that my pictures didn't come out well. I love the skirt but I don't think this picture does it justice.

Thanks for reading, now go make something fun for yourself.

***CHRISTMAS BONUS TRACK ***

It's time for a Christmas refashion. This poinsettia sweater is perfect for the holidays. 

I marked the sweater with chalk where I wanted to take it in. I need to make the waist much smaller. I made sure to save the flower on the back of the sweater.

Here is the sweater with the excess removed. K.C. the wonder dog enjoyed watching this project. Why you ask?

It was his new sweater. He has short fur and he is cold all winter. He needs a little something to keep him warm and he looks festive too. He is not a cooperative model, this is the best picture I could get.

That's all for now. I hope your holidays are wonderful, and may 2017 be full of peace and joy for all of you.

  

Too Much Purple Sweater

Hello Readers. How are you today? It is chilly and the weather calls for sweaters and boots if you ask me. I had this big purple sweater dress. It was OK before except those long arms are hanging over my hands. (Imagine trying to drive like this. I need my hands.)  There is just so much of purple knit. Purple everywhere. It's too much.

I gave it a quick cut through the middle. I have a plan for this sweater and it needs to be shorter and those arms need to be shorter if I am ever going to wear this safely.

I also had this light pink shirt. I know what you are thinking. "That is not even a shirt. It might want to be a shirt, but it isn't really a shirt." You are right. It is completely sheer and I have no idea what some designer thought when they made this. Why even bother sewing this? I don't get it. I took it from a clothes swap because I thought the trim was pretty. But it gets even better...

You can see I cut the trim off. I didn't need to worry about the sheer fabric fraying, it's plastic y'all! That's right, someone made a plastic mesh-like see through shirt. The mind boggles. The trim is nice cotton and the lace at the bottom is in great shape, let's give it a new life.

I don't know if this sweater would fray or not but it doesn't matter, I used a zigzag stitch to attach it to the lace. That will keep the raw edge together nicely. I added trim to the sleeves of the sweater in the same way.

Here is my finished sweater. It is soft and cozy and the trim made it so much more interesting. This is a better amount purple for me, I like it so much better than the whole purple dress. The lace trim doesn't connect in the back, it made it more roomy and easier to put on and take off.

Thanks for reading, now go make something fun for yourself.

Save the Shrunken Sweater; Make Mittens!

Hello Readers. As I write this post we are getting cold, cold, super cold weather in from Siberia. At least that is what the weather forecast says. Cold air from Siberia is flowing through Canada and headed through the US. It makes me want to stay in and hide. But I can't do that. I decided to prepare for the cold weather by making some really warm mittens.

It started with this nice but severely shrunken sweater. It is even thicker then it used to be because it went through the washer and dryer. Oops! This might happen to you someday, don't throw it away. Make mittens!

This is a nice heavy LL Bean sweater made of wool and silk. It is going to keep me nice and warm even in extreme weather.

I used the waist of the sweater as my wristband. I sketched around my hand and left plenty of room for the seam allowance and my hand to fit comfortably.

I was able to get 2 mittens from the waist of the sweater and 2 more from the arms of the sweater. Double mittens! I also saved the larger pieces of the sweater to make a headband/ear warmer.

Here is all that is left of the sweater, just small scraps and the zipper.

I connected 4 square pieces and made a circle to fit around my head. One end is thinner so it fits around my head comfortably. (See the top picture.) I stitched the mittens together with the right sides facing each other and then just flipped them right side out.

I hope you are warm and cozy as you read this,

now go make something fun for yourself.

The Sweater Skirt

Hello Readers. I hope you are warm and cozy where you are. It is icy cold around here. The frigid temps are the inspiration for this project. It's a skirt made from a sweater. I liked this sweater and wore it often when I was pregnant. You can see in the photo on the left that the sweater opens and left room for my huge pregnant belly. My little guy was 9 lbs 11 oz, my belly was HUGE!

This sweater lays flat on the dress form. It looks harmless enough, I just don't want to wear it now that I am not pregnant.

I cut the shoulders open to start with. I needed to create a waistband. Those center buttons will be the perfect way to get the skirt on and off. I did some measuring and checking to get the size right.

You can see the shape is getting closer to a skirt. I just had to turn the edge under and use a zigzag stitch so the waist had some give and stretch like the sweater did already.

Here is how the skirt opens so I can put it on. It was super easy, the button holes were already there. I stitched down the front to connect the two sides and that only took a minute.

I wore it on a horribly cold day. It was very comfy and cozy but I was still super cold while these pictures were being taken. It was awful outside.

This is the rack I use to hold the items I am planning to refashion someday. I came into the room one day recently and the entire rack had snapped. I was dismayed and I left the mess where it was until I could get a new one. Somewhere in there is my next project.

That's all for now, stay warm my friends.