Sometimes You Just Need Alterations

Hello Readers. Sometimes I like to do change garments dramatically and sometimes I like them as is. I was given this fabulous sweater/blazer last winter. I never got around to altering it. The black velvet pants I found at a clothes swap. Every woman needs a pair of velvet pants right? They just needed to be shortened.

This blazer is made of a heavy knit material almost like a sweater. It is more comfortable than a blazer because it is soft and flexible like a sweater. It was too large on me. It made me look big and round through the body and super scrawny in the legs. 

Kind of like a chicken.

I used the side seams and the arm seams as a guide to make the jacket smaller. It was easy but the material frayed a little when cut. I did a simple zigzag stitch on all the raw edges to stop it from fraying. It was almost like sewing it twice but it looks nice and neat inside.

Here is what I took off the inside of the jacket. I took a little extra off the waist to make it give it a more flattering fit. It is still loose enough to wear over another top. It's cold out there, I need layers.

Here is my finished jacket with a new fit and my velvet pants just needed a quick hem. It is hard to photograph velvet. It just absorbs all the light and the photos don't show up well. You know what a new hem on a pair of pants entails, so no pics of that.

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

A Tale Of Two Sweaters

Hello Readers. My project today involved 2 sweaters. They were both too small but I wanted to save one of them. I know what you 're thinking. (We're friends now, I know you well.) You are thinking why bother with these sweaters?

Because cashmere baby! I am a sucker for cashmere sweaters. They are so soft. It's like they were knit by little angels or something. This is a simple white sweater with black trim.

I decided to make it bigger. I cut the sides and arms and removed the seam. This is what it looked like spread out on the floor.

I had this pink sweater with black trim. It wasn't made of cashmere and it was really pink. I am not a huge fan of pink but it would be useful in this project.

It came with a big black flower pin. Under that black flower is another flower. It is stitched on and I liked it better than the pin.

I cut out the flower and saved it for later.

I cut out two stripes from under the arms all the way down the sides. The pieces were about 3 inches wide. I didn't get a picture of them, sorry. This is what the pink sweater looked like after I cut off all the pieces I needed to enlarge the white sweater.

Here are the pink pieces after I sewed them into the white sweater. They run from the waist to the wrist. It added enough to make the size comfortable for me. 

This is my "Mom's lost it!" pose.

You can see the pink piece on the side of the sweater here. I used the same technique in my last post to make a T-shirt bigger. I like this method because it leaves the neck, shoulders and outer arms intact. You can see I attached the flower applique to the sweater too. I hand stitched over the black stitches that were already there. It made the simple sweater not so plain.

It is Thanksgiving tomorrow in the U.S.

I am thankful for a lot of things in this life, thanks to you for reading this post.

More Pattern Mixing

Hello Readers. My last post was a mix of stripes and plaid. I have 2 more patterns to mix today. Today's project started with two shirts. I found them at different clothes swaps and noticed they were the same exact colors. You may say it is just a coincidence but I don't believe in coincidences. I say it is a refashion match made in heaven. Refashion fate!

This is shirt #1. It had a nice pattern and was a bit too big on me, but that's good. It will make a great dress, or part of a dress.

I cut the body out of the shirt. That will be the skirt of my new dress. The bottom hem of the shirt will be the bottom hem of the dress. It will look good with the finished hem. And it will be fast because it's already done.

The arms of the shirt I used to cut 2 long narrow pieces from the top of the sleeves. I needed those pieces for the next step. Read on.

Here is shirt #2. It had some cool stripes and it was too small on me. That's OK, I have a plan.

I cut the striped shirt open on the sides. I cut close to the side seams. I could have picked the stitches out but it would have taken a long time. I just cut the seams out of the shirt. It was a lot easier and faster.

Here is where those pieces from shirt #1 come in. I made sure those strips of fabric were evenly cut and I sewed them into the striped shirt. I matched the ends of the patterned pieces with the ends of the sleeves of the striped shirt.

The underside of the sleeves look as nice and neat as the more visible parts of the sleeves. The sleeves have a well finished look with no raw edges.

You can see here how I put the extra pieces of fabric into the striped shirt. It made the striped shirt big enough to fit comfortably. 

Here is my finished dress. I love the two patterns together. This dress was a little shapeless and boxy so it really needed a belt.

I could pose normally, but that is no fun.

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

Pattern Mixing

Hello Readers. I had this purple and coral striped shirt. I liked it but it didn't fit well. It didn't have much stretch to it either. (Why are manufacturers making clothes without stretch? I want stretch everything. It's so much more comfortable.) I also had this plaid shirt. It had the same shades of purple and coral. Coincidence? I don't think so.

Can stripes and plaids work together? I am doing a little pattern mixing. Is it too much together? I am going to try it, we'll see what happens. 

I cut the purple top straight up the back. 

I also cut a thin triangle from the back of the plaid shirt. I used the yard stick to make a straight cut. It was about 1 inch at the top and 5 inches at the bottom. It will look a little smaller when it is sewn into the purple shirt because of the seam allowance.

I sewed for a few minutes and inserted it in the opening I made in the purple shirt. The plaid piece was a bit too long, I cut off the excess and made a new hemmed edge to make the back of the shirt even along the bottom.

I wanted to shorten the sleeves a little. My arms are pretty short. I folded the shirt sleeve on itself so the good sides were facing each other. I stitched a new seam and was able to remove about 5 inches of the sleeve. I sewed right on the binding so it was still connected to the end of the sleeve. 

Here is the finished top from the front. You can see the sleeves are shorter. It is a little more roomy and comfortable now. I wanted to add a little more plaid somewhere, but I couldn't think of anything else to add that wouldn't be over the top. I will keep thinking.

Here is the back view. Disco anyone?

I was headed to the pediatrician for the little guys check-up. It wasn't very exciting, but it's the true story. 

Do all babies hate car seats? Or is it just mine?

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

The Pashmina Shirt

Hello Readers. My sweet sister-in-law gave me a few scarves. (Thanks J.) I liked this slate color very much, I looked around on Pinterest to see what I could do with scarves. I liked the idea of making a top.

This scarf had such pretty floral designs on each end. I wanted to keep it and the fringe intact as much as possible.

I cut the scarf in half and used a well-fitting T-shirt as a guide. The scarf is much too long so I marked where the shoulders and arm holes would be. There won't be any difference between the front and the back of this new scarf-shirt. 

I put the finished sides facing each other and used my sewing machine to connect the sides down the body of the shirt. I left openings for my arms. The finished edges of the scarf mean the armholes/sleeves are done already. You can see the edge of the sleeve here.

 I also connected the two pieces of the scarf where the top of the arms/shoulders would be. The scarf folded in on itself and that gave me a lining of sorts and made a nicely finished neckline. I cut off the excess. Below, is the inside view of the neckline. I left about 3 inches of "lining" inside, front and back.

Here is the finished top. It's a nice loose fitting top, it doesn't have any stretch to it so it has to be loose to get on and off. The loose fit will be nice for Thanksgiving. I could eat 2 big dinners and a whole pumpkin pie and still be comfortable. (I love pumpkin pie.) I think I just found my new holiday shirt!

This shirt is so soft and cozy, and I love the fringe. 

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

The Fastest Dress Refashion

Dear Readers. How are you? My refashion today is so easy it will be finished in a flash. I had a light weight sweater/shirt and a long skirt. I loved these blue and brown shades together, but I didn't think it was very flattering on me.

It started as an outfit that was too long. the skirt was SO long and the top was long too. It just dragged me down and made me look like half my normal height. (My normal height isn't very great to begin with, I don't need this outfit making me look shorter.)

In two easy steps I fixed the problems. First, I hiked the skirt up and wore it as a dress. It needed a belt but it fit much better. Next, I cut the sweater/shirt up the middle. It was a nice knit that didn't fray when it was cut. I also cut the sleeves into a shorter sleeve length.

I love it as a dress but I didn't like this rain very much. It was cold and damp out when I took this picture.

The sweater is nice and easy to wear by itself too. And what happened to those cut off sleeves?

And it's still raining.

They made quick and easy boot cuffs. They add a touch of color. The part that shows is the finished end of the sleeve, I cut it to the length I needed to fit comfortably in my boots. The raw edges didn't fray when cut so it was 

And now we're done. I told you it was going to be quick and easy. Thanks for reading, now go make something fun for yourself.