So Much Purple #3

Hello Readers. I am still in my purple refashion phase. Todays post started with a sparkly purple shirt. As you can see from the picture below I had 2 purple tops with sparkle on my refashion rack. Does anyone really need 2 purple sparkle shirts in their wardrobe? I don't think so.

 

 

I wanted to use the sleeves from this purple top and attach them to the floral button-down shirt you see below. I know what you're thinking. Why not just wear the purple top under the floral shirt? Why bother cutting and sewing. Just put the clothes on and go about your day, right?

 

 

I thought about doing that. I just didn't like the sparkles with the faded denim floral look. I didn't like how the sparkles showed from the armholes either.

 

 

So I simply cut off the sleeves and pinned them to the floral shirt. This will be the easiest refashion in the world. I will be done in 3 minutes. No big deal right?

 

Something went really wrong. I couldn't figure it out. It was super tight. Like difficult to put on tight. Like I couldn't button it properly tight.

After careful examination, I found that I had gotten some of the shirt caught in my sewing. I just had to pick out some stitches and stitch over that part of the sleeve. Well that's easy. No big deal right?

 

Something else went really wrong. I tore the shirt by accident while I was removing some stitches and now it had a hole in the back. A very noticeable hole. I wish I could say that I handled it like a mature adult. I wish I could say I was an example of grace under pressure. I was not either of those things. I got really mad. I said mean things to the shirt and I told the shirt I never wanted to see it again.

 

 

I still had the body of the sparkly purple shirt. I guess I could wear the sparkles with this purple plaid.

(Yes, I had even more purple clothes.)

So much purple, y'all.

 

 

Thanks for reading about my failed refashion. It doesn't always work. Things fall apart. Life is like that. Now, go try to make something fun for yourself.

 

So Much Purple #2

Hello Readers. I have been working through my purple refashions and todays post is about a shirt. A really weird shirt. It is a shirt but barely a shirt. I mean it is so sheer, is it really a shirt? Let's be honest here. I am never going to wear this. Even if it was over another shirt.

 

 

I really thought it was pretty and the beading was nice. I just didn't want to wear it. Where would I go wearing a see through shirt with all these beads? WalMart? The library? The pediatrician? I have never been anywhere that this seemed like an appropriate clothing choice. So, this shirt needs a new purpose.

 

 

This is a lamp in my house. It has been around for 22 years. Someone nice gave it to me as a wedding gift. (Thanks Laura!) I am not sure if that is the original lamp shade but it is a little old and a little yellowed with age. I have wanted to get a new lamp shade or spruce it up for quite a while.

 

So how did I figure out that this shirt fit over the lamp shade perfectly? Do I try all my clothes on lamps? Do I randomly put clothes on other objects? No, this is the only time I have done this.

But it did fit so, I just ran with it.

 

Here is a look from above the lamp. You can see the arm holes are hanging down in the lamp. This would be a serious fire hazard. I don't want to burn my house down so....

 

I cut off the excess and left about an inch to fold over the top inside the lamp shade.

 

I used a hot glue gun along the inside top edge. You can see the excess here after gluing. I love hot glue, it dries in just a few seconds. When I was done with the glue I trimmed off all the excess fabric so it would be nice and neat. (And safe!)

 

Here is my finished lamp. The beads added a little fun and sparkle to it. Who knew a lamp could wear a shirt.

 

 

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

 

So Much Purple #1

Hello Readers. I am always collecting hand-me-downs and clothes swap finds that I can refashion. I am always trying to show that you don't need to spend a lot of money to have a fun wardrobe that fits really well. In my collecting I have found and saved quite a few purple items. I don't know why I kept them waiting but I realized recently that I needed to start working on the purple clothes before they took over my sewing area.  

 

 

I started with this purple top that my mom gave me. (Thanks Mom!) I liked the shirt, it was a nice eggplant purple. It was a great match to a cardigan my daughter had given me. The only problem is that the purple top was bigger than the cardigan. I needed to re-size it and the gray jeans needed help too. They fit in the hips and the backside but the waist was too big.

 

Let's start with the shirt. It was a nice heavy weight knit. I really liked it, it had a little sparkle too. I used the existing seams as a guide in marking new seams. Can I just sew new side seams like that? Sure I can, it's my shirt. It took a couple tries to make it small enough. It needs to be really fitted to wear under the cardigan. I sewed and tried it on and sewed some more.

 

The gray denim was very simple and classic. I really wanted to wear them but the waist was too big. I couldn't just add a belt to draw the waist in, it was too bulky and uncomfortable. It really needed to be smaller. I tried them on and marked how much smaller I wanted them. I again used the existing side seams as a guide for where to sew my new side seams. Can I really just make new side seams in denim just like that? Would they hold when I wore them out in public? Yes, and yes.

I did stitch over the new seams twice to make them strong and give myself some extra security.

I made them shorter too, of course.

 

Here are the finished clothes, the shirt works great under the cardigan now that it is smaller and more fitted. The jeans fit at the waist and I was ready to go. Go where you ask?

 

I went to a casual party with my hubby, you can guess the theme right? 

 

That is all for today. Don't be afraid to grab some clothes and make something fun for yourself.

There is more purple to come next time.

 

A Flattering Hoodie

Hello Readers. I really believe that you can refashion anything. One of my best sources of clothes to refashion is to steal things from my man. If he doesn't wear it often, I will take it for myself. (I am not ashamed.) Today's post is a perfect example. I had this nice big hoodie to work with.

 

 

This hoodie is too big but it is in good shape. I really wanted to make it more fitted but keep the length to cover the caboose when I wear leggings to exercise. I thought it would be nice and warm in the colder weather too. It needed some big adjustments.

 

I used one of my favorite hoodies as a guide. I marked where I wanted to make my new seams on the inside of the blue jacket. I just used my sewing machine to make the new seams on the sleeves and sides of the jacket.

 

You can see in this picture what I removed. I made it more narrow and made the arms smaller and shorter. Sweatshirts are easy to work with because they don't fray. I cut off the extra fabric and didn't worry about it.

 

I added some elastic inside at the waist. I wanted to pull the waist in a little. I thought it would look more feminine. It is still casual but more flattering than the baggy fit it had in the beginning. The best part is that it is just as comfortable and cozy as before.

 

 

I liked the new fit. The longer hoodie is good with leggings. It covers up the backside so I can go out without feeling like a flasher. (My backside is my business.)

 

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

 

 

A Super Easy Cardigan (No-Sew)

Hello Readers. I hope you are enjoying the cooler weather Autumn has brought. I have been trying to work on clothes for the cooler weather. This big cozy sweater is a perfect example.

 

 

 It was brand new with tags when I found it at a clothes swap. The neutral color was great, it would go with everything. It was a fine knit, almost more like a knit shirt instead of a sweater.

I didn't like the high neck. I hate close fitting turtlenecks, even a 1/2 turtlenecks like this one. It always makes me feel like I am going to be strangled at any moment.

 

 

I decided to see if I could treat this sweater like a knit shirt by cutting it down the middle and seeing if it frayed. It didn't. If it had frayed I would have had more work to do.

 

 

I cut a little bit off the neck and made it curved instead of a sharp corner at the neck.

 

 

And that was it. This is a refashion anyone can do. All you need is a pair of scissors.

And a sweater.

 

 

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

 

The Strapless Problem (Gravity)

Hello Readers. Let me ask you a question. Do you hate strapless clothes? Do you just hate them? OK, hate is a strong word. Don't get me wrong, they can look great. At first they seem like they are going to be your friend and then what happens? GRAVITY HAPPENS! At least it happens to me. Every time. Even when I think they are going to fit and stay up, they start to slide down and I have to spend all day tugging them up. It is really annoying.

I found this green and black dress and loved the green layered skirt but hated the strapless top.

 

 OK, here is your up close look at the front and the back. It was simple and classic in design but I still didn't like it. The back was very open and I knew that would be too much skin exposure for me. (I do want to give credit to whoever came up with the design that allows for a regular strapless bra. At least they made an effort to allow a normal female to wear this. Not everyone wants to go braless or buy a $200 weird bra contraption.)

 

This black top is made of knit fabric. That meant I could cut the black fabric off with no fraying to worry about. Bye strapless top!

 

The skirt had elastic built in already. I just folded the black edge in and stitched it down so it wouldn't show. I stretched the skirt as I sewed so I wouldn't lose any of the stretch of the waistband.

 

Now I have a flowy feminine green skirt. I liked it with black so I wore a black sweater and I was done. I can imagine wearing this skirt in the spring too. You can see the multiple layers of fabric well in this picture.

 

 

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

 

A Dress For Autumn

Hello Readers. Sometimes I just sort through my stash of refashion clothes and hope for an idea to pop in my head. When I looked through these knit shirts I noticed that the colors were all coordinating and matching nicely. I thought they should be put together somehow. I love to make (And wear.) dresses. And I like to use things I have on hand. I try not to buy anything but thread, if I can. If only I could score some free thread!

 So, you can guess what happened next. (Hint: I made a dress.)

 

 

I had this pretty knit peasant style top in a nice burgundy color. It fit pretty well. I planned to use it as the top of my dress.

 

I also had this multi-colored knit top that was a just little big. A slightly larger fit was perfect because I thought that it would make a great skirt. The extra room would create a good fit around my backside. I wanted a comfortable loose skirt not a fitted style. I cut off the sleeves and planned on using that elastic waistband as the waistband of the skirt. That's right, I just flipped it upside down.

 

When I tried it on I found that the floral skirt was a little too loose to stay up securely as a skirt. If my toddler pulled on it, it would be on the floor. That didn't work for me. I used my machine to connect the burgundy top and the floral skirt to make a dress. I thought I would feel more secure this way. The skirt was a little short and it was curling up too. The curling made it even shorter.

 

I had a way to fix that. I grabbed this blue shirt. It was too small but I had saved it because it had this great lace trim on the sides. I figured I could use that blue lace someday and this was the day! I cut it off as close to the shirt as possible.

 

I was able to attach the lace right over the raw cut edge of the skirt. It added about and inch and a half in length and solved the curling problem. It also added some weight to the skirt and it was a great way to highlight the blue in the skirt.

 

Here is the finished dress. It is super comfortable and easy to wear. I liked the colors too. It is like a cloudy sky and Autumn leaves mixed together.

This was an easy refashion because all three of these shirts were knits and they didn't fray when I cut they. I love knits because they are so easy to work with and so comfortable to wear.

 

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