The White Sweater Round-up; Part 2

Hello Readers. I wanted to change up some white sweaters I had. I had 4 white sweaters on my refashion rack. Does anyone need 4 white sweaters? I didn't think so. 

This sweater was "fine". It was basic and simple. The shirt under it was "fine" too but I decided to dye both of them just for fun. The dye was just sitting there, so why not add another item.

I used some fuchsia dye. Why fuchsia? It was on clearance for $2.00 and I didn't have anything in this color. I was trying to get some variety in my closet for work. White gets too dirty, colors are better for me to wear at work.

 I don't know how this happened. They were in the same dye for the same amount of time. One came out a fabulous raspberry color and one was a very muted mauve color. I can't explain it. I don't think I will wear them together but I like them both separately. What do you think of them together? It's a lot of pink.

***One More Sweater!!!***

This sweater was a great find at a clothes swap. It is vintage angora and wool blend. The embroidery is in pristine condition. It's really lovely.

But the beautifully preserved lining was hot, stiff, acrylic material that did not breath at all. I wore it once and it was not comfortable. It didn't have any give or stretch to it and the lining made it look bulky. (It made me look bulky.) The best part of a sweater is that it stretches and is comfortable to wear. If this sweater doesn't have any comfortable stretch, why would I wear it? I wouldn't.

 I used my seam ripper to unpick the stitches holding the lining to the sweater. It only took about 5 minutes.

Did I dye this sweater? No, I wasn't certain how the vintage material would like the dye. And I was getting tired of using so much dye. So, if you are counting that makes 2 white sweaters that I kept.

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

  *Year end update- I love this bright pink sweater. I wear it a lot. I don''t think I wear the pink shirt as much.

The White Sweater Round-up; Part 1

Hello Readers. I noticed recently that I had quite a few white sweaters on my refashion rack. Four to be exact. I don't know how or why I end up with similar items to refashion at the same time. I didn't intend to collect white sweaters, but there they were. I rounded them all up and made some changes.

This white sweater had some nice lace panels on the front and 3/4 length sleeves. I thought it was great, but I had 3 other white sweaters. I didn't need that many.

When looking through the refashion rack I also found this white top with similar lace at the neckline. They were so similar I decided they were meant to be together. (Surprise, you're married now.)

Here is my fix for the white color. Yes, it is Rit dye. This dye is the type for synthetic fabrics. The sweater had a synthetic lining behind the lace and I was not sure if the sweater itself was 100% cotton. (Also this purple dye was on sale at my Walmart for $2.00 and I didn't have a purple sweater.)

 *Not paid by Rit. They don't even know me. 

The sweater and shirt took the dye really well. The purple turned out soft but not pastel. The lace was very visible, I was happy with that.

Here is the weird thing, the lining of the sweater stayed white. Why? I don't know. I used the synthetic dye, it should have worked. 

I think the sweater looked fine even with the white lining. The purple is all you can really see when it is worn.

This little combo is perfect for work and commuting. If it is hot, I can take the sweater off. If someone sets the A.C. on arctic levels, I can wear the sweater. And in the afternoon when it is time to drive home, and the car has been baking in the sun, and it is like an oven, I can wear just the shirt again. Yes, I gave that a lot of thought.

***Sweater 2; The Fake Out***

I realized I should keep at least one white sweater. This was the one I kept. It is light weight and shaped a little like a kimono. It is great for work too. 

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

  *Year end update-This purple sweater is great for work in the summer. The second sweater goes with everything. I took the sides in a little later but it looks about the same.

The Easter Basket Sweater

Hello Readers. It is almost Easter. I found this Easter themed sweater at a clothes swap a few months ago and thought it was perfect for the holiday. The only problem was I didn't like anything about this sweater.

This sweater with the little bunny is way too cute. Like overly cute. Like too sweet cute. It was also VERY heavy. It was heavy as in thick and warm. And it was literally heavy. The material and the appliques and all the beading made this feel like 15 pounds of cute.

It's OK, I had a plan.

I started with this wire basket from my bike. I just unhooked it and put it on the front porch. It is sturdy but that's it. It isn't very attractive.

I put the sweater over the basket and tucked the top of the sweater and the sleeves inside. I didn't cut or alter it, I just tucked it in. It's the easiest project ever!

I put some purple tulips inside. They are in little containers. They matched the purple tulips on the sweater. When they really wilt, I can plant them in my yard.

The sweater basket helped brighten up m porch. I love flowers. I like to put them on the front porch so I can see them when I come in and out. I don't think you can ever have too many. Until I get some more flowers this sweater is a cute addition to my porch.

Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.
 And a very happy Passover and Easter, if you celebrate those holidays.

 *Year end update-I saved the sweater to display next Easter. I hope I never have to wear it again.

An Over-All Disaster

Hello Readers. Prepare yourself for a sad, messy, failure of a refashion. Things don't always go as planned in sewing. That's life, right?

This dress had a lot of potential. I had an idea in my head for short over-alls. (Shorter-alls?) The top was already the right shape and the zipper would be perfect for getting the over-alls on and off. Sadly, it was not meant to be.

I started by cutting the top off,  just under the zipper. I planned to turn the skirt into shorts and then reconnect them. It seemed easy and I thought it would all go well. It did not all go well.

It is hard to believe but I used a pattern to cut these shorts out. As soon as I cut them I realized they were too small. I folded the pattern wrong and cut out super small shorts. I thought I could fix the shorts so I didn't panic yet.

I guess you could say I "fixed" the shorts by adding the cute yellow floral fabric at the sides. Unfortunately, the shorts were still too tight. I hated the yellow fabric, and it wasn't cute at all.

 I hate these over-alls. I will never wear them. This was a total failure.

I decided to save the top, maybe I can use it in the future. The shorts are beyond saving. That's it for now folks.

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

 *Year end update-This was the worst of the worst. It's just awful. I can't even look at it.

The Pleated Dress Skirt

Hello Readers. My last post was about a skirt that became a dress. Today's post is about a dress that became a skirt.

I really liked this pleated dress. It had great spring colors that I loved, but the bodice was too small/too tight/ too low for me. (No photos, just take my word for it.) I decided to make the dress into a skirt and wear it with the navy blue shirt you see here. The navy shirt was a little big but I could fix that. It seemed to match perfectly.

I started working on the navy blue shirt first. It was cute and I could wear it with other things. It just needed to be a little smaller. I took in the sides and took a little fabric from each shoulder. That raised the neckline a little, so it fit better and was not so low cut.

I cut the dress off about an inch above the elastic waistband. I folded the fabric under and used a zigzag stitch to keep the waistband stretchy. (Elastic waist = comfort.)

I liked the navy shirt with the skirt. I wasn't sure how I felt about the pink belt that came with the dress. The belt just seemed like too much. What do you think?

I thought the skirt and shirt were great by themselves.And I was right about that elastic waist, it is very comfy.

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

 *Year end update-I loved this skirt and the colors and the whole outfit. I think I gave it to my daughter.

The Maxi Skirt Dress

Hello Readers. I love warm weather when I can wear comfortable sundresses. An easy way to make a great sundress is to refashion a maxi-skirt.

Maxi-skirts never fit me correctly because I am very short. I like them because they give you so much knit fabric to work with. I could have just shortened the skirt into a shorter skirt but, let's make a dress.

The first thing I did was cut off the finished hem at the bottom. I made sure to cut off the complete seam with all its stitching and I saved it for later.

I made a new hem at the length I wanted. It is nice to refashion your own dress because you can choose the length you want. It could be a mini dress or it could be below the knee. You're in charge!

Now back to that cut off hem from earlier. I used that to make some straps and the leftover piece made a great little belt to tie around the waist. It gave the dress some shape.

The finished dress was so comfortable. I know not everyone likes spaghetti straps and it is easy to cover my shoulders with a little cardigan.

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

  *Year end update-This was a great summer dress. Perfect for a hot day when I had to look like I made an effort to dress up but I didn't really want to.

The Boring Brown Shirt

Hello Readers. I try to save all my sewing scraps when I refashion. Today's post is about a shirt that started as the top of a boring brown dress.

Here is the scrap piece I had left after a refashion. It is basically a loose flowy tank top. It is very soft silk, which is why I have been saving it for so long. Everyone loves silk, right?

I used the bottom of this brown dress in another refashion project and the top of it has been waiting to be used for something. (Yes, that is my actual lazy dog. He did nothing but nap while I was sewing.)

I didn't want to turn the cut edge under because it would make this little brown tank a little too cropped for me. (My belly-button is my business.) I decided to use some light brown bias tape to finish the bottom of this shirt. The golden bias tape would add a little extra color to this plain brown tank.

Here is the finished shirt. The bias tape was also silk so the weight of the fabrics was a nice match. This will be a great summer shirt because it is sleeveless and the silk will breathe really well in the heat. The summer heat and humidity are coming, it seems far away but it will be here before you know it.

 I needed a sweater to stay warm while wearing this top today. The length turned out right at hip level. That was great because I wanted it long enough to cover my tummy even if I raised my arms.

 The original refashion was a couple years ago. It was called "The Boring Brown Dress", you can see it here.

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

  *Year end update-This was great in the summer heat. It looks a little dressy but the silk is so comfortable in hot weather.