Polka Dots & Button Downs

 Hello Readers. I read an article online recently that said polka dots and button-down shirts would be big this spring. I don't know if they ever really went out of style but they are coming back and I am getting myself ready for spring.

I found these polka dot jeans at a recent clothes swap. I didn't really check the size. I just saw dots and decided to take them home. They are a little big but I could fix that. The shirt was a ladies large that I have had for years and have not gotten around to altering it. 

 The shirt was an easy fix. I took a little off the sides and the sleeves to make it more narrow. The shoulder seams were in a good place for me so I did not try to re-do the armholes. This shirt was 100% cotton so it had no stretch at all. I had to keep it roomy enough to be comfortable. I tried it on and took a little more out of the sides. The pink marks below are for you so you can see where I was focusing. I wanted to make the body more narrow in the middle. I didn't want the chest too tight.

These polka dot jeans took more work. They needed to be smaller and shorter. I did some custom fitting work. (I sewed, tried them on, and sewed some more.)

What is this? Why are there 2 pairs of polka dot jeans? Well, the pair on the left are my old jeans that are too tight. (Yes, I make have hit the Christmas cookies too hard this year.) When I finished the newer larger jeans I noticed the pockets were not centered on my backside correctly anymore. I was going to remove the pockets and move them over but then I had an idea.
What about double pockets???

I cut the pockets off the old tight jeans and attached them to the new stretchy jeans with a lot of pins.

I put the new pockets closer to the center and lower than the original pockets to fill in where my backside was in these jeans. I placed the new pockets where it looked most balanced.

 I don't feel comfortable putting a picture of my tush on the net so here is my bed pillow wearing the jeans for me. (My body shape is the same a soft lumpy old pillow. I am not sure how to process this new information.)

These jeans and this shirt were perfect for work. I like the high waist a lot. I can't guarantee 100% that polka dots and button-down shirts will be all the rage this spring. (Sometimes the internet is wrong.) I didn't wait for spring, I just started wearing them right away.

 

Lego pieces everywhere!

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

Shorter and Shorter

Hello Readers. I am writing this late at night, last minute because of some tech problems (some keys on my keyboard stopped working. And not to be picky, but I need all 26 letters.) and some lost teddy bear problems (My youngest could not find his bear for bedtime and we were searching for a long time. It was tangled in the blanket on my bed.) Please forgive any typos and incoherent thoughts. 

Let's talk about clothes. 

My daughter gave me this army green skirt. She didn't want it anymore. It fit her great because she is 8 inches taller than me. I love green so I wanted to make it work for me.

 Did it fit me? Ha! No, it did not. It was miles too long. The only way to make it the right length was to pull it up over my chest. It's not a great look. Maxi-skirts are not designed for very short people.

 I thought it went with this sweater so well. I found this sweater at a clothes swap and it was giving all the late 70's/early 80's vibes. I decided to shorten the skirt a little but keep it long-ish. Why? I don't know. Probably because I don't have many long skirts. I didn't love it with the sweater at this length.

 I went a bit shorter, and I am glad I did. It was just more fun and relaxed at this length. I felt more fun and relaxed when I wore it anyway. It seemed better with the sweater too.

You can see the simple hemming I did each time I cut it to a new length. Cut, hem. Cut, hem. Shortening it gave it a nice A-line shape.

There was some scrap fabric leftover. What did I did with that? I made snowman t-shirts for myself and the 4 year old that was traumatized by the loss of his bear. We found the bear but he was really on edge and over tired and couldn't go to sleep. We talked about many things before he calmed down. One of the things that distracted him was the idea of having a "Snowman Day". (Snowman shaped food, books, drawing, and shirts.) So here are my midnight projects.I hope they are a fun surprise in the morning. I used pieces of the skirt for the snowmen scarves.

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

It Can Be Mended!

Hello Readers. Do you do a lot of mending? Do you do a little mending? Any mending? I remember learning to do basic sewing in Home Economics but we didn't learn to fix anything. We didn't even learn to sew on a button. We made a boring tote bag. I was not impressed. I didn't sew again until I had kids. Kids that needed clothing mended and sometimes altered.

If you go to thrift stores or clothes swaps you know that the things you find sometimes need a little mending. I found these cool overalls at a clothes swap and I liked the material and design. And they looked like my size.

When I saw the back of them I knew it would be an easy fix. The straps needed to be tucked back in and the opening needed to be closed up. 

This green shirt was a little loose and baggy under the overalls. If it was a little more fitted it would stay tucked in better.

I adjusted the sides of this shirt so it fit better under the overalls. A zigzag stitch lets it stretch at the seams for comfort.

This was 20 minutes of my time and I was ready to go.

I admit the outfit looks a lot like it did before. But isn't the goal of mending to be invisible?

Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.
 Or fix something you already own.

Fun with Flannel

Hello Readers. I found an amazing flannel dress. It was so amazing because it was soft and warm and there was so much of it. Have you ever seen this much flannel on one person? It's a lot. Maybe too much?

Honestly, this is the most unattractive dress I have ever seen. Nothing says, "Not tonight Honey!" like floor length flannel. It's like Mrs. Claus launched a clothing line.

I decided that there was just too much dress here. Way. Too. Much. Dress. I started at the bottom. It needed to be shorter. Maybe a lot shorter.

I hemmed it and I had a long vest/duster to layer over a shirt. I liked that, but would I like more if I made it even shorter?

Maybe I would. I made it mid thigh length. I really liked it this length. I think less is more with this fabric.

I had to find some good light for this picture. I ended up in the hallway with my youngest who is deep in a Lego phase. I asked him to move over for a minute and stood at attention until I was done.

I had a lot of fabric leftover. What would I do with all that extra flannel? I made tiny pads for taking off eye makeup. I saw these on Instagram and wanted to try them. They were soft on the eyes, lint free and more environmentally friendly. And a lot cheaper in the long run. Mine were square and made of 2 layers of flannel. I put them in a mesh bag for washing because they were so small. This was a great way to use scrap fabric.

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

A Refashion From the Young Men's Department

Hello Readers. Do you ever wear men's or young men's clothing? I do it often. A friend recently gave me a ton of hand-me-downs for my son to grow into. You know I went through the bags and found some goodies for myself. 

(I also proved how old and out out of touch I am. More on that later.)

One of the first things I found was this sweatshirt. It looked so colorful and cute. I thought it was from a resort or vacation restaurant. It wasn't.

(I wasn't paying enough attention and I should use Google more. According to my older son, this shirt was actually referencing a video game. The game takes place at a kids arcade where the mechanical characters become possessed and come to life and try to kill the gamer. They get more scary looking as the game progresses. This shirt showed how cute they look at the beginning.)

Foolish suburban mom that I had decided to use these cute little guys in a refashion project not knowing who they were. I had to cut the shirt up because the it was too small for me to wear. I cut out each little guy.

I put the little squares around these black jeans. Where did the jeans come from? They came from the bag of hand-me-downs! I had seen some jeans on Instagram recently with a lot of patches and I was inspired by them. I would have distressed them as well but it is really cold and windy today. It isn't a good time to have holes in my pants exposing skin to the weather.

 Here are my finished jeans. As I was taking these photos my older son walked in and asked, "Where did you get "Five Night's at Freddy's" jeans?" I said I had made them. He responded with a lot of loud laughter and asked "Do you know what those are?" 

The answer was obviously no. I don't play video games. I have no idea what's what. 

Now I am not sure how I feel about the jeans. Do I want to look like a super-fan of some possessed killer arcade characters? I'm not sure.

I also learned the the back pockets on young men's jeans is lower than I like. I had 3 pairs of identical jeans from those hand-me-down bags. I moved the pockets up to see if I liked it better with the pockets a little higher.

I don't like my pockets lower than my actual backside. If the pockets are lower than my actual cheeks....they are too low. I reattached the pockets at a higher place and I was done. There were stitch marks where the pockets were originally but they disappeared in the wash.

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

And if it involves characters you don't know, use Google!

A Tropical Sweatshirt

Hello Readers. I am in a comfort binge. I want cozy warm clothes like sweats and pajamas. Can I wear pajamas all day? Well, I can feel like I'm wearing pajamas. I decided to make this gray sweatshirt a little more appropriate for me. It was my son's but he didn't want it. My husband didn't want it either.

I didn't think the body of this tropical sweatshirt was the best part of the sweatshirt. I really liked was the tropical print from the sleeves and the hood. So that is what I removed from the shirt.

I put the tropical sleeves on this white sweatshirt. I also added the tropical hood inside the white hood. I made the colorful look like a lining that would peek out. The tropical fabric added some fun color to the plain white.

When I was done I had the gray body of the original sweatshirt left over. I wasn't sure what to do with it at first.

I flipped it upside down and I made it more narrow and added arm holes in the front. I cut out the belly. Who would wear this?

This guy right here. My dog K.C. needed a sweatshirt. He cries when he gets cold. He wants to be warm and cozy just like I do. He slept through this photo shoot

Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun (And warm!) for yourself.

A Fancy Sweatshirt?

Hello Readers. I am still in the middle of a cozy clothes binge. I just want to be snuggly and warm. Today's project is a sweatshirt. You can't be more snuggly than that.

This navy blue sweatshirt was very plain. I could make it more fun right? The sleeves were a little too long. I could fix that also.

I decided to add a ruffle to the neckline of the sweatshirt. I got the ruffle from a tank top that was too tight. I found it at a clothes swap and brought it home because I liked the ruffle so much. I cut the sweatshirt into a V shape at the neckline to match the ruffle.

Here you can see what I cut off the sweatshirt. I moved the shoulder seams in to make the sweatshirt seem less oversized. I also made the sleeves a bit shorter and waistband a bit higher. I didn't want it to be too short but I wanted to try a shorter length. I made sure no mom tummy would show. No one sees that. Ever! (It's pale and stretch marked and more than a little flabby. Would it kill me to do a sit-up?)

I also cut a rectangle from the tank top and made a front pocket. Why? Just for fun.

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

A No-Sew Hoodie Refashion

Hello Readers. I am in the mood for warm cozy clothes. I spent most of December wearing dresses for charity and trying to deal with a broken heater. I was cold ALL month. At least it seemed that way. I want comfort and layers of warmth. That is what brings us to this sweatshirt. I had a navy blue hoodie. It was comfortable but not very exciting. Could I do something fun with it?

Here it is. A simple ladies athletic hoodie sweat jacket.

I didn't do any sewing. I decided to cut off the sleeves and the waistband and zipper. I curved the front to cut off the pockets too. This jacket was a little big which was perfect because I wanted it loose enough that I could wear it over anything. Even a sweater. I want to be able to pile on layers and layers of clothes.

I had a loose sort of vest/jacket/shawl that felt weightless but added some nice warmth. The armholes kept it on easily as opposed to a shawl. (They always fall off my shoulders.) I went outside for pictures because I am having trouble with my lighting set-up. As we were taking pictures Some neighbors seemed to take notice.

I heard someone jogging over to see my not so athletic jacket.

Make that 3 someones. I don't know why they ran over. Maybe they wanted a picture? Here it is fellas.

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