Friday, June 26, 2020

The Hot Sauce Dress

Hello Readers. How are you doing today? I hope you are doing well and doing good where ever you are today. I am feeling awesome today because of this new sundress.

I found this fun men's shirt at a swap while back and love the graphic on the front. It was awesome! I could have been left alone and worn as pajamas (Quarantine means pajamas 24/7 right?) but I wanted more from this shirt.

I began by cutting out 2 rectangle pieces from the front and back of the shirt. I wanted the hot sauce image to be centered in the front. I made a basic tube dress shape.

I also cut some strips of fabric to use later as shoulder straps.

I made a casing at the top of the dress for some elastic. The elastic pulled the dress in and made the top fit well. I didn't want any gaping or cleavage. I attached those 4 pieces of fabric I cut earlier in front and back to make some shoulder straps. They tie as tight as needed to make the dress fit well too. They are also wide enough to cover bra straps. (That is nice if you nursed 3 children and you need a real bra.)

This dress has some stretch to it so it was easy to fit.

And its so much fun to wear!

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

Wednesday, June 24, 2020

The Peasant Skirt Dress

Hello Readers. It has been quite a while since I have gone to any clothes swaps or thrift stores. I have been trying to really get through my refashion stash. I have been stashing things for ages. It is nice to get to some of the things that have been sitting around waiting.

This skirt has been sitting around for a long time. I used the bottom tier of the skirt in a refashion a few years ago. I didn't think I liked what was left of the skirt but I saved it anyway. (I am really glad I did!)
This shirt caught my eye at a swap because it was striped. It was a simple cropped shirt. I didn't realize it was cropped. It is a little too short for me to wear with jeans because my mommy stomach might show and I keep that stretch-marked saggy mess hidden at all times. My belly button is wierd too. No one needs to see that.

I started by cutting that light blue lining and hemming it. It needed to stay hidden under the skirt. I also had to hem the skirt where it had been cut off. It was pretty easy.

I decided to pin the shirt to the skirt to prepare to connect the two pieces. I thought if I sewed them together the shirt would stay tucked in. (No visible mom tummy.)

I used my machine to connect the shirt and skirt. I tacked it down in 4 places around the waistband of the skirt.

You can see here how everything fit together.

I was finished and I had a great lightweight summer dress with a twirly skirt. I liked the skirt again at this shorter length. And that elastic waistband is awesome after all those quarantine snacks!

Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself if you have time.
If you are busy going out and changing the world, the sewing can wait.

Friday, June 19, 2020

Summer Shorts


Hello Readers. Sometimes my sewing isn't very exciting. It is just basic clothes for the season I'm in. And sometimes my sewing isn't even for me.

*** SHORTS 1***
These shorts were great but the waist and legs seemed just a bit too big. Trying to get the right fit in the waist, hips and legs all at the same time requires alterations. At least for me.

These shorts needed a little taken off each side.

The only concern with new side seams is the metal rivets at the hip pocket. You can see here I avoided the rivet the first time I tried sewing this new seam. I had to go back and make sure I didn't stitch right over the metal. The location of the rivets dictated my side seams.

This is not a thrilling refashion but I needed shorts desperately.

***SHORTS 2***
My daughter gets all the credit for this one. She wanted to make her black romper more exciting. She started embroidering flowers and made this romper into a one of a kind piece of clothing.

Look at those flowers. So pretty!

***SHORTS 3***
These little gym shorts are for my youngest. He needed some more shorts too. I remember my mom making shorts from our pants as a kid. The tradition continues.

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

Wednesday, June 17, 2020

Tie-Dye Lounge Wear

Hello Readers. How are you doing? I have been working on more lounge wear lately. Is it lounge wear if we never go anywhere anymore? If staying home is the new normal, are these are just clothes? I'm not sure anymore. You might be at work at this point. And you might be out in the street demonstrating and pushing for social justice. Some of you might be on vacation. For me, my wardrobe depends on the day.

I found this casual tie-dye "dress" at a clothes swap long ago. Honestly, I don't know if it is a men's shirt or a dress. Let's go with dress. I could wear it as-is or I could get to work making something I liked better. You can probably guess what I did.

I decided this dress was long enough to make 2 things. I used a pattern to cut out pieces for a pair of shorts from the bottom of the dress.

I cut out the pieces. Snip. Snip.

The extra fabric looked like enough for a pocket.

Yes, that looks like a pocket. Now, these shorts need a waistband.

I decided to use the band from the bottom of this scrap of sweatshirt.

I cut it apart so I had just the white band.

I threaded plain white elastic through it to make an elastic waistband.

I made the shirt a little more narrow on each side. That was easy but the shirt was pretty plain so I cut a scrap piece into a long "string".

I made tiny holes all the way around the hem of the  shirt and threaded the new string in and out. I gathered it just a little tighter.

I think this is my first tie-dye clothing. Ever.
Do my favorite Chucks match really well? Yes. Yes, they do.

Did I do anything really exciting in this new outfit? If you like sidewalk chalk then...yes I did!

Thanks for reading along. Now go make something fun for yourself.

Friday, June 12, 2020

The Big Peplum

Hello Readers. How are you? Are you stressing out because the world is getting a good strong shake-up? There is so much going on. Some truly good, some bad, some truly awful. It's been a super busy week. Sewing helps me deal with stress so here I am, just stitching away.

This shirt was a hand-me-down from my daughter. I liked the stripes but the placement of this peplum made me look really pregnant. (I admit some of it was excess Corona quarantine snacking.)

I didn't want to change the top half of the shirt. I just wanted to make the bottom half of the shirt smaller. I cut wedges out the shirt to make that peplum smaller. It was just too full for me. I wanted it to be loose enough to skim over my hips but tight enough to look like a NOT pregnant woman.

This shirt has a better fit now.

I thought I would like it for work with this striped jacket because the colors and lengths match. What do you think? Stripes on stripes? The jacket is for work to cover my shoulders and keep me from freezing in the air conditioning. The sleeveless shirt is great for the ride home in the hot car.

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

Wednesday, June 10, 2020

A No Sew Summer Dress

Hello Readers. How are you doing? 2020 is a wild year so far and we still have 6 months to go. It was like we all said, "Happy New Year!" and chaos started raining down from the heavens. I don't have any words of wisdom to correct and heal all our problems. What can one middle-aged suburban mom do? For now I am trying to learn more and to love my neighbor as myself.

Are you ready for a no sew refashion project? Because this dress doesn't require any sewing.

This maxi skirt is just way too long on me. I think my daughter handed it down to me. (She's tall.) It was full cut and loose. I used that fullness to make it into a dress.

I cut openings in the wide waistband for my arms. The waistband made wide shoulder straps.
(That means I can wear a real bra! YEA!)

I also cut it a lot shorter. That little belt is actually the hem from the bottom of the skirt. The belt helps give the dress shape. Any belt would work for this. 

*** Optional Sewing ***
I used some narrow black trim to finish the hem.This isn't required. I did it just for fun. This knit material wont fray. It can be left as a raw cut edge if you want.

I am ready for a sunny summer day. This dress is really comfortable. I actually slept in it and got up the next day and walked my dog in it too. So versatile!

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