The Baggy T-shirt

 Hello Readers. Corona virus has caused a lot of changes in our everyday life. A very minor issue is that some of my clothes have gotten too tight. I have enjoyed too much baking and snacking. I decided to grab some clothes that were too big and size them down a little. That would make them just right.   (That sounds like Goldilocks, doesn't it?)

 (I know there are so many heartbreaking and complex issues going on right now. I honestly don't have enough expertise or wisdom regarding any of them to say anything wise. But I don't want to ignore the world or any of the hurting people in it either.)

Let's do some refashioning.

  

This shirt is doing nothing good for me. It is comfy and roomy but it is so loose that it is adding size and bulk. The shoulders and sleeves fit pretty well though. I could just change the fit in the body of the shirt.

 

I decided the quickest way to take the shirt in was to take a slice out of the back of the shirt. It would also make the shirt straight and not so big around the hem. I wanted to be able to tuck it in.

 

 These jeans were simple and basic but the waist was too big and the calves were way too big. Why were the calves so big? Do I have unusually scrawny calves and I just never noticed? I don't think so. I think these jeans were just weird, but I can make these fit.

 I made 2 tucks in the back of the waistband. That helped make the pants fit better at the waist but I needed to make the legs thinner from the knees down. I made them a little smaller, tried them on and made them even smaller. I did that over and over until I liked how the calves fit.

  Sometimes basic clothes like this are just what is needed. Making them fit well makes all the difference. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 

Diverting A Dye Disaster

Hello Readers. I love using dye to refresh and change up my clothes. Sometimes it all works out perfectly. The clothing takes the dye well and it looks amazing when I am done. Sometimes things just don't go my way. 

This faded orange sweater turned brown sweater was one of the good times. It turned out the color of dark chocolate. I would eat this sweater! It came out so good! It will be perfect for fall.

This brown dye did what it was supposed to do and I remembered to what I was supposed to do. That was to stir the pot on the stove continuously so the dye turned out even. 

 

 I had a few white shirts already so I decided to dye this white shirt into a light gray color. I would have more variety in my closet. What could go wrong? It was cotton so it should have been easy to dye.

 

I used this gray dye. I thought I would get a soft light gray color like the one on the bottle. 

That isn't what happened. I forgot to keep stirring the pot of dye so I got spots of color. The color also came out much darker than I wanted. This is not light gray. And it is all splotchy, it looks like part of a Halloween costume. Ugh!!

That's OK! I had these boxes of color remover sitting in my laundry room. I thought I should try to start over.

 

Most of the gray color went away but the shirt was not really white either. I was really wishing I had left the shirt alone.

 

I tried again with this dark blue denim dye. I stayed next to the stove and stirred the pot of hot water and dye continuously. I tried really hard to focus and not get distracted.

 

I was able to get an even blue color. I wear a lot of navy blue so I thought this would go with a lot of clothes. I narrowed the sides a bit so it would fit better.

 This navy color was better than the gray splotches but it isn't great. I wish I had left it alone. Why did I change it? It was cuter before. Oh, well.

 I also found this vintage Bermuda bag at a thrift store. (Only $2.99) I had one when I was young. This bag is a little yellowed from age. It was in great condition but the color was a little blah. 

 

 I took the cover off and dyed the cover blue with the shirt. It turned out fabulous! I love it so much. I hope I can make a few new covers for it eventually.

Did I learn any lessons? Keep stirring the pot or the dye won't be even. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

The Giant Headphones

 Hello Readers. 2020 has been the year of being online. (At least for me.) I teach online classes and like the rest of the world I have done a lot of Zoom calls with family. I have been wearing headphones for all of this.

 

 

This shirt really appealed to me. I like colorful graphic t-shirts. These big headphones spoke to me on a deep level. I have headphones on a lot. I teach classes for VIPKID and I wear headphones in the classes so I can hear the student clearly. In one lesson I teach the word "headphones".

 

 

 The shirt needed to be smaller and it had to stay conservative so I could wear it to teach class. I took the sides in and rolled the sleeves up a bit. I also cut off some length. It was just a little too long.

 This shirt turned out just right. It was great for class. My student got a real kick out of seeing headphones in the lesson and on my shirt at the same time.

 This is what I look like when I am teaching online. This is my "classroom" set-up with colorful items to use in class.  (Shameless plug: Here is my link to learn more about teaching online with VIPKID. I do not make money if you go check it out. I would get a small commission if you actually became a teacher with them.) I really like it and it has not been shut down due to the Corona virus which has been really great. Fee free to ask questions in the comments

 

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

Lots Of Florals

 Hello Readers. How are things in your neck of the woods? Is there any good news to report? If so let me know in the comments. Today's post is about a lot of florals. At least it felt like a lot of florals to me. They were all over.

 

 This dress was great I love a good floral design but I felt a little over-whelmed by all these flowers. I thought about making it short sleeved. I did that and than I thought, "Do I even need a dress?" I kept going. I couldn't stop!

 

 I decided to make a top. It was less over-whelming as a top. The flowers were so pretty. It made a pretty shirt. I liked the pattern a lot more when there was less of it.

 

 I also thought the top would go with these shorts that were passed on to me recently. These shorts were a great shade of dusty purple.

 

 These shorts fit everywhere except the waist. The waistband gaped open in the back. I hate that. It happens with jeans a lot too. I usually make tucks in the back of the pants but I decided to try a different method to make the waist smaller. I didn't want to loose any room in the backside. 

 

 I made an opening in the waistband. I inserted 1 inch elastic into the waistband. I wanted to make an elastic waistband but only along the back of the shorts. 

 

  I used a zigzag stitch to close the openings and hold the elastic in place. This elastic will improve the fit and be very comfortable. You can see how the elastic pulled the waistband in a little. It still has lot of stretch.  I need room in the waistband for my Corona snacks. (Am I the only one who needs to stop all the extra snacking?)

 My outfit was done and I went for a walk. It is not very exciting but my dog and my youngest child needed to burn some energy off.

 

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

A Swimming Refashion

 Hello Readers. How are you today? As I type this I am hoping the best for the end of this long weird summer. I have a family friend that let us use her backyard pool recently. If you have kids you know why I was so excited to have somewhere to take my 5 year old. He has been trapped in the house for a long time.

 

I just refashioned a men's t-shirt into a casual dress a few months ago. But now I needed a swim shirt/rash guard. I like to cover up because I am really pale and prone to skin cancer. I have gave up on tanning a long time ago. Did I want to buy a swim shirt? No.

This men's shirt/dress was perfect because this was made of the athletic fabric that breathes and dries quickly. I cut this "dress" down into a fitted style shirt. It needed to be fitted because the water would make it stretch out while I was swimming and playing. I didn't want it hanging off me.

 I cut the length and made it more narrow. Easy-peasy! And it matched these bathing suit bottoms.

  

I also refashioned these swim bottoms previously. They had a belt that was attached to the waist. It gave me an idea.

 

I started by removing the belt. 

 

 I cut that metal ring off the belt and re-attached the belt to the waistband again. It made a much higher waist. I really liked that because I am all about covering up my stomach.

 

You can see how much higher the waist is with the addition of the extra fabric.

 

Below you can see the only picture of me in a bathing suit that will ever get on the internet. Bathing suit pictures just are not my thing. Playing with my kids and not getting sunburned is. I was ready to play in the water and not burn.

 

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

 

Corona Formalwear

 Hello Readers. What am I doing in formal attire during pandemic? That is a great question! I originally planned to wear this to a fancy anniversary dinner. Those plans got cancelled. It's OK, we still had our anniversary. 

 

                     This is a lot of dress for quarantine but look at that pretty pink color! I didn't want to give up on it. How could I make it quarantine appropriate?

I did a lot of measuring to get the length just right.

 I did a lot of cutting to get both layers of the skirt even.

 This is where it get s a little crazy. I used a lighter to melt the edge of the outer skirt and stop it from fraying. Why did I do this? It makes the skirt much lighter than a traditional hem does. And playing with fire is fun. It is important to test the fabric first to see if the fabric will just melt and not burst into flames. I kept the flame moving along the edge of the fabric. The base of the flame melted the ends of the threads together. If you stay in one spot too long it will leave a mark. Please note- this is not a safe or professional way to alter clothes, if you try this I am not responsible for any destruction.

Please have a fire extinguisher handy and have good ventilation.

This dress was perfect for getting some yummy Hawaiian shave ice. I added the sneakers and white t-shirt to make this look more casual.

 

I'm just waiting in line for treats in my new fancy casual dress.

 

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

 

The Leggings Skirt

Hello Readers. How are you doing? I hope you are safe with a cup of tea somewhere reading this post. I have been trying to work through my refashion stash while we are all on this Corona break. I am making some progress.

I had the bottom half of this dress left over from a refashion. I also had a pair of old capri length leggings to use. I was ready to go put it all together.

This is the original dress. It is the ugliest and most boring dress I have ever seen. In. My. Life.

It had 2 side slits that did not help make it more exciting. Who made this? Why did they make this? What hurt them so bad that they made this sad dress as a cry for help?

Some un-sewing was required. I had to unpick the stitches from 1 side of the skirt and sew one side of the skirt closed. I wanted to make a wrap style skirt and use the leggings as the waistband.

I attached the skirt to the elastic waistband inside of the leggings. I realized my leggings were too long. I had to shorten the leggings.

That was no problem.

My new skirt-leggings hybrid was ready to wear.

This black skirt did not photograph well at all. It never showed in the photos. Here is a really bright picture that shows the skirt. It looks like it was taken ON the surface of the sun.

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