Another Dress of Shirts

 Hello Readers. I found myself with a pile of shirts on my refashion rack. And I am trying to use up my stash. What can you make from a pile of shirts? Lots of things! Today's post is about another dress made of shirts. 

My refashion stash has a lot of shirts in, so I needed to find a way to use them. I made a maxi-dress last week. I wanted to make something shorter this time. I pulled together the shirts that had harmonious colors. 

I adjusted the straps on this tank top so it wouldn't be so low cut. This will be perfect under the peachy colored shirt. The peachy is very lacey and sheer so the tank top will give some needed coverage.  

 

 

The next step was to add a skirt piece to this dress. This burgundy t-shirt is big enough to fit around my hips as a skirt. Men's big and tall t-shirts are great for this. I cut the shoulder and sleeve part of this shirt off the body. The body of the shirt is just a tube that will make a great skirt. What will I use as a waistband to keep the skirt on?

This peachy shirt has elastic in the waistband. It can be the waistband of this dress. I attached the peachy colored shirt to the big burgundy t-shirt. I stretched the peachy shirt as I stitched. I had pinned them together earlier so that the burgundy shirt would be gathered evenly all the way around. 

My new dress is finished. It was comfy and soft because it was all cozy knit material. The peach shirt hold the full skirt in place just right. I wore the tank top under the peachy shirt so that I was fully covered and would not flash anyone.

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

***Chickie's Year End Review-I loved this dress. I liked the colors and the lacy top. I never wore it again though. I need to go find it in the spring and wear it again.

Easy Wide Legged Pants

 Hello Readers. I am still working my plan to refashion for free in 2021. I am trying to challenge myself to use my stash of sewing "stuff". I also thought that 2020 was a tough year financially for a lot of people. It can be encouraging to see people be creative with what they have. So let's see what I can do with some hand-me-down pants and a big t-shirt. 

These wonderful pants came from my daughter. She got them on a trip to Italy (Pre-Covid.) Either they shrunk or she grew a little and she gave them to me. I loved the fabric and all the colors. They look like the colors in peacock feathers. I didn't like the elastic at the ankles. The pant legs were too long on me and the elastic made them bunch up on my calves. They reminded me of that old TV show "I Dream of Jeannie". (I might have been dancing in a sad middle-aged way in this picture. It wasn't pretty as you can see.)

I started by cutting off the elastic at the ankles of the pants. I didn't like them so they got cut off. I ironed the pants and realized they were actually more of a wide legged style. I liked that so much! I turned each leg under twice and used my sewing machine to stitch them in place.

But what about that shirt that I found at a swap? I loved the color but this shirt had some issues. It was big and the V-neck came down too low. It also had a small spot of paint on it. Right in the front!

I decided the best thing to do was make the front smaller. I sewed a new seam straight down the middle of the shirt. It made the shirt smaller, and it allowed me to cut out the middle where that paint spot was. I shortened it by a few inches as well. Then, I turned it around and wore it backwards. 

When it was backwards the seam I made in the shirt was in the back and didn't look out of place and the V-neck was not too low because I made it smaller. The "new" shirt looked great tucked into the "new" pants. 

The "new" shirt looked great tucked into the "new" pants.

 

This was a fun and comfy outfit. I am glad I was able to re-work them into something that worked for me. It looks like I overheard something suspicious.

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

***Chickie's Year End Review-I thought this outfit was fun, cute and comfortable. Win! Win! Win!

The Stove Board Mystery

 Hello Readers. I have not been sewing much this week but I have been doing things around the house. My mother-in-law is down sizing and has passed a few things on to me. One of the things was this metal piece. I had no idea what it was. I originally thought it was a patio table top. I had some help figuring out what it was from my antiques expert/sister-in-law.

 

It is actually a "stove board". It protects the floor in front of a wood stove from sparks. The metal made  sense because metal would not burn as easily as a wood floor. 

 

 

 It had a design on the metal front but unfortunately one end was very rusted and actually crumbling into dust. I couldn't put it in the house because rust was falling off of it. It would have made a mess and the rust couldn't be very good for you. 

When I turned it around I saw this company name and logo. I thought the image was pretty cool. It reminded me of wide plank wood floors and it guaranteed first quality! Could I salvage the wood by removing the metal from the front? I could try!

I worked in a well ventilated garage for safety. I started prying the metal from the edges and tried to remove it gently. It was not glued so I just had to bend and loosen it from the wood. the wood was fragile and I tried not to cause damage as I worked. 

 

 This metal was on tight! It did not want to let go. I needed some kind of metal cutters but I only had these kitchen shears. They got the job done well enough. They broke and ended up in the trash at the end of this project. 

 

 The rusted end of the wood was pretty dirty and had "rust dust" on it. It needed some clean-up. 

I used sand paper to remove some of the dark discoloration and get rid of the dust. I did not sand the whole board just the edges and dark spots. I wanted the logo to be what you noticed, not the dark stains. Lightly using sand paper made the stains fade and be less noticeable.  

When the wood was free of the metal and wiped down it looked pretty good. But what would I do with it. I liked the idea of displaying it but it needed a good location. 

 

 I thought it looked great on the front of my kitchen island. My front door opens into the house and you see this island down the hall. It is always in view so I have tried to decorate it in different ways. 

 

 Taking it all apart has probably ruined the value of the piece but it made it usable in my home so I am OK with that. This was a fun project made possible by my mother-in-law (Thanks L.U.) and the Wabash Screen Door Co. Thanks to them as well. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 

The So Many T-shirts Dress

 Hello Readers. I had so many t-shirts from recent hand-me-downs. I was pretty happy about it. They were the perfect material for a new great dress. 

I pulled these t-shirts out of a hand-me-down bag (Thanks Sue C.!) and liked the soft earth tones. They were all neutral and I thought they would work well together.

I started by cutting the body of each shirt off the shoulder and neckline of each shirt. I was going to connect the shirts together to make a maxi dress. 

I didn't make each piece that I cut from the shirts the same size. I wanted them to vary and not be all the same. 

 I realized I needed to be checking sizes. I wanted the smallest shirt at the top of my dress and the largest at the bottom of my dress. I arranged the shirts by size so the larger shirts would gradually make an A-line shape for my new dress. I cut the hem off the bottom of the shirts that were going to be in the middle of this dress. The hems were thicker and would not look smooth in the connections of each piece. I left the hem on the lowest yellow shirt because I wanted the hem of my dress to be nicely finished with a hem.

My dress was all connected and I liked the length. I am really short so maxi dresses are usually too long on me. I never buy them because they don't fit. Making a maxi dress for myself was the best way to go. I have a 6 year old and there are always toys and Lego blocks all over my sewing area. I usually crop them out of my pictures but let's just keep it real this time.

I wore my dress for the first time and I liked it a lot. It was just what I wanted. I thought the belt helped give it a more defined high waist.

Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. If you are following along with my $0 spending plan for 2021then this dress cost nothing. It was all made from hand-me-downs. 

***Chickie's Year End Review-I loved this dress. I love the colors and it was a serious scrap buster. It was a great transition piece from summer to fall as well.

Summer Shorts

 Hello Readers. The sun is shining, the days are warmer and it's time to think about wearing shorts and t-shirts. I don't know what the weather is like where you live but in my area it gets hot and humid. The time to prepare is now. Do any of last summers clothes fit? Do I need something new to complete my summer wardrobe? This brings me back to the beginning, shorts and t-shirts. 

This purple dress was such a pretty color. It said it was a size small. It did not seem to be working for me but there was plenty of fabric to make a t-shirt.

I also got this hand-me-down skirt with a little purple pinstripe. I wanted to put them together..could I make this skirt into a pair of shorts? Let's refashion!

I decided to make the skirt into a pair of shorts. I even used a pattern. Usually, when I sew,  I just make it up as I go along. If I want these shorts to have 2 evenly sized legs, I need a pattern. I thought if I placed the pattern on top of the side zipper on the skirt, I could keep the zipper in the right place for my shorts.

The zipper idea worked! I put the shorts together and the side zipper of the skirt was on the side of the shorts, just like I wanted. All I had to do was hem the legs of the shorts and I was done. 

The purple dress was easy to convert into a t-shirt. I used a shirt I already had as a guide and copied its size and shape. 

I had a new outfit ready for the heat and humidity of summer. 

Enjoy this warm weather everyone!

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

***Chickie's Year End Review-I loved these colors but I haven't worn this since summer.

Cropped Tie-Front Jacket

 Hello Readers. My daughter got this loose light blue jacket from a swap. She liked it but eventually passed it on to me. You know I love free clothes to refashion, so here we are. 

This jacket was light and thin so it would have been perfect for layering. The problem was that it was one of those "One Size Fits All" garments. Really, it did not fit me at all. It was just too loose in the arms and body, even when tied. So sad!

I knew this would be an easy fix. I needed to make longer sleeves and a more narrow body to provide a more flattering shape. It did not need to be tight, it just needed more shape. You can see the sleeves I made in this picture. I looked at this picture and tapered the body even more. Sometimes when I refashion, it is one step at a time until I get the fit I want.

I took 4-5 inches out of each side. I used a zigzag stitch to close the new side seams. I did not want any fraying inside my new jacket. The reason I love sewing is that you can remake any of your clothes into whatever you want them to be.

My new jacket was done in no time. Well, almost no time. The tie at the waist pulled the sides in even more and gave the whole jacket a flattering but still loose fit. The sleeves are more defined so I don't look like a light blue blob anymore.

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

***Chickie's Year End Review-This jacket was easier to wear after I refashioned it. I really liked it and wore it a lot in spring and summer.

Silk Skirt, Silk Pajamas

 Hello Readers. I was given a huge load of hand-me-downs by a friend (Thanks Sue C.!) and it was wonderful to go through the pile and add to the refashion stash. It will help so much with my plan to spend nothing on all my refashions in 2021. I do 2 refashions a week so it would really add up even at the thrift store. This green and orange wrap skirt was reversible and silk. 

When I looked at the skirt I thought it was a little too long on me. I was also struggling to decide how to wear the orange and green at the same time. It felt like there was a lot of color contrast going on. I decided to cut the orange skirt off the green skirt. The waistband and tie for the wrap skirt was green so I went with that and kept the skirt all green. 

I was done in 2 minutes and I had a lovely green wrap skirt. I love green.

But what about the orange layer of the skirt. It was large enough to make something out of, but what? I folded the skirt on itself and cut out 2 pieces to make a pair of pajama shorts.

 Silk pajama shorts? That's right! This fabric would not stay ironed and would not lay flat for any pictures. I loved the material anyway because it was so soft and it will be comfortable and breathable in the summer. I used yellow trim from my stash to finish the hem and I had a rusty orange elastic that I could use at the waist.

 I still had enough fabric to make a tank top to go with the shorts, if I used some lace for the shoulder straps. 

These pajamas were soft and comfortable. Mornings are not my best time of day, I don't understand morning people. I do not wake up cheerful or alluring in anyway. I wake up sad, cranky and a little puffy to be honest. I did actually sleep in these pj's, they did get really wrinkled and I still liked them anyway.

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

***Chickie's Year End Review-I still really love this skirt a pajamas. They are so light they are not for winter but I will be wearing these again.