Resizing Clothes

 Hello Readers. Sometimes small changes can make a huge difference. Today's post is about a shirt and a skirt. They were saggy and baggy and no fun at all. With a little cutting and a little sewing I got a whole new look. 

Before and after.

This shirt was big and loose and the V-neck was really open and low. The skirt wasn't terrible but it was too long and I looked like I just left a fundamentalist compound of some kind. That's not the look I wanted. 

The tag says medium but this is the biggest medium I have ever seen. I cut the sides off the center of the shirt. I removed a few inches from each side. I saved those pieces and I will come back for them later. 

Next, I cut the shoulder seams open. There was already a seam there, I just cut along it on each shoulder. 

I cut 2 inches of the shoulders of the front piece. This makes the V-neck smaller. I left the back piece of the shirt alone. The shoulder seams are still the same size so I was bale to sew them back together easily.

I went back to the cut off side pieces to get my sleeves back. I cut the sleeves off the side pieces. 

I reattached the sleeves to my new shirt. I made sure the new armholes were the right size for my new sleeves.

My new shirt is almost the same as it was but it is smaller and the V-veck isn't so low. 

The skirt just needed a new length and...

 

  A new hem. 

 

This new outfit is more fun and fits 100 times better. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

 

 ***Year End Update- These are simple basics that I usually forget to make for myself They will be useful and go with a bunch of other clothes.

 

 

 

Turn It Around

 Hello Readers. Feeling comfortable in our clothes is something we can neglect sometimes. When we get busy or distracted we can forget to make sure we feel good. You probably have favorite fabrics, styles and cuts of clothes that you know you like. There are probably types of clothes that you know you probably aren't going to like as well. I know myself enough to know that any kind of turtleneck or even a mock turtleneck might not feel good to me.

**Danger**- Turtleneck Shirt ahead!!

I feel like this shirt wants to choke me out at any moment. It was handed it down it to me and it has a beautiful floral design. But that neck!! What could I do??

The back of the shirt had buttons and a keyhole style neckline. That gave me an idea.

So, I took it off, unbuttoned the neck and just turned it around. (Yes, that is where I got the title.) 

When I wore it backwards, it still looked great. I could breath freely and not tug at the neckline all day because it wasn't comfortable.

These jeans fit so well but were too long. I am 51, my feet are old, I can't wear high heels everyday, I need real-world comfortable clothes. These need to be shorter so I can wear flat shoes.

I marked the length so I would know where to cut these jeans.

I cut the jeans and left enough extra to turn the edge under and sew a new hem.

I sewed the jeans at the new length and I was done. 

Whew! I can breath in this shirt and my jeans are a better length. I am ready to go live my life. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun and comfortable for yourself. 

***Year End Update- This combo works for any day that I can't wear pajamas. I don't have to think about it. I can just put it on.

Repairing Thrift Finds

 Hello Readers. I am a big thrifter. It's cheaper, it's better for the environment, it's more socially responsible. And it is so interesting what you can find at a thrift store. Sometimes things are slightly damaged and they need a little work to make them wearable again. If you can sew a little, there are so many wonderful thing waiting at the thrift store. 

This green jumpsuit was fabulous, I love green. But it had some issues. (Maybe that is why it was left at the thrift store?) They were such small issues, I knew I could fix this situation.

The legs of this jumpsuit were clearly too long on me. I am short but not even high heels could fix this. It needed a cut and a new hem. 

I cut off about 3 inches. Then I turned the cut edge under twice and sewed a new hem around each pant leg. This only took about 15 minutes.

The front of the jumpsuit had a little snap. It had come loose and needed to be replaced or removed.

 

 The V-neck was really low cut so I knew I was going to wear a shirt under this jumpsuit. I could remove it completely. This only took 3 seconds.

 

The back of the jumpsuit had a horizontal strap that had also come loose on one side. I decided to reattach it. I t would keep the shoulder straps from slipping and sliding down my shoulder. 

 

I tucked the strap back in and stitched it down. This only took a minute. 

 

 

The strap looks like it should. 

 

This jumpsuit has been fixed-up and was so comfortable to wear. I really the color and the wide legs. Thanks for reading along, now go make or fix something fun for yourself.

 

 ***Year End Update- A jumpsuit and it is green. Love it all.

 

 

 

Make More From a Shirt 3

 Hello Readers. I cut this shirt into pieces and I am using every bit of it that I can. I already made a dickie from the collar, a skirt from the body of the shirt and now let's do something with those sleeves.

These bags are fast and easy to make and can be used again and again. 

 

This shirt was "fine" but I never wore it. I have been cutting it up and making new things from it. 

Most of the shirt was used to make this dickie and skirt. But I still had the sleeves. 

The sleeves still had the shoulder seam attached. I cut the sleeves so I had a straight cut edge. 

I cut the ends so they were even. 

 

I turned the sleeve piece inside out so the right sides were facing each other.

 

I stitched the cut edge closed. 

 

I didn't want those cut edges to fray even inside the bag. The serger or a zigzag stitch on the cut edge will keep it from fraying.

 

I wanted a squarish shape at the bottom of my bags so I stitched across the corners where you see the marks. 

 

I cut off the extra fabric at the corners. 

 

Here is a look at the bottom of the bag. 

 

I put a bottle of wine in the bag. 

 

I tied some ribbon around the top. 

 

I folded the cuff of the sleeve down so the top of the wine bottle was visible. 

But you can tie a bow at the top so everything stays hidden inside. 

This is perfect for bottles of wine, liquor, fancy olive oil of even bottles of bubble bath. Anything tall and thin would fit in there well. 

Thanks for reading along, and wishing you a wonderful holiday season. 

***Year End Update- I used these at Christmas to give as gifts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Make More From a Shirt 2

 Hello Readers. I am not a huge fan of button-down shirts. They are usually stiff and feel confining. And I need to be free! So, I cut one into pieces and made better use of it. Let me show you.

Before and after.

This shirt was fine but I never wore it. I decided to make some other things from it.

I made a dickie yesterday.

After I cut the dickie out of the shirt I had plenty of shirt left over. I cut off the bottom of the shirt. I wanted to get rid of the shoulders and sleeves.

I also wanted to add some elastic to the top of this piece to get a waistband. This is going to be sort of a skirt.

I made sure the elastic was the size for my waist and I stitched it to the top of the skirt piece.

This is the finished "skirt".

If I were to wear just the skirt with the dickie it looks crazy but that wasn't what I wanted to do.

I wanted to wear these 2 pieces under other clothes.

I like the shirt cut up and worn under casual or dressy clothes.

This would be so comfortable and fun for a holiday party. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

***Year End Update- This skirt piece is great over leggings. I like it that way.