Armholes Too Low

 Hello Readers. Sometimes armholes are too big or too low and they don't cover what you want them to cover. This is a very easy thing to fix on a sleeveless shirt.

 

Before and after.

 

If I wanted to wear this pretty yellow shirt by itself I needed to fix it. There were some important bits hanging out here.

I turned the shirt inside out and stitched a new shoulder seam. I pushed the ruffle out of the way and only sewed the shirt itself. 

 

I cut off the excess fabric. 

 

I ironed the shirt and the ruffle.

 

The only part of the new seam that shows is on the neckline. To camouflage the new seam a little I used a zigzag stitch around the neckline. It helped smooth over the connection. I used matching thread to not call attention to it. 

 

Here is a close up of the neckline. It is almost invisible. That is exactly what I want. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

 

 

 

 

 

Tablecloth to Skirt

 Hello Readers. I found this tablecloth at a thrift store a couple months ago. It was back in winter but I thought the colors would be perfect for spring. I also thought it would be a great refashion project. It was already a perfect circle. It would be a very easy circle skirt.

Before and after.

This table cloth is a perfect circle. It is also the perfect colors for Easter.

 (There are ways to figure out how to cut out circle pieces from normal fabric from the fabric store. I didn't use one of those but you can Google those calculators if you need one.)

I decided to go in blind with no training or planning. This is how I do most things. I am not saying it is the best way but it is what I usually do. I used the tape measure as a way to measure my cut, like a compass. I wanted to cut a curve and this made it easy.

Here is my tablecloth all cut out. The circle in the center for the waist needs to be in the center. If it is not centered, the skirt will be uneven in length. Now, I just need to add an elastic waistband to it. 

I gather the fabric together for the waist I decided to baste it. That means I used very long stitches all around the waist. Those stitches help hold the waist together so I can make sure the fabric is evenly gathered when it is sewn to the elastic. 

I tied off the thread at my waist measurement so the waist would be the right size. 

I cut and stitched the elastic to my waist size too. 

I stitched the elastic to the skirt using a zigzag stitch so the waistband will be able to stretch over my hips to pull it on. Hold on while I iron this....

OK, I am ready for Easter. I didn't change the length of the skirt, the size of the tablecloth determined the length of the skirt but I liked how it turned out. Thanks you for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

Buttondown to Feminine Blouse

 Hello Readers. When I saw this shirt at a swap I thought the colors were perfect for spring and Easter. I thought it was a little boxy and I wanted it to be more feminine. 

Before and after.

The colors are so right but the shape is so wrong. It's OK. 

First, I cut the collar off. 

I also cut the front of the neckline a little lower. I folded the front on itself so I could cut both sides at the same time. This will make the new neckline symmetrical.

I used my serger around the neckline to prevent fraying. You could use a zigzag stitch for this also. 

I turned the edge under and stitched it down with my sewing machine using a straight stitch to make my new neckline. 

Here is the new neckline. It is more open, which looks better on me.

I opened the hem of the ends sleeves with a seam ripper. I just needed to open it enough to get elastic in.

I checked the size of my bicep to see how big I wanted the elastic to be. I wanted it snug, but not tight. I pinned a safety pin to the end of the elastic and used the safety pin to push the elastic through the sleeve.

When I pulled the elastic through, I tied the ends of the elastic in a knot and sewed the opening closed. 

This gathers the end of the sleeve together and makes a little puffed sleeve. 

My new shirt was ready to wear. It is casual and the colors are fun. 

 

Wishing you lots of chocolate and sweet times. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

Dress to Top

 Hello Readers.I recently made some new bedding from clothes. The color and patterns were a fun mix but I had some scraps left over. I don't like to waste scrap fabric so I made this top from some dress leftovers.

Before and after. 

I cut the skirt off this dress to make a pillowcase. That left the top of the dress. Lets use that top piece. 

The top had a zipper down the back and a nylon lining. Ugh! I hate nylon. 

I decided to remove the lining and the zipper. It took a while to unpick the stitches but it wasn't difficult.

 

When I removed all the lining the neck, armholes and hem were all unfinished. I had to fix that. 

 

 I used my serger on all the edges that would fray with out the lining covering them. Then I turned the edges in and used my sewing machine to stitch the edges down.

I sewed the back closed and hemmed the bottom of the shirt.

 

It looked just like it did when I started. The only difference is that the lining was gone. I thought it needed a little something.

 

I decided it needed some sleeves. I wanted to use part of the sleeves from this white sweater. 

 

I cut the ends of the sleeves at an angle. 

 

I thought the sleeves would look cute and sometimes I don't want to go sleeveless.

 

I was almost done. 

 

I added some trim to the seam around the waist. I wanted another white detail. 

 

This was an easy way to use the top of the dress. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dress to Tie-Front Top

 Hello Readers. I made some new bedding from clothes and had some left over pieces. I don't like to waste fabric scraps so let me show you my new top that I made from a dress. 

Before and after. 

In my last post I showed the pillowcase I made from this pretty linen dress. I only used the skirt of the dress. So what did I do with the top of the dress?

The first thing I did was remove the lining by unpicking it stitch by stitch. I hate nylon. It is so hot and sweaty. I don't need this lining for my new top. 

I threw the lining away. I couldn't think of a use for this fabric. 

There was a zipper up the back of the dress. I didn't want the zipper so I cut it out of the dress too. 

I folded all the cut edges under and stitched them down. I also used the scraps to make small strips of fabric to use as ties. 

 

I folded these strips of fabric in and stitched them down so the ties would stay folded up.
 

I planned to wear this backwards. It has a boxy shape and it looked about the same either way. The back that had a zipper is now the front with ties to close it. I attached 3 sets of ties and didn't think it looked right. I put elastic through the ends of the sleeves as well. It gives the sleeves a more feminine shape.

 

I added 2 more sets of ties. I like this loose shirt/jacket. It is such a fun color and the linen is going to breath and be comfortable in warmer weather. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.