Grandma Core Upcycle

 Hello Readers. I found this shirt at a clothes swap and loved the flowers  It seemed like it might be a little "Grandma Core". I decided to make an off the shoulder shirt. That would probably remove all the grandma vibe from the shirt. 

Before and after.

The shirt was long and loose so I thought I would have enough fabric to make a gathered off-the-shoulder shirt. 

I folded the cut edge in and added elastic around the shoulders. 

I added elastic to the wrists. 

I also added elastic at the waist. 

The elastic gathers the fabric together into nice ruffles and it changed the shape of the shirt. That for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

Dress to Shirt Refashion

 Hello Readers. This shirt was made from a linen dress. It was a pretty dress but it had a terrible nylon lining. Nylon makes me itchy and it's is hot in summer. I am trying to eliminate it from my wardrobe completely. I didn't mind removing the linen from the nylon and using it for something else.

 I love to thrift and when I do I look for fabrics that are unique and catch my eye. I saw this linen dress at a thrift store a few months ago and the fabric was so pretty. I had to bring it home even though I did not know what I was going to do with it yet.

Look at this fabric. It looks like an Impressionist painting. And it is linen. It's going to be great to wear in the heat.

I cut the skirt of the dress off away from the rest of the dress. I thought the skirt of this dress would make a nice shirt. Was there enough fabric? I thought there was just barely enough to make the body of a shirt. 

I used this pattern for the body of my new shirt. It is Vogue #  I cut out the body pieces and did not have enough fabric for the sleeves that were part of this pattern. I was going to make a sleeveless shirt if I had to.

I had 2 little pieces from the hemline of the dress. Could they be little cap sleeves? That was my plan. I pinned the pieces to the armholes to get an idea of how they could fit there. I wanted sleeves if I could figure out a way to make them. I really liked the pleated hemline of the dress. It would look cute at as the sleeves too.

I marked the sleeves with pencil so I knew where to sew the shoulder seam. Pencil washes out so I could mark as much as I needed. These were going to be the smallest little sleeves in the world.

I used my serger to sew the sleeves. Linen frays so this will keep it neat and strong inside. 

I liked my new shirt. It was light weight linen would be great for summer and the colorful flowers were so great for summer too. The very tiny sleeves worked out well. I like them. They balance out the shirt. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

Kids Chalkboard Top Table

 Hello Readers. I like to make things fun for my kids when I can. Even school and study things. When I came across this decorator table, I thought it could be a fun kids table. Let me show you. 

Fun kids table!

A neighbor of mine was moving out and she left some items for us to to have if we wanted. I saw this decorator table. I know they usually have a long table cloth over them. You usually never see the actual table. But what if I did some decorating and I actually did show the table?

I got out the acrylic paint (Similar here.) I had on hand and started mixing to make enough of a fun shade to paint the table. I wanted a color my youngest child would like. This table is going in the study/school room. Let's make it fun. 

I wanted a slate blue color. This was as close as I could get with the acrylic paint I had on hand. I wanted to paint the lower part of the table with this. I put out some newspapers and got to work.

I had a little helper that helped me paint all these shelves and the outside of the table too. 

 

 I was on hand to supervise and go over all of the paint and make sure it was all evenly covered and smooth. 

 

 I even painted the underside of the table with this slate blue paint. I wanted to cover all the plywood. The plywood wasn't cute or fun. I pained everything and let this paint dry over night. 

 

I wanted to make the top of the table a little different. I used this chalkboard paint (Similar here.) for the top of the table. It was gray but the color wasn't the important part. Any color chalkboard paint would be fine. I wanted my son to be able to write and draw with chalk on top of the table. 

 

My young helper painted the table top with the chalkboard paint. I went over this paint to make sure it covered the table evenly and let it dry overnight again.

 

 The next day the paint was dry and we could draw or...

Write on the top of the table. Summer is here and school is out for a few months but this table is perfect!

This table is great for our study. It is holding our globe next to the little desk. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

 

 

 

 

Dramatic Jacket

 Hello Readers. I saw this jacket from Mood Fabrics. It was so fun and cool and dramatic. Then I thought some more.... I had clothes that I could use to make that jacket easily. 

The inspiration is on the left and my imitation is on the right. Mood is an amazing fabric store but they also share patterns and ideas. They are a great sewing follow.

This cropped jacket was a refashion from last June. 

This dress was a refashion from last summer too. 

I cut the sheer layer from the dress. It is tulle and doesn't fray so it is easy to cut off and work with. I cut it open along one seam so I could spread it out on my sewing table.

 

I sewed the tulle to the hem of the jacket. 

 

I decided to add some trim just for fun. It would add to the drama right?

 

The tulle is so fun. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

 

 

 

 

 

Buttondown to Tie Front Shirt

 Hello Readers. Check out this preppy button-down shirt. It was too stiff and formal for me. (It looks like I skipped class at my ritsy private school to meet with my banker about my investments.) But I did love all the different colors. Let's make something fun.

Before and after.

I cut the sleeves into a short sleeve length. I saved the sleeves for later.

I also cut off the collar. 

I cut the button plackets off. I won't need them.

I cut the length of the shirt shorter. I wanted it to be shorter and I didn't want that high-low hem. 

I used my serger on all the cut edges so they wouldn't fray. 

Then I turned the edges under and used my sewing machine to sew them down. 

It was all looking nice and neat. 

I cut one of the sleeves into strips. I needed to make ties for the front of the shirt. 

I folded them in twice and sewed them together.

I tied the ends in a knot to finish them.

I used clips to arrange the ties evenly on the front of the shirt. 

 

Then I took this shirt on a road trip.

This shirt is so much more fun than a button-down shirt. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

The Duck Shirt

 Hello Readers. When I saw this fun shirt at a thrift store and I knew I should bring it home with me. It is absolutely ridiculous and I love it. Who made this? They need a raise immediately!

Before and after. Yawn!

 

The little ducks had orange beaks and for a quick minute I really wanted to put these 2 pieces together. That is crazy right? I was going quackers. (hahaha, I'm sorry. I couldn't help myself.)
 

I cut the sleeves and shoulder of the shirt away. I just wanted the body of the shirt. 

I used my serger to make sure all those cut edges didn't fray.

I pinned this yellow ribbon around the top of the shirt. I folded the shirt over on itself so that it would fit the ribbon.

 

 I sewed the ribbon to the top of the shirt. The ribbon is a fun pop of yellow.

I used the same ribbon to make shoulder straps. I sewed them in the front first. Then tried it on to make sure I had the length right before attaching the straps in back.

I thought this would be a sundress but it really looks like sleepwear. That is OK with me. I needed summer sleepwear. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 

Quack.