Wild Dress to Shirt

 Hello Readers. I love pattern and color. It is just more cheerful to me. (If you see me in all black, I am STRESSED OUT!) This fun dress was bright and bold. But was it a dress? It was a bit short. Maybe it was a tunic? I don't know. There was no lining so it would be sheer... it also had little slits on the sides. What was going on here?

Before and after. 

I decided it would be better as a shirt. I cut the length so that I could tuck it in easily. It would be too bulky if it wasn't shorter. 

 

It was 100% cotton so it would definitely fray so I had to give it a new hem. 

 

It was perfect for these shorts. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 
 

 

If You Don't Trust Strapless Dresses

Hello Readers. I love clothes and dressing up but I don't love strapless dress. They are fine but I don't love them. What if it slips??? I did love this yellow dress. I thought I could wear it  and add some kind of cover at my shoulders in some way. It would be like strapless but not really strapless. 

Before and after. 

 

 I found this yellow floral dress at a clothes swap. It was a fun yellow color and the floral print was so pretty. It was too long though. I also did not like the strapless neckline. I could make straps but I had another idea.  

 

I tried this peach sweater on top of the dress, but it didn't have the bright punch of color that I wanted. 

  

This yellow dress had multiple colors and on of those colors was a pretty aquamarine color. Y'know, the same aqua marine that I just dyed this other dress. (That was a previous post.) I thought they would be great together. This yellow dress was also way too long on me so I would need to address that problem too.  

I decided to wear the dresses together. The yellow would peek out of the aqua dress and it would be fabulous. I needed to shorten both dresses. I wanted them to be the same length so I cut them together. I used a yard stick as a guide. I stood the yard stick up and held it against the dresses on my dress form. Your height will be different from mine but I wanted to cut at the 14" mark. I cut around the dresses at the 14" mark (Moving the yard stick around the dresses as I cut around the hem.) and got the length that I wanted. 

 

I used my serger on the cut edge around the hemline to stop it from fraying.

  

I then turned the edge of the yellow dress under and ironed it in place. Ironing it would make it easier to make a neat hem. And we all want a neat hem right?

I used my sewing machine to stitch the new hem in matching yellow thread. Matching the thread well makes the hem stitches blend in and become unnoticeable.

I liked the 2 dresses together. The bright aqua dress can be worn open and the yellow dress under it is a fun pop of contrasting color at the same time.

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dye a Boring Dress

 Hello Readers. This dress refashion was a process. I started with a very boring linen dress. It was just too plain for me. The simple style was fine but the color was more boring than a bowl of plain oatmeal. I wanted more color and more fun. I did that with some dye, Rit dye to be exact.

Before and after.

I started with this dress. It was very nice linen but it was such a boring, plain tan color. The color was just so "meh". I needed something more fun. I also thought it was a little long on me. That's OK, I could fix that later.

I decided to start by changing the color. I used this aquamarine Rit dye for natural fibers.  I liked this color and it would be a lot more fun to wear.  

I used my washing machine. Rit dye has very good directions on the bottle so I followed those directions. You can also use a pot of hot water on your stove. Use the method that works best for you. Follow the directions and your clothing item will turn out great. 

 

I used a yard stick as a guide to cut the dress shorter. I stood the yard stick up and held it against the dress on my dress form. Your height will be different from mine but I wanted to cut at the 14" mark. I moved the dress around and held the yard stick against the dress to see where to cut.cut around the dress at the 14" mark and got the length that I wanted. 

 

I turned the edge of the aqua dress under twice and ironed it in place. Ironing it would make it so much easier to make a neat hem. 

I used my sewing machine to sew the new hem along the bottom of the dress. I turned the edge under twice and used a straight stitch all around the hemline. 

I liked the new color and shorter length of the dress. The aqua is fun and bright. It's so much better to me than the plain oatmeal color it was originally.

I wore this out to dinner with my husband. We will be married 30 years soon, and went out to dinner when we had an available babysitter. (I'm sure parents can relate, a good available babysitter is hard to find.)  

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tablecloth to Dishtowel

 Hello Readers. I have been upcycling a couple tablecloths I had. The last scrap of fabric became a dishtowel. 

Before and after.

I made a bathrobe, and honestly, it was difficult. 

 

I also made a 2 piece set that had a weird flower/crotch situation.

 

I used my serger around the edges of the scrap piece I had. It was a rectangle so it was almost a dishtowel already. 

 

I turned the edges under and sewed them down. 

Here is my new dishtowel. It was a simple project and it will be handy in the kitchen. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 

 

Tablecloth to Awkward 2 Piece Set

 Hello Readers. I thought this tablecloth would make a cute top and matching shorts. I was partially correct but problems developed as I got into it. Let me show you what I mean. 

Before and after. 

 

I used this shirt to cut out my top. I wanted a loose fit and this top was a great pattern. 

 

I used this sleeve as a pattern to cut out my sleeves. 

 

I had all my shirt pieces ready to put together. Everything was going well. 

 

I added bias tape to the cut edges of the shirt. 

 

I prepared to cut out my shorts. I didn't see my mistake yet. 

 

My pieces cut out fine. I still did not see that I was going to have a problem. 

 

I sewed the shorts together and added a waistband. 

 

 

And here it is. The flower placement is really... unfortunate. I could wear the shorts with a floral crotch center or a floral butt crack. Either way, this was not great.

 

I wore them to a watch party at my daughter's house and either way the shorts do not look great. The shirt is fine but the shorts were not a winner in my book. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 

Warning- Watch you flower placement. 

Tablecloth to Robe

 Hello Readers. I wanted to make a light-weight robe. I didn't think that it would be that difficult but it was a hot mess and I still don't know exactly how I feel about it. 

Before and after.  

I actually had 2 of these tablecloths. I thought one was plenty big enough to make a simple lightweight robe. Keep reading to see how much this went off the rails. 

 

I used a robe that I made with the Bog Coat Pattern. It turned out like a dream. I love this gold robe but it is too heavy for summer where I live. 

 

I cut out my rob and I can see now that the front panels were not wide enough. They needed to over lap more to be a robe that closes over itself. 

 

I added this red ribbon to the edges of the front and used it as a belt. I liked how it looked but when I tried it on it did not overlap enough in front. 

 

I took the red ribbon off and added a panel along the front and around the neck. This added about 5 inches on each side and it overlapped and closed much better. 

 

I liked the red belt but I discovered when I tried it on again that it was really short. Like REALLY short. I was out of fabric. 

 

I added some napkins. Yes, cotton napkins. I cut them in half and folded them into pleats along the bottom of the robe. I was literally running out of fabric, options, hope and sanity. 

 

(Morning hair.) 

Here is my robe. It has been so frustrating and I am not sure how I feel about this robe. But thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dress to Apron to Over-Skirt

 Hello Readers. I have been having loads of fun refashioning this blue dress. I made an apron, a pair of shorts and today I made a fun skirt. 

Before and after. 

I liked the blue apron I made but honestly, I have a blue apron already and I treasure it because a friends mom (<3 Betty Lou) made it for me. So, I decided to keep remaking this dress into something else. 

 

I used my seam ripper to remove the top of my dress. I had to un-do all the stitches across the front of the waistband. 

 

I ended up with an open skirt with the tie around the waist already in place. I sewed that waistband closed where I had opened it. 

 

I wanted to wear the skirt over the shorts I posted about last time.

 

I cut the skirt shorter so that it was just a bit longer than the shorts. And I tied it in front.
 

That means I had to cut and iron and ...

 

Sew a new hem all over again. That's OK. 

 

 I really liked how this skirt turned out. I can wear it over the shorts or just wear the shorts alone. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.