A Tight Dress Refashion

 Hello Readers. Sometimes our clothes get too small. (I blame Covid. I didn't catch Covid, I am just blaming it for my snack habits. ) This dress was just too tight and it had NO stretch. It was really uncomfortable so it was perfect for cutting up and using for parts. Let's refashion this!

 

Before and after. 

 

The pattern of the fabric really hides how tight and uncomfortable this dress was. It needed a change. 

I cut the top off the dress and left about 1/4 inch extra above the waistband.

I used my serger to deal with the raw cut edge. It already had a built in elastic waistband. (Yay for elastic!) I folded that edge in and stitched it down. Easy-Peasy! A new skirt. 

I used a men's t-shirt to cut out a t-shirt for me. I just cut a basic boxy shape with short cap sleeves. I used a shirt I had as a pattern to guide my cutting.

I used my serger to connect the sides and shoulder seams.

The dress had a belt and that is what I wanted to use to finish the ends of the sleeves. 

I also cut the pockets off the dress. I ironed the fabric around the pocket under.

I attached one pocket and the slippery acetate fabric was getting on my last nerve. I was starting to hate this shirt and wanted to give up. I looked at the second pocket and said, "Forget You!" One difficult pocket was plenty. I used the neckline ribbing that was on the shirt originally to finish the neckline. I was forcing myself to finished this outfit because unfinished projects drive me crazy.

I finished and added a belt. The belt did not make me feel any better. I decided to walk away for a few days and got busy with other work stuff. 

I tried the outfit on to take a picture and see how I felt about the whole thing. How did I feel? I felt pretty good at this point but its not my favorite. What do you think? Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 

*Year End Note From Chickie- This was a great fix for a tight dress. I love wearing a skirt and t-shirt in warm weather. I can't waist for winter to be finished.

Cheetah Purse

 Hello Readers. This is the last post of June. I enjoyed all my animal print refashions. This last project is more of a scrap buster project instead of a refashion or upcycle. I looked in my fabric closet for something with an animal print on it and I found a gem. 

Before and after.

This is my sewing room closet. It is stuffed full of fabric and trim and things for me (And my daughter!) to use. I had a small piece of cheetah print fabric that fit my theme for this month. A lot of this fabric came from my dear mother-in-law when she downsized her house. She had quite a bit of upholstery fabric and it makes great bags.

This cheetah fabric was right on top waiting for me. I didn't really know what I was doing but I have never let that stop me before. Let's get sewing and see what happens.

My mother-in-law also gave me a bunch of purse handles and straps that she had. I was ready to make a bag.

I decided to use the handle with the large wooden beads. It looked so fun.

I trimmed the piece of fabric so it was even all around and there were no ragged edges. I was left with a weird diamond sort of shape. I had to make a bag with the fabric I had.

This video makes it more clear what shape I had and what my plan was.

My bag was all put together. It was basically one big pocket. I had 2 layers of this fabric so it was lined with the same fabric that was on the outside. I liked how it looked but it was THICK. It was difficult to stitch and I broke a lot of needles. I still needed to attach the handle to the top. 

The handle had brass ends that I could sew to the bag by hand. I used embroidery weight thread so it would be strong. I attached the handle to the inner layer so the hand sewing wouldn't show on the outside.

 

 I also sewed a magnetic closure to the front so it will stay closed.

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

 *Year End Note From Chickie- This bag is so fun. True love. It's more for a date night to hold essentials.

 

A lot of Giraffe

 Hello Readers. I hope you are well. I am enjoying summer but trying to stay cool in the heat. This post is about another animal print of course. This shirt was my mom's. She loved giraffes. LOVED giraffes. I couldn't get rid of her giraffe things when she passed away so I am trying to incorporate them into my closet, house and keep little pieces of her with me. 

 

Before and after. 

 

This shirt is a LLR special. The diagonal giraffes are wild as wild can be. I love the green background though. The skirt is a light weight brown denim that almost fits at the waist but is too long for me. Maybe I can tailor the shirt and skirt so that both of these items fit and flatter. 

I think this shirt was designed to be long and full to cover your bum when you wore it with the LLR leggings. It felt too long and too full cut so I made it into a basic traditional style t-shirt. T-shirts are timeless for a reason. You can't go wrong with timeless shapes.This fabric is wild enough on it's own, it will do well as a simple t-shirt.

I tried the skirt on and marked it with chalk. It just needed a little taken in so it would fit. I usually try clothes on inside out and mark them when to get the size right.

This skirt had a nice A-line shape and I wanted to keep that A shape but I had to take it in a bit. Here is how I worked through that. 

I finally broke down and got a rotary cutter and a cutting mat. It is so much easier than always using scissors. I cut the skirt a bit shorter, about 6 inches. 

 

 I hemmed the skirt using 2 steps. I used a zigzag stitch all the way around the skirt, right on top of the cut edge. The zigzag will control the fraying. I turned the edge under and stitched it down with my sewing machine. You can see both stitches in this picture.

My new outfit was so much fun. The classic shape of the t-shirt and the classic shape of the A-line skirt are always in style and the giraffes get to be the focus of the whole outfit. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 

*Year End Note From Chickie- This wild giraffe print is fun and reminds me of my mom. I will love it always.

Green Leopard Spots

 Hello Readers. Today's post is about a dress that I did not refashion. I liked this dress just as it was but I usually can't wear dresses to work so  couldn't wear it very often. Let's find a way to wear it more easily and more often. 

 

Before and after. 

 

 

I just needed some casual pieces to wear the dress with to make it more casual. I had some black pants were part of a haul that was hanging on the fence next to my dentists office when I took my son in for a checkup. (Small town life!) 

 

They were new with tags from Banana Republic and they fit perfectly in the waist and hips but the length was crazy long, even with heels. (FYI- I am very short.) There were actually 2 pairs of these black pants on that fence so I got a double freebie. I shortened one pair and now I could do something else with the second pair of black pants. And here we are, so let's do it. 

I did some cutting and sewing. 

These pants were so nice. I never would have made shorts from them unless I had 2 pairs. Shorts for summer were something I knew I could really use. And now I had some really nice shorts.

 

 I decided to wear the dress open at the bottom over the shorts. I don't have to wear it as a dress, I can wear it anyway I want. There are so many possibilities.
 

 You can button the bottom button behind you to get this look. It can work on a long loose button-down shirts as well. So borrow your man's/dad's/neighbor's/friend's shirt and try it.

 I wore the belt that came with my dress but you can wear yours however you like.  I like this because it can still be a dress if I want.  When I wear it like this I don't have to worry so much about sitting like a lady because the shorts are there. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 

*Year End Note From Chickie- I wore these shorts all summer and the dress is still a favorite. I still like it as a jacket and a dress.

One Last Giraffe

 Hello Readers. I know this month has been a lot of animal prints and most of them were giraffes. But... I have one more giraffe to share. This long sleeve shirt was soft and stretchy but I just felt like it might be too much. Like too much giraffe print? Let's see how we can calm down a print that feel like too much. 

Before and after. 

This shirt was a little baggy and a little long on me and the skirt was a mid knee length, that wasn't great on me either.

I decided to size the shirt down a little. 

 

These cut edges just need to be put together again with a zigzag stitch or a serger. Use what ever you have.
 

The skirt got a little trim and a new hem for the lining and the skirt itself.

I loved how this outfit turned out. It was looking much better but...it was so hot when I wore it that I went back to the sewing room asap.

I decided the sleeves needed to be shorter and the length of the shirt could be shortened also. I wanted to use my serger and do a flatlock stitch. I am still learning how the serger can do different things. 

I stitched the right sides together and then ....

Here is a close up of my first flatlock stitch. This will be great for other knit clothes too. Thanks for reading along, now go make something for yourself. 

*Year End Note From Chickie- I love this shirt. It is soft and gets a lot of wear. I haven't worn the skirt as much. Maybe tan is not fun enough for me?

A Giraffe & Biker Shorts

Hello Readers. I have noticed that biker shorts are masking a come-back. I remember them from the 90's. It's like leggings for summer. Pajamas you can wear in public.  I didn't have any and I wasn't going to buy any but I wanted some. 

Before and after.

 

You can guess how happy I was when I found these shorts under this skirt from my stash. I had no idea this was a skort! I was thrilled, as you can see. 

I cut the skirt off the shorts of the skirt. I cut as close to the seam as I could without cutting the seam itself. 

Once the skirt was cut off I could work on the fit of the shorts. 

The waistband was a little loose so I took it in along the side seam. I only needed to take it in about an inch on each side. I made a new seam at an angle so it would blend into the existing seam. 

I wanted to change the button-up shirt into a light flowy layering piece. These biker shorts are going to be great but I might want to cover up my bum. A longer but light weight top layer will be perfect for that. 

I was comfy and cool and my bum was covered. Win, win, win!

This was perfect for running errands when I just wanted to stay home in my pajamas all day. My youngest took this picture for me, so photo credit to him. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 

*Year End Note From Chickie- The shirt is still nice but the biker shorts got SO much wear. I need to focus on basics more I think.

Scarf & Tank

 Hello Readers. I hope you are enjoying the animal prints this month. I am liking them more than I thought I would. I liked this lightweight giraffe scarf but wanted to incorporate it into a piece of clothing.

  Before and after.

What could I do with this long narrow giraffe scarf? And a tight white tank top? And a frumpy white denim skirt? 

I cut the tank top open on the sides. I was going to use the scarf to make this tank bigger so I needed to open it up. 

I cut the scarf in half so I had 2 equal pieces to put into the sides of the tank. 

I pinned the whole shirt-scarf combo together and it looked like this. I used my sewing machine to stitch it all together. 

 

After sewing it all together it looked like this. It was unusual but I liked it a lot. It seemed very dramatic.

This white denim skirt was just too long and too boring. I cut the hem off the skirt. Then I started cutting fringe. I wasn't sure how long to make the fringe. I started with 1 1/2 inch cuts but that wasn't enough. I cut them longer after trying it on. 

I loved the fringe at about 3-4 inches long. The shorter skirt looked better and the fringe was so fun. I didn't cut them exactly I just started snipping away. I liked these 2 pieces together. But where are the long scarf bits on the side?

I thought it would be fun to tie them in the back. What do you think? Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 

*Year End Note From Chickie- This shirt was fun but I didn't wear it as much as I thought I would. I am not sure why. It is put away for next summer.