Black and White and Fruit All Over

Hello Readers. How are you today? I had a couple of shirts that I thought went well together, but didn't fit. I liked the black and white color scheme. I also wanted to fix these because I never seem to have any clean long sleeve tops. I have a toddler now, so I am usually behind on laundry. That may be part of the problem. Anyway....on to the sewing. 

I began with the T-shirt. It was too big and the neck gaped open when I leaned over. I mentioned the toddler already, I am always leaning over and picking stuff up off the floor. A lot of times I am picking the toddler up off the floor. I need a shirt that can handle my lifestyle.

 I started by turning the shirt inside out and folding it down the middle of the back. I used my machine to stitch a new seam and then cut off the excess to remove 2-3 inches of material. This caused the neck line to be pulled back enough that I wouldn't flash anyone when I wore this.

Then I narrowed the sides by about 2 inches. I tried it on and then took another 2 inches from the sides. The arms didn't need to have as much removed from them as the body did. I like to try things on in the middle to see how my refashion is going. It usually works better for me to check my work as I go along.

You can see the change in the fit of the shirt here. It is still comfortable but it's not so baggy. The new close fit let's me layer on top of it easily.

Here is the second piece of the of the project. This striped cardigan was big in a way I liked but, the arms were so big I couldn't get the sleeves to stay pushed up. They were too long so I couldn't just leave them the way they were. And this cardigan was a great partner for the T-shirt, it needed to be fixed. 

I stitched a new seam on each arm, using the existing seam as a guide. I removed about 2 inches of fabric from the wrist and less from the upper arm area. It is a knit so there was no fraying to worry about. 

The sleeves can stay pushed up now, so I can wear this cardigan and have full use of my hands too. I liked the loose fit through the body so, I left it alone. 

The third piece of this project was a scrap that I found when I cleaned up my sewing area. I refashioned this fruit covered dress in the Fall. I cut the bottom 12 inches off and left the cut off piece in the scrap pile. I immediately forgot about it, but found it again when I did a recent clean up. My daughter said it would make a great scarf. Hmmm,,,,,OK!

This material looks like multi-colored dots from a distance but up close,,, IT'S FRUIT BABY!

I removed the buttons and connected the fabric so it made a big circle. I also stitched the raw edge under. It had a great drape to it and it was perfect for a scarf. This took all of 3 minutes. I can't believe I forgot about it for so long. I should clean more often. (But I don't want to!)

All three of these ideas were very simple, and they just happened to all go together. 

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

Making A Cardigan Sweater

Hello Readers. I liked the colors of this shirt and sweater together but the sweater covered all the pretty flowers on the shirt. 

I decided to make this sweater into a cardigan. I cut straight up the middle. I used the weave of the sweater as a guide for my cutting. The edges were a little rough and I was afraid they would fray.

I decided to used ribbon to finish the raw edges. I used my sewing machine to attach it to the front of the raw edge and then turned it under and stitched it down again. It covered the fraying edge nicely.

I like this sweater as an open cardigan but look at the wonky new seams I made. The ribbon was too heavy and it doesn't lay nicely at all. This is looking pretty bad. It's time for Plan B.

**PLAN B**

I cut off those new seams. It looks off-center, but trust me it is even. I used the weave of the sweater as a guide for my cutting again.

I decided to simply fold the edge under. I was going to do something I hate to do, sew by hand with  a needle and thread. I try to avoid hand sewing but it only took about 5 minutes to do both sides. I don't know why I hate hand sewing but I really do.

I was finally ready to wear this combo out in public. The open sweater is more comfortable ans less restrictive than a pullover style sweater. After this picture I headed to class.

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