Jeans From Scraps

 Hello Readers. You know I like to cut up, remake, and refashion clothing. That leaves me with a lot of scraps and leftover pieces. What do I do with them? I try to put them together in a new way.

Before and after. 

I had the front of these jeans leftover from a past project. 

I found this pair of jeans at a thrift store for less than a dollar. They were so torn up that the store priced them low. I cut the waistband off for a project that I never actually did. So with these pieces could I make a complete pair of jeans. 

I decided to cut the front of the light blue jeans off. The holes in these jeans were so big that they wouldn't be warm enough in winter. I am trying to prepare for the coming colder weather. Sort of like a bear preparing for hibernation. 

I put the right sides of the jeans together and sewed the inner leg seams first. I matched up the center crotch seam to make sure they were lined up. Then I sewed the jeans together. 

I sewed the back of the waistband on the back piece of jeans. 

I sewed the front waistband in between the front and back pieces of jeans. I sewed the sides together. I started at the waist and ended down at the ankles. I wasn't sure if the pant legs were exactly the same length so I started at the waistband and figured I could hem the pant leg lengths later.

I stitched the light blue waistband to the front of the dark jean piece. I didn't need to do this to wear the jeans but I wanted to add the waistband for fun. 

I have worn them a couple times and I like the two tones of blue together. They are comfortable because they have some stretch to them and because I made sure they were a little roomy in case I eat a big pasta dinner. I think looser styles of jeans are supposed to be in style and I am all for it. I want to be as comfy as possible. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 

***Year End Update***- I loved these and wear them a lot. I love 2-tone DIY denim.

Making 2 Tone Jeans

 Hello Readers. Can I put together 2 pairs of jeans for a fun 2 tone look? Sure I can! I have been wanting to do this denim project for a long time.Read along and then try it yourself.

 

Before and after.

I have been wanting to make a pair of 2 tone jeans for a while. I had to wait until I could find 2 pairs of jeans with a similar cut and fit. I couldn't match up a pair of loose fit jeans with a pair of skinny jeans. These 2 were both a straight cut and fit me a tiny bit loose so, they would be a great pairing. (Don't use jeans that are too small or just barely fit, you need a bit of extra room for all the new seam allowances. Try for jeans that are at least 1/2 a size too big.)

I started cutting the jeans open with sharp sewing scissors. I needed each pair of jeans cut into 4 parts. I wanted the front and back of each leg separated and I wanted the left and right legs separated.  I cut up the side of each leg, using the side seam as my guide. Then I cut the jeans apart in the center/crotch seam.

 

 Basically I cut along the right side of the big seam in the center of the backside. I cut the blue jeans the same way. Cutting each pair of jeans the same way will make it easier to put the pieces together later.

 

I cut apart both pairs of jeans This might sound confusing. Keep reading for more pictures and explanations. It will make more sense in a minute.
 

I matched up the front and back pieces with pieces of the other color to show how I plan to put them together. There is a blue leg and a black leg in front and in back. I did not cut the zippers. I kept them intact. Let me show you what I mean.

I kept enough fabric on the left side this zipper so that I could sew it to the blue side of the jeans. (About 1/2 an inch.) I did not want to remove the zipper completely stitch by stitch, just to sew it back in. This was much faster. 

Here is a look at the zipper from the back. You need about half an inch of fabric next to the zipper to sew in to the other front piece. You can see how I sewed the 2 front pieces together with the right sides together. There was just enough black fabric to sew it to the blue half of the jeans. Cutting the front pieces like this also kept the button attached to the zipper piece. You will need a sewing machine for this project, I can't imagine sewing all this by hand.

 

I sewed the legs with the right sides together using a straight stitch. I started at the waistband and sewed down. I went back later and used a zigzag stitch on the edges to keep it the new seams from fraying. I wanted strong seams and sewing twice makes me feel more secure. You will end up with a pair of jeans that is inside out when you are done sewing all the pieces together with the right sides facing each other.

They looked like this when they were done and I turned them right-side out. The fronts and backs are blue and black. The blue jeans were a bit longer than the black. I cut off the excess blue so they would be even all around the ankle. I did not hem them. I wanted the frayed/released hem look.

 

Here is a good look at the back of the jeans. You can see the big seam from the black left leg is sewn on top of the blue right side. This is the only seam I did not sew with the right sides facing each other. I wanted that seam to show like a normal pair of jeans. I stitched right on top of the 2 lines of stitching that were already there.

 

I wanted to switch the pockets to the other colored side of the jeans. 

 

 I used a seam ripper to unpick the stitches on the back pocket. This took a little while but it wasn't difficult. I worked my way around both of the pockets and separated them from the jeans. 

I sewed the pockets back on the jeans. I stitched over the stitching around the pockets.

It was easy to put the pockets in their new location because there were stitch marks where the pocket was originally. I just switched the sides and reattached the pockets.  You can see the pockets were not the same size. You can see there is some roughness to the areas where the pockets came off the jeans. All that distressing is part of the look. It gives the jeans a lived-in vintage vibe.

I really liked how they turned out. They are fun and casual. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

***Year End Update***- These were one of my favorite projects of all time. I loved these jeans and when they got too tight I was really bummed.

 

 

 

Linen & Bleached Denim

 Hello Readers. It is super hot and really humid here. I know schools are starting and that means fall is on the way but my weather says summer. When I saw this linen shirt I thought it would be great for the summer heat. Refashioning the shirt inspired a bleached denim refashion as well. 

This button-down shirt was a little boring. Zzzzzz....

 

I didn't really want the collar. I cut that off as soon as I could. I thought a round neck would be good.

I changed out the buttons and added some cream colored lace to the neckline. This seemed like an easy way to refresh this shirt and break up the solid color. 

Here is my final shirt. I liked how the lace and more feminine buttons looked.

I really liked the cream colored accents. When I went to the store I saw some cream colored jeans like this. I really liked them. I thought they would look amazing with my new shirt and I did not have any cream colored denim. But I am not shopping/spending $ in 2021, what could I do?

I decided to make my own. I had these tan jeans in my refashion stash. Could I lighten them? I could try.

 

 I knew what I needed. (This is not an ad. They do not know me.)

I washed and soaked the jeans in bleach and water for 2 hours. This is what I found when I opened the washer. It worked out perfect! Thanks Clorox!

Like every pair of jeans I have ever owned, they needed to be shortened. You can see the thread did not lighten like the denim fabric did. I liked the way it looked. I used the same tan shade to hem them and made the same wide band at the hemline of each leg. I wanted the waist to be fitted and the legs to be loose. I keep seeing looser fit jeans are in style and I want to embrace the new look.

My new outfit was great. I really like how it all came together. 

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

***Chickie's Year End Review-I love these jeans. The bleach did just what I wanted it to and they are a fun neutral color. The shirt is great too but it seemed more summery than the jeans.

 

Orange Jeans Again?

 Hello Readers. I have a question for you? Do you like the color orange? I love it but how many pairs of orange jeans does one woman need? 

I know you are thinking who has orange jeans? And who would have more than one pair? Good questions. The pair I am holding is too tight thanks to Covid snacking. The pair I have on is a bit big and really long. But I really want them to fit so lets get to work. I also want to do something with this floral shirt.

The first thing I had to do was try on the big orange jeans and mark where I need to take them in. I usually try them on inside out and make marks in pencil. I mark the sides all down the hips and legs.  The pencil marks will wash out.

 With my marks to guide me I can make these orange jeans really fit me. Not the manufacturers idea of a human body, but me!

After I took a look at the jeans on he floor I panicked that maybe the legs were uneven. The right leg looked shorter in the picture above. I checked the jeans up close and they are even. I just did not lay them out straight.

My jeans are done so I can work on the shirt. I wanted to make a raglan sleeve shirt because I love that style. (And the arm holes are simple straight lines.) I used a shirt I love as a guide and cut the sleeves and shoulders off this floral shirt. 

I wanted a different color sleeve so I found this blue t-shirt. I didn't want the advertising but I could use the rest of the shirt. I also cut the hem off and saved it for later.

Here are my new sleeves/shoulder pieces. 

I attached the sleeve pieces to the shirt. It was pretty easy. I used that t-shirt hem as binding at the neckline and the ends of the sleeves. It works great for this and I know the color is a perfect match.

My shirt was finished! Hooray! And it was great with my jeans.

I wish I could say I went out on an adventure. I just went to work. 

Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun (And orange!) for yourself. 

***Chickie's Year End Review-This shirt is still a favorite and these jeans are so fun too. Love, love.

Like a Superhero

Hello Readers. How are you doing in this time of seclusion at home? I hope you are well and just suffering from boredom and not serious illness. If you are ill I hope and pray it passes quickly with no serious complications. If you are in the medical field or serve the public in any way, I thank you for all your hard work. 

I got a call yesterday from my boss saying that I was no longer "essential", so I am going to be home a bit more. I am fine and well here but stress-eating extra carbs at a fast pace. (Chips, pumpkin bread, rice krispie treats, toast with loads of butter, chocolate... I am eating everything.)

Well, let's get to the refashion.

I found this shirt at a clothes swap and I was attracted to the super heroes on the front. It was on the men's table and it turned out a bit larger than I thought it would be. That's OK. I can work with this.

I used a raglan shirt I liked as a model to make my own. I saw something like this on Pinterest and decided to try it. I made the body of my new shirt from the gray shirt. 

I used a different light blue shirt for the material to make the sleeves. I also cut the neckband off that light blue shirt to make the a neckband for my new shirt.

 I put my new shirt together in no time. I liked the way the superhero characters covered the front of the shirt. It was still a bit too long. I cut off the plain gray fabric at the bottom of the shirt and made it shorter.

 What about these great stretchy jeans? They were a fabulous ultra-marine color that seemed to match Captain America perfectly. If it's good enough for him then it's good enough for me right?

Thanks for the jeans Miriam!

 

I took the sides in a little and made them shorter.

 (I am always making things shorter. #shortgirlproblems)

 I wish I could say I respond to emergencies and disasters like a superhero. In all honesty, I am usually the first one to completely freak out. (Why wait when I can start panicking now? I am a work-in-progress people.)

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

And keep washing your hands.