Denim Dress to Jacket

 Hello Readers. It is Dressember 2024. I am wearing and refashioning dresses all month to participate in this fund raiser. This organization works to help the victims of human trafficking. The focus is on rescue and restoration of victims but also prevention programs to those at-risk. $15 can pay for an online counseling session for a victim to begin healing. Please check their website for more information about all the work they do.

I love anything made of denim so let's look at this simple denim dress. 

Before and after. 

 

This is a basic pull-over style shirt dress. There wasn't anything wrong with it but I wanted an open long jacket.
 

I cut the dress open down the front. I made sure to cut right down the center. That would open the dress and I could make a long jacket.

 

This ribbon was part of the next step.
 

I sewed blue grosgrain ribbon to the cut edges. This would help stabilize the fabric a bit. 

 

I turned the ribbon in and...

 

 In again.  I stitched it down again. That would make the cut edges look nicely finished. 

 

My new jacket is nice over a dress. Or even other jeans. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 

***Year End Update***- I have thrown this over several outfits already. Love!

 

 

 

 

Blue Denim Shirts

Hello Readers. I decided to spend the rest of the month on blue refashion and upcycle projects. 2022 has been rough all around so I am just going to be blue this month. I had a couple of denim dresses that were handed down to me from my daughter. The thing is, I had a denim dress. I really needed a denim shirt. I love patterned and brightly colored clothes and a denim shirt goes with all the wild clothes I found at swaps and thrift stores. 

 

Before and after. 

 

This dress wasn't very flattering on me and I didn't mind turning it into something else. Let's get sewing.

I cut it into a shirt that was long enough to tuck in. But then I changed my mind and...

I cut it into a shorter cropped length. It had buttons and I thought it would be great open or closed. #versatility 

I decided to add a little decorative stitch at the hem just for fun. 

My sewing machine was made in 1943 and it came with these disks that you add onto the machine. The designs are shown on the disc. 

I put the disc on the machine and screwed a solver cover on it. 

It looked like this while it was stitching away. 

I liked this shirt and all its options. It could be a buttoned up shirt or an open little jacket.

I also had this second dress. It was a little darker in color and the buttons in the front of it were fake.

This dress got a big cut and a simple new hem. I needed a basic denim shirt that could match any wild pattern I wanted to wear.

I knew I wanted this shirt to go with these shorts. 

I knew I wanted to tuck it in.

 

And I was ready to to go with my wild patterned shorts. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

*Year End Note From Chickie- I didn't realize how much I needed denim shirts until I made these and wore them with everything! They were both great for me.

Denim on Denim

 Hello Readers. This refashion was so much fun to put together. Sometimes when I know the look is going to be very casual, I have less worry about the outcome. I had a clear idea in my head for this one.

Before and after.

 

This dress started off as a very frumpy depressing kind of dress. It was too long and the faded flowers were just a little blah. I love flowers as much as the next person but these were not doing anything exciting for this dress.

 

I started by cutting off about 8 inches of dress at the hem. It was going to be shorter anyway so I might as well get it out of the way at the start.

 

The flowers around the neck line were going to be difficult to unpick stitch by stitch. I decided to just cut them off. This cut edge was going to fray like all denim does so I decided to embrace it. I would let it fray and let the hem of the dress fray and it would be casual and fun.

 

 

The flowers on this dress just didn't stop. They were climbing all over these pockets like poison ivy. I was going to remove the whole pocket but then I realized that the big pockets from men's jeans could cover them easily.  I just used my sewing machine and stitched the new pockets over the old pockets. They are still there but no one will know.

If you don't want to sew the pockets on, I recommend some iron on hem tape. It is easy to use and quick too.
 

  My fun denim dress was done and I love the big dark blue pockets. I can fit my phone in one pocket and your phone in the other! I can layer for winter and just wear the dress with a t-shirt in warm weather. It's the perfect dress. 

I know I talk about the Dressember organization every December.  They raise money to fight human trafficking and forced labor all around the world. Victims need medical care, emotional support and even legal assistance. You can learn more at my Dressember page.

The Fall Denim Dress

 Hello Readers. It fall. It is a beautiful season. I love the cooler weather, the changing colors of the trees, Thanksgiving treats. Everything about fall is wonderful, right?

I found something from fall that is not wonderful. Y'all, this dress is just as bad as the green corduroy dress from a couple weeks ago. Why so dowdy???

Somehow someone made sunflowers seem drab. The biggest boldest flower in the world is somehow diminished by this dress. I don't like the wheat grass either. I am allergic to wheat, and this dress.

I cut the dress up the side, spread out all the fabric, and tried to fit this pattern on the fabric. It just barely fit. Why did I choose a denim mini? Well, my denim skirts are all too tight. (Thanks Corona!) I wanted to make sure this skirt will fit no matter what. I can adjust the tie and the skirt will always be comfy.

I realized that the skirt was too long. I wanted this skirt to be short and fun. (Like me?) This tan corduroy skirt is a great length so I used it as a model. I cut the hem off the denim dress/skirt and realized I could still use it. 

I used the dresses original hem as the waistband of my new skirt. This isn't what the pattern said to do. I just can't ever seem to follow directions fully. Do I have a problem being told what to do? Maybe.

The new skirt turned out the right length for me. I did not make a traditional tie for this wrap skirt. I added the big white button and I tied the one tie around it. There is a bit of Velcro inside to keep the skirt closed at the waist.

Here is an up-close view of the button and tie and a peek at the Velcro. The Velcro is super fast and easy. It also will adjust the size of the waist if it needs to. My tip- Put the soft Velcro facing your skin and the scratchy Velcro facing away from you.

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

The Ruffly Denim Dress

 Hello Readers. Are you in the middle of a beautiful fall? The weather in my area is just gorgeous, but everything else is a disaster. It seems as though the rest of the U.S. is in the middle of a hurricane, waiting for the next hurricane, on fire, unemployed or  just trying to survive in a world that seems very unfair and unjust. Ugh.... everything is a disaster. I can't really do much from here to change any of that except vote. And I already voted.

 So, let's do some sewing and just try to breathe for a while. 

 

This dress was cute but these elasticized shoulders never stay put on me. If I move my arms at all the off-the-shoulder suddenly becomes on-the-shoulder. So annoying!

 

 Thee shoulders and sleeve ruffles ride up and then the dress is suddenly really short. It makes it difficult and sometimes awkward to wear. (No one was flashed in the modeling of this dress.)

I decided to cut the dress up a little. The shoulder ruffle had to go. I decided to keep the ruffle at the hem, it was fun. 

I made the dress into a skirt. The shoulder elastic would make a perfect waistband. Win for me, I don't need to scrounge around for elastic or anything. It was right in front of me. It's a no-waste waistband.

Look at the decorative thread colors. Are they screaming "FALL!" or what?

This skirt is a perfect transition piece between hot summer and cool fall. Those days in between that can be too warm for the heavy fall clothes but you don't want summer colors anymore. The perfectly matching scarf is a free bonus from my closet.

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

Dressember 2019; Dress 1

Hello Readers. It is time for Dressember. No, not December, Dressember. It is a month long event to raise money and awareness about human trafficking and modern day slavery. They estimate that there are currently 40 million victims worldwide. Dressember is an organization that works to fight these issues and help victims recover. 

One thing they do every year is a style challenge. The challenge is to wear dresses or ties all month as a way to raise awareness. All my refashions this month will be dresses in honor of Dressember. You can go to the Dressember website to learn more about the work they do.

This dress was an easy and surprising refashion for me. It started as a really unflattering denim dress. As a homeschool mom, (I homeschooled my kids from kindergarten to highschool graduation. Ask me anything!) I would call this "the homeschool mom special". It isn't doing anything good for me. Its a little baggy but really the problem is the length.

There is too much dress for my short height. It is in great condition and I liked the snaps down the front. I thought I would just take it in a little and shorten it. 

I did both of those things. I made it much shorter and took in the sides a little. Actually, I took the sides in a little too much. Well, a lot too much.

When I was done I realized it was too tight. When I tried it on I found that I really liked it as a long open vest. It was a great layering piece in cold weather. What a happy accident!

An extra layer is especially nice when you are wearing dresses all month in the cold! I didn't hem it. I want that natural denim fray along the hem.

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