Free Dress

 Hello Readers. I went to the dentist. (No cavities.) As I parked my car I saw that the dentist's neighbor was giving away clothes. I am a scavenger at heart so I took a look. I found a fabulous red dress. 

Before and after.

I spoke with the woman and she said she likes to clean out her closet and give clothes away like this. It's like a yard sale but it's a give away.  

This dress was cute. I love the color. The dress was too long. It was so long I realized that I could refashion it into a 2 piece set. (I love a 2 piece matching set.) 

  

The bodice was really pretty crochet work. It was completely see through so I will wear it over a shirt I guess. The skirt had a lining but the top didn't. 

 

I cut out some simple pant legs. I positioned the pants at the bottom of the skirt. This left enough at the top to wear it as a shirt. It also means I could use the hem of the skirt as the hem of the pant legs. That will save time.

 

I sewed the pants together. 

 

I was going to use this elastic to the waistband. I like the design and colors with the fabric. 

 

I sewed the elastic together to make a circle and pinned the elastic around the waist of the skirt. 

 

I stretched the elastic as I stitched. Using elastic is an easy way to finish the pants and it's also really comfortable to wear. 

 

I cut the lining out from what was left as the dress. I hate nylon linings. I won't need a lining anyway. I will be wearing this top over another top. That will keep me covered.

 

I had to hem the bottom of the new shirt but that's all I had to do to finish it.

 

My new matching set was done in no time. It's comfy and perfect for days when I want fall weather to come but it's still hot and humid. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dress to Tunic & Shorts

 Hello Readers. I am a thrifty scavenger at heart. I search thrift stores for cute things but I am also searching for fabric. This pink dress was made of beautiful linen. I knew it would make something wonderful. I didn't try it on, I knew it was going to be cut and sewn into something new.

Before and after.

 

This dress was way too long but I could have shortened it. I had another idea. Shorts!

 

This is my go-to shorts pattern. It is very well used as you can see. I like it because it's simple and it fits me well. 

  

This book has so many great patterns. I love it. 

  

I cut out the 2 pieces. Easy as pie!

 

I used my serger to put the 2 pieces together. Linen frays so easily, I thought the serger would be best. 

 

I used the fun elastic for the waistband. I didn't make a casing for it, I want it to show. 

 

I sewed the elastic in place using a zigzag stitch. 

 

This is the top of the dress. I want to wear it as a tunic with the shorts peeking out. I checked the dress for length on me so I could hem it at the right length.

I made new side seams to make the top fit better and ...

 

I hemmed the bottom edge. 

 

I love how it turned out. It's great on a hot summer day and the pink is so fun. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dress to 2-Piece

 Hello Readers. I loved this plaid dress. I grabbed it as a clothes swap and when I go home, it was too big. That's OK, I can work with this.

Dress to 2-piece.  

This dress had so many possibilities. The colors, the ruffle, the straps... Let me show you. 

 

I decided to take the dress apart. You can see the waist seam, it was sewn to last forever. It was THICK!

 

I unpicked all those stitches. It was frustrating and it took a while but it was worth it. 

 

When I was done I had the top, the skirt and the lining. 

 

The top has pretty straps but I needed a couple of them to finish the hemline of the top. I cut the straps off the back of the top. I set them aside. 

 

I pulled the straps from the front to the back. I pinned the straps in place and stitched them in place. I also took the back of the top in to make it smaller. I can't find a picture of that so you just have to take my word for it.

 

I sewed the 2 back straps together into a long belt and sewed it along the bottom of the shirt. I put the ends in front so I could tie them in front. 

 

I sewed elastic around the skirt. When I made the casing for the elastic it made the skirt shorter. It made a full twirly skirt. 

 

In the end, I had a top and skirt I could wear together or separately. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dress to Shirt & Shorts

 Hello Readers. I saw this shirt dress and loved the stripes. I thought they looked a little like pajamas. I wanted a shirt from this dress. And could I make shorts? Was there enough fabric? Could it be done? Let's see.

Before and after. 

Love the stripes, don't love the length of the skirt. Let's make some shorts.

I cut the top of the dress off. I made my cut right under the waist tie. I left a little extra to make a new hem at the bottom. 

 

I hemmed the bottom of the shirt. And that was it. My new shirt was done, but what about the shorts?
 

I used a pattern to make the shorts. I thought if I positioned the pattern just right, I could keep the pockets. 

I cut the pieces out and it was looking good so far. 

I put the shorts pieces together. 

They looked like shorts! Yay! I needed to hem the legs and add a waistband.

I added some really ugly elastic but...

I turned it under so no one will really see it.

My new combo makes me think "pajama chic" loungewear. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 

***Year End Update***- I love these stripes. I wear the shirt a lot. The shorts? Not so much.

A Summer Dress to 2 Piece Set

Hello Readers. I know it seems like fall will arrive soon but I know it won't show up where I live for another month. It is always hot in September. Let's refashion a summer dress.

Before and after.

 

I love this gauzey cotton fabric. It is so light and it never needs to be ironed!
 

I cut the dress right under that bust seam. I wanted to make this into a 2 piece set. I had elastic to match the skirt so I could add a waistband that would match perfectly.

I used a zigzag stitch to connect the elastic waistband to the outside of the skirt. This was a quick and easy way to make a separate skirt. I didn't mind having a visible waistband because it matched so well.

When I flipped the elastic up, it looks nicely finished and hides the stitches.

I shortened the skirt quite a bit because it was so long on me. I am short so I usually shorten almost everything.

I hemmed the bottom of the shirt and took a little fabric out of the sides. This made the shirt a little more fitted and made the armholes a little smaller. That gave me the fit I wanted.

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

***Year End Update- I loved this color and I wear the skirt with other things a lot.