Pants to Skirt

 Hello Readers. I love refashioning clothes and thinking about what they can become. I also like to think about what clothes I do not have in my wardrobe and make them. That is how we got here to today's project. 

 

Before and after. 

 

These tan dress pants were great with this sweater. They did not fit my short legs well at all though.  I already wore and loved the sweater. I wasn't going to refashion the sweater.

 

 

The sweater reminds me of this book. It a favorite kids book that I read to my kids  a lot. (This little girl does get over her case of stripes and stops trying to please everyone but herself. It is really a great story book for kids.)

 

I want to turn these tan pants into a tan skirt. I don't have one of those. First, I  cut the seam between the legs of these pants. I just cut from one hem, up the leg and down the other leg. 

 

 

The pants were now open at the inner seam and I could start to make a new shape.

 

 I used my dress form to hold the "pants" and start pinning my new skirt. You can do this without a dress form but this just makes it easier.

 

I pinned the sides of the waist to make it higher and more fitted and I pinned the front of the pants to create a new seam down the center. I tried to make it straight so it would be smooth when I wore it. I pinned the back seam the same way. This made the skirt shape I wanted.

 

I cut off some of the extra fabric from the bottom so it would be out of my way when I was sewing it all together on my sewing machine. 

 

 

This is what the back looked like when I was sewing it together. The pins are out of the way. That little pointed piece to the right is the old crotch from the pants. It needs to be removed after the new seam is sewn. 

 

 

I gave my new skirt a quick hem and I was done. 

 

I loved this new skirt. Here is an inside view of a the new center seam with the excess fabric cut away.

 

 It was a simple straight skirt and lets the striped sweater be the star of the show. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

*Year End Note From Chickie- I loved this skirt but it got too tight. It was donated.

A Sweater Dress

Hello Readers. It's almost Christmas and my 6 year old is SO EXCITED! I think this is the first year that he has gotten super excited and counted down the days. I really hope you are having a happy holiday season. Let's talk about sweater dresses. They can be soft and cozy but they can also be shapeless and bulky. 

  Before and after.

 

This sweater dress from my daughter was soft and could be warm with some layers. It was thick and kind of shapeless. It wasn't a horrible dress but it wasn't great. It was... fine. We can do better than "fine".

I wanted to cut the dress into a top and a skirt. I tried it on and decided how long I wanted the top to be. I wanted a "standard" length top. (My belly button is my business.) You could make this into a shorter cropped length if that is your style. It's your top, you can decide. The sweater will fray after you cut it. 

 

Be ready to stitch on some ribbon or bias tape to keep that cut edge together. I used this ribbon because it had the same off-white color and it was in my stash of sewing stuff.

This is a look inside. The ribbon is stitched on the edge and it was easy to attach. It hides that cut edge when I am wearing it. The ends will fray a bit in the wash but the ribbon will hide that from view.

 

 I also added an elastic waistband to the bottom piece of the dress. Sewing the elastic to the skirt keeps it from fraying and also keeps the skirt up at my waist. This skirt has more of an A-line shape because it is from the bottom of the dress where it was the biggest.

 

I used a zigzag stitch right at the edge to control the fraying. The zigzag stitch will allow the skirt to give and stretch with the elastic when I put it on. I measured my waist ahead of time so I knew how long the elastic needed to be.

 

The new 2 piece dress has a new shape. It fit my hips better and looser. I am short so this is a better length on me. Win. Win. Win.

The ribbon and elastic waistbands do not really show when I have the outfit on. But I wanted to show you where they were. 

I can also break up the set and wear the top by itself with other clothes. I liked it as a warm layer with for cold days too. 

*December is almost over and that means Dressember's awareness campaign and fundraising drive is almost over too. They work to fight human trafficking and forced labor around the world. They have outreach programs and partners around the world. You can learn more about the work they do at Dressember.org

Christmas Jammies

 Hello Readers. Red and green are the traditional colors of Christmas and if I see red and green together that is all I think of. Christmas!

 

Before and after. 

 

 

I found this 2 piece dress at a swap ages ago. I was never able to think of what to make with it because it was so red and green. I realized it would make perfect Christmas pajamas.

 

 

These shoulder pads were the first thing to get removed. I do not need shoulder definition while I am sleeping.

 

 

The waistband on this shirt had lost all it's stretch so I cut that off too. I hemmed that cut edge at the bottom of the shirt and gave the shirt a nicely finished hem.

 

I cut the waistband off the skirt as well and I ironed the fabric from the skirt so it was flat. I used a pattern I had that was for loose pajama shorts. I was going to extend the legs and make pajama pants. There was plenty of fabric in this skirt to make pajama pants.

 

I used my serger to put the leg seams together. I added a fresh elastic waistband and hemmed each leg. 

 

 

 

My new pajamas were done and ready to wear. My youngest helped me with this photo. That is why there are 2 little hands holding those pants.

 

I am ready to go sit by the Christmas tree with a cup of cocoa. This paisley set was perfect for a  refashion in honor of the Dressember organization. I am refashioning and wearing dresses this month to raise money to fight human trafficking. Visit their website to learn more about how wearing a dress can help.

No-Sew Party Dress

 Hello Readers. It seems like the holidays are coming faster than ever this year. What if you need a party dress but you don't have one ready? What can you do? I have quick and easy idea. 

Before and after.

 

 You only need 2 items to create this party look. First you need a big men's t-shirt with a round neck. The bigger, the better. The second thing you need is a button-up blouse. The one I have here is sheer but any dressy blouse or shirt will do. You are going to wear it with the t-shirt.

Put the t-shirt on as if it were a strapless dress. The neck/head hole will be small enough to stay up Above your chest. It will stay on you very well. 

Those sleeves need to disappear. Tuck each sleeve into itself.

 

They will look like big pockets after you tuck them in. Stay with me, We are almost done.

Now we get to the blouse. You can use long or short sleeves. Whatever you want. The shirt covers your shoulders and helps to keep you warm but it also gives the waist of this t-shirt dress a nice shape. This t-shirt dress is shapeless. Adding the blouse on top makes the dress more flattering on your body. Tie the shirt at the smallest part of your waist. 

 

Put on your party shoes and you are ready to go. 

If you want to make those pockets into actual working pockets you can sew the sleeves closed at the ends. It won't change the look of your dress. It will make the pockets more useful if you sew them closed but you might not have time for this step and that's OK. Either way enjoy your party!

This is my third dress refashion for December 2021. I refashion dresses all month to bring attention to the Dressember organization. Why dresses? That is a good question. You can go to Dressember.org to learn more about the fight against human trafficking and why wearing dresses and ties to raise money can help victims.

Orange You Glad Part 2; Dressember#2

Hello Readers. It is December already! We have made it to the last month of 2021. We should give ourselves a round of applause. It felt like time went super fast and we need to get ready for real winter weather. Let's make this orange dress from the last post more winter appropriate. 

Before and after.

 

This dress fit well and I added buttons and a big sweater to take it into fall in my last post. How could I make it more winter ready? I did not have any dye. I made a plan in the beginning of the year that I would not buy anything to create my refashions this year so what could I use as a dye?

That's right. I wanted to see if balsamic vinegar could dye my dress. I knew that vinegar can help set dye so maybe it could be a dye all by itself. It could be a disaster but let's find out.

 I took my dress outside and just "sprinkled" the dark vinegar all over the dress. I let it sit over night. Then I flipped it over and did the same thing to the back of the dress. I wanted to give it time for the vinegar to sink it the material. It really smelled strongly of vinegar. I washed it in cold water. 

It did dye the dress but it was a very subtle wash of color and it made darker spots here and there. I liked it but it wasn't as dark as I had hoped it would be. 

 

The color was great for a more wintery look. A sweater and boots will take you far in the colder days. I will be refashioning dresses all this month as part of Dressember. This organization works to fight human trafficking and forced labor all around the world by raising money and partnering with other organizations in this fight as well.