Let's Go For A Walk

 Hello Readers. I don't know what 2022 has looked like for you but it has not been my best year. I always try to be positive because I don't want to bring myself (Or anyone else.) down. But dang! This year has been lousy. I am trying to get more exercise and for me that means going for a walk to improve my outlook and general mental health. So, let's go for a walk.

 

Before and after.

 Comfortable exercise clothes are always a good idea. This combo seemed like it might be good for getting active. It needs some help though. The shirt is big and I didn't like the white sleeves. I needed to rework that shirt. The skirt fit well and was just a little too long. 

I started by cutting off those white sleeves. The white was a little blah and I thought a high neck tank top style would look cool and be cool in the heat.

 

 When I cut all the white sleeve off I left about 1/4 of an inch so I could turn the cut edge in and under and stitch it down.

I put the shirt on my dress form inside out and started pinning the sides together to see how much I needed to cut off. 

This is what I needed to remove. My next step was to sew the sides together again. The right sides are facing each other and I used my serger and stitched the sides together.

 

  I knew I might need to make tucks in the armholes to make them fit well. Loose armholes are fine on a t-shirt with sleeves. I cut the sleeves off so the armholes were a little big and gaped open a little. I wanted the armholes to fit snug so I had to sew and cut out small tucks. These are small triangles sewn and the excess fabric is cut out. This is a look at the inside of the shirt. I just took a little pinch of fabric away to tighten up the armholes.

I thought the shirt was a little too long so I gave it a big cut.

 

I gave this skirt a big cut too. It was too long for what I wanted. I didn't hem it because knits don't fray. It will stay intact just like this wash after wash. It looks more casual if it is left without a hem but that's OK. This is exercise wear. It is supposed to be casual.
 

Here is a quick overview of what I did for these pieces.

 

Then I went for a walk outside for my own good. Thanks for reading a long, now go make something fun for yourself.

*Year End Note From Chickie- This tank gets a lot of wear. It turned into pajamas and I wore it to sleep whenever it was clean because it is so soft.

Sweats 1

 Hello Readers. Do you feel like sitting on the couch in your sweatpants eating cookie dough? Me too. The only problem was that my sweatpants and shorts are too tight. But that's OK. I have access to my man's cast offs.  Today is 1 of 2 sweat pant refashions.

These sweatpants were simple, gray and basic. The color worked for me. They need to be resized and it was hot the day I was sewing. That made me want shorts.

I cut off the pant legs and made new side seams. There was a drawstring but there was also an elastic waistband in there. I cut the drawstring off and kept the elastic.

I was able to keep the back pocket! It is really handy because it is large enough for my phone. Real pockets are always a big plus for me.

 My shorts were done and it was time for me to take a walk. I have been trying to exercise more. I always plan to do something active but I don't always get to it. New cozy shorts might help right?

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

The Sweatshirt Dress I Didn't Need

Hello Readers.  I found this sweatshirt dress at a clothes swap and liked how soft and light-weight it was. It was more like a t-shirt instead of a sweatshirt. I didn't really need a sweatshirt dress. I have one already. I thought a shirt and a pair of shorts would be better.

This dress wasn't bad at all. I could have worked with it. I liked the drawstring. I liked the rolled cuffs at the sleeves. And it had POCKETS!!!

 I decided to use that drawstring as the waistband of my new shorts. I cut the shirt off and saved it for later.

I used a pattern to cut the skirt into shorts. I had to play with it a little so I could keep the drawstring. This was easy because it was such a stretchy knit material. The dress was long enough to make a pair of shorts and use the extra fabric at the bottom of the skirt to lengthen the shirt.

The drawstring still works in the front and the casing made a great waistband.

 I used the bottom of the dress to add length to the shirt. It worked well. I wanted to make the shirt long enough to meet the waistband of the shorts. I didn't want any pale mom tummy peaking out.

I used some scrap pieces to add a little rough edge to the hem of the shirt. The sleeves and the hem of the shorts are rolled a little to expose the inside/reverse side of the fabric. I wanted to make them all the same.

This is the perfect outfit for exercise, walking the dog, lounging... anything!

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

  *Year end update-I wore this lounge set countless times. I still like it.

Time For Exercise Clothes

Hello Readers. Do you wear exercise clothes often when you are not even thinking of exercise? 

Yeah, me too. These exercise clothes need some work before I can wear them.

The Official Uniform of Mom

I sleep, lounge, run errands, garden, and hang around the house in mine.  So, I need a lot of them. And I need some for cold weather and some for warm weather and everything in between. My daughter gave me these yoga pants. They fit but they were much too long. I decided to make them into cropped leggings. They would be good for warmer weather. I tapered the legs and hemmed them to a shorter length. This was the easy part. This stretchy material was so easy to work with.

I had a couple of shirts that needed help too. The black shirt was a very lightweight sweatshirt that was really worn out. The white shirt was in great condition and fit well but it was one of those thin, sheer, tissue t-shirts. It was so sheer that I couldn't wear it. I couldn't exercise in a see through shirt! The whole point of wearing a shirt is too cover myself.

 

I cut the front of the black shirt off and pinned it to the front of the white shirt. I tried not to cut off any of the writing, it was close though.

I used a zigzag stitch and went over the edges of the black piece. I attached it at the seams of the white shirt. I wanted to cover the entire front panel of the shirt. It was a little short, as you can see.

 

I decided to use the waistband of the black shirt to finish the bottom of the shirt. I cut it off the black shirt and attached it to the bottom of the white shirt. It was big enough to go all the way all the way around the shirt.

I really liked how the black waistband made the back of the shirt coordinate with the sleeves of the shirt.

Here is my finished workout outfit. It won't win any fashion awards but it will cover me and get me through some exercise and anything else that happens. (Netflix!)

You can see how strong some new exercise clothes made me. This was the perfect outfit to plant some tomato plants I was given.

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

*Year end update- I love exercise clothes. These were/are great.

A Flattering Hoodie

Hello Readers. I really believe that you can refashion anything. One of my best sources of clothes to refashion is to steal things from my man. If he doesn't wear it often, I will take it for myself. (I am not ashamed.) Today's post is a perfect example. I had this nice big hoodie to work with.

 

 

This hoodie is too big but it is in good shape. I really wanted to make it more fitted but keep the length to cover the caboose when I wear leggings to exercise. I thought it would be nice and warm in the colder weather too. It needed some big adjustments.

 

I used one of my favorite hoodies as a guide. I marked where I wanted to make my new seams on the inside of the blue jacket. I just used my sewing machine to make the new seams on the sleeves and sides of the jacket.

 

You can see in this picture what I removed. I made it more narrow and made the arms smaller and shorter. Sweatshirts are easy to work with because they don't fray. I cut off the extra fabric and didn't worry about it.

 

I added some elastic inside at the waist. I wanted to pull the waist in a little. I thought it would look more feminine. It is still casual but more flattering than the baggy fit it had in the beginning. The best part is that it is just as comfortable and cozy as before.

 

 

I liked the new fit. The longer hoodie is good with leggings. It covers up the backside so I can go out without feeling like a flasher. (My backside is my business.)

 

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

 

 

The Long Beach Bag

Hello Readers. It is summer and time for swimming and relaxing days at the beach. HA HA! I am a mom so that means I am in charge of snacks and on life guard duty. I am not sitting in the sun soaking up the rays. I am putting sunscreen on kids and trying to keep them from drowning. I need a GIANT bag for towels, goggles, sunblock, snacks, drinks squirt toys and tons of other stuff too.

I had a giant bag that held all my stuff but check out the long handles in the picture below. The bag is down to my knees and the straps are so long I can't carry it in my hand like a suitcase, it would drag on the ground. I don't want to make the bag smaller but I could make the straps into shorter handles.

They are simple woven handles. I cut them off the bag and made them about half as long. The ends were frayed originally, so I kept that look in my new shorter handles. 

I can put it over my shoulder but I can also carry it like a suitcase while I chase overexcited little guy around the parking lot, pool deck, beach ... you get the idea.

***** BONUS TRACK *****

This is a quick fix. I needed exercise clothes. I know they sell them at the store but I can never bring myself to spend money on clothes to sweat all over. I can sweat all over free clothes just as well. 

I had theses cropped sweat pants that looked fine but it is really hot here. Shorts would be better for the summer. I cut the legs off and as usual this knit material doesn't fray.

There is a lot of visible feet in the post, sorry.

I am ready to run like the wind. HAHA, just kidding, I don't run.

 I just walk quickly and hope for muscle growth.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading, now go make something fun for yourself.

Update a Velour Track Suit

Hello Readers. I am still working on a spring exercise wardrobe. I was given this velour track suit. It was light weight, soft, and cozy but the jacket was a little too big. That is an easy fix.

I trimmed the jacket down a bit and it fits great. It just needed a little off the arms and sides. Once the arms were more narrow they didn't hang over my hands anymore.

These velour pants are another story. They were much too baggy. I had big plans for them. Or smaller plans for them.

I cut the top of the pants off. They immediately curled up and became even shorter. They wouldn't be very useful like this.

I took them in on the sides so they would fit better.

I added some soft cotton bias tape on the lower hem to stop the curling and make them look more finished. This added a little length too. (It took a lot of pins to control the curling.)

Here is the finished jacket and shorts ready to jog or nap.

So pale y'all, so very pale.

And what about those pant legs? I have big plans for them. How does a little black dress sound? It should be finished as soon as some trim arrives from Amazon.com and I will post it as soon as I can. 

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