The Flowy Jacket

 Hello Readers. I love layering pieces but sometimes they don't always love me.

 This jacket was just one of those pieces. I loved the colors and the design of the material. It looks a bit like a bathrobe. The material is in great shape but the fun fringe is worn out.

I cut the fringe off. It was a little faded and tangled. It was best to just remove it. Some things can't be fixed. It's OK to let them go.

 I really wanted to make those sleeves more narrow and make the body of the jacket more fitted. I hemmed the bottom after I had the side seams done.

  

What would I wear with the jacket? Well the color of these stretchy pants was wonderful. The thick stretchy fabric was really soft and nice but they made me look frumpy and I didn't like the look of them when I actually put them on. I thought they would make a great skirt.

I cut the inside seams open and folded the pants so the sides were laid flat. You can see the crotch of the pants flairs out. I pinned them to make straight seams so I would have a pencil skirt.

I did some sewing and cut off the excess. I checked the length and made a hem at the bottom.

This skirt was nice with the new jacket.

I was pretty happy with how these pieces turned out. I wore it to the doctor for a boring check-up. My son is very healthy but I found out that his Epi Pen expired 6 months ago. I am expecting my "mom of the Year" award any day now.

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

Poncho to Kimono

Hello Readers. Check out this poncho. It is so pretty. It made me think of peacock feathers. I think it is one of those "One Size Fits All" things that really only looks good on like 3 real human people. And I am not one of those people.

Holy butterfly wings Batman! I could have made this into a butterfly costume for Halloween. But I didn't and it's too late now. I decided to make a kimono style jacket with real sleeves. I thought that would fit me better and be more useful too.

I cut out fabric from the slides to make a boxy body shape and to remove the seams that connected the front and back. I used my sewing machine to make the new side seams. I made the sleeves as long as possible. The sides had a pretty edge that I liked so I kept it on the ends of the sleeves. I also cut down the center to open it up like a jacket. I stitched the raw edges under and I was done.

I noticed that these green mid-rise corduroy pants matched the green at the hem of the poncho. I decided that meant this was a good time to resize them and start wearing them. The weather is getting cooler and they have been sitting waiting for me for months.

I took a little off the sides and shortened them about 5 inches.(#shortgirlproblems) They had a higher waist.

I really liked the open kimono. It is still loose but not overwhelming. It still has all those blues and greens that made me like it in the beginning.

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

Peasant Blouse to Kimono

Hello Readers. I love the color red. It is so cheerful. I saw this red top at a clothes swap and just fell in love with the fabric. I took it home and realized it didn't fit. That's OK, there is always a way to make things work.

The fabric was very lightweight and in great shape. The size was a little off but the plunging neckline was really what made this top look so big on me. There was a little string tie closure at the neckline that did nothing to really close the low cut top.

I mean it was so low cut. That string tie wasn't going to help me make this top wearable. It was open to my belly button. Even with a shirt under it, it didn't look right.

I cut the ties off right away. They seemed useless and had heavy metal rings on the end. They pulled the lightweight top down even more.

The next thing I did was cut the top completely open in the front. It was already too open to be a regular shirt, could it be a sort of kimono style jacket? Sure it could!

I put it on my dress form and cut more fabric off the front opening until each side hung flat and even. I turned the edges under and stitched them down.

I was happy I found a way to wear this top, I liked the material so much. It is a nice layering piece. It is so light it doesn't feel bulky or heavy like a sweater.

It gives some coverage in the back too. That is nice if you don't want to show off your back end in your jeggings.

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

  *Year end update-I think I chose to refashion this in February because it was red but it isn't really warm enough for winter. It is fabulous in nicer weather.

Too Big For My Britches (Leggings)

Hello Readers. How are you? This post is not really about britches. It's about leggings. You know, those comfy, stretchy pants that women wear for exercise, lounging, pajamas, casual wear ....and I hear, air travel. The United Airlines legging incident of this past weekend, made this post even more timely. 

 I am a stay at home mom so I dress casually. I try to push myself to exercise but it doesn't always happen. I want to be comfortable but also prepared to drag myself out for a walk. I also want to be able to take a nap if I was up the night before with the little guy. Leggings (or yoga pants) fit the bill. But the waistband of some of my leggings was too tight. They were not comfortable enough for my tummy. (This could be due to any number of factors; middle aged belly, large amounts of Chinese take-out, third baby at age 42, cupcakes, winter weight, cookies....) You get the idea. 

These leggings were also really long, or I am really short. It depends how you look at it. Whatever the cause I had extra fabric to play with. I cut a few inches off the legs of the leggings. (Tongue twister!) 

I cut two small triangles from the cut off pieces. I used the hem at the bottom of each leg as the base of the triangle. The finished edge will become part of the waist.

I matched up the height/length of the triangles to the height/length of the cuts I made in the sides of the leggings waistband. You can see where this is going right? The hips have enough stretch to fit comfortably, I just need some extra in the waist. I used my machine to attach the triangle to the cut I made in the waist.

I put the leggings to the test to make sure I could lounge comfortably. They worked perfectly. (Note the complete disaster my toddler has made while I did this legging lounge test.)

I used the same fix for these light blue leggings. They have a denim look but they are just plain leggings/jeggings. You can see the difference in the waistband and the inserted triangle piece really well in this fabric. I always wear long shirts with leggings so I don't think anyone is going to see the details of my refashion. The edge is finished, the stitching is just different in the newly added piece. 

Here is a picture of the blue leggings in action. They had plenty of tummy room but didn't fall down. Perfect! Any stretchy knit fabric would have worked if I hadn't had extra fabric from the legs to work with.

*****      BONUS TRACK     *****

I saw this scarf trick on Pinterest and thought I would try it and share it. I took a light weight scarf and made it into a kimono/wrap/jacket/thing. It was cuter than it sounds in this description. 

I borrowed this zebra scarf from my daughter. It was a long rectangle and it had nice drape. A stiff scarf isn't going to work for this. I spread it out longways and matched the corners. The idea is to tie those corners together to make a sleeve of sorts.

Here is my corner tying demo. 

Here I am putting my arm through the armhole I made by tying the corners together.

Here is the back view. It looks like a loose jacket. You can always untie the corners and use it as a scarf again. Versatile, huh?

Well, that's it for today. Thanks for reading, now go make something fun for yourself.