Dress to Shirt Refashion

 Hello Readers. This shirt was made from a linen dress. It was a pretty dress but it had a terrible nylon lining. Nylon makes me itchy and it's is hot in summer. I am trying to eliminate it from my wardrobe completely. I didn't mind removing the linen from the nylon and using it for something else.

 I love to thrift and when I do I look for fabrics that are unique and catch my eye. I saw this linen dress at a thrift store a few months ago and the fabric was so pretty. I had to bring it home even though I did not know what I was going to do with it yet.

Look at this fabric. It looks like an Impressionist painting. And it is linen. It's going to be great to wear in the heat.

I cut the skirt of the dress off away from the rest of the dress. I thought the skirt of this dress would make a nice shirt. Was there enough fabric? I thought there was just barely enough to make the body of a shirt. 

I used this pattern for the body of my new shirt. It is Vogue #  I cut out the body pieces and did not have enough fabric for the sleeves that were part of this pattern. I was going to make a sleeveless shirt if I had to.

I had 2 little pieces from the hemline of the dress. Could they be little cap sleeves? That was my plan. I pinned the pieces to the armholes to get an idea of how they could fit there. I wanted sleeves if I could figure out a way to make them. I really liked the pleated hemline of the dress. It would look cute at as the sleeves too.

I marked the sleeves with pencil so I knew where to sew the shoulder seam. Pencil washes out so I could mark as much as I needed. These were going to be the smallest little sleeves in the world.

I used my serger to sew the sleeves. Linen frays so this will keep it neat and strong inside. 

I liked my new shirt. It was light weight linen would be great for summer and the colorful flowers were so great for summer too. The very tiny sleeves worked out well. I like them. They balance out the shirt. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

***Year End Update***- I love this top. The colors are so soft and the impressionist painting vibe is so pretty. I still love it.

Linen Scrap Skirt

 Hello Readers. I don't like to waste fabric or fabric scraps. I try find a way to use them. I made shorts from a pair of wide leg pants and thought the legs looked wide enough to use for a skirt. Let me show you.

Before and after.

I used the top of these linen pants to make a nice pair of shorts for summer. But the legs were long enough and wide enough to make something else. 

I had already cut the legs off. I was going to make a skirt from that nice linen. 

I cut the fronts and backs of the pant legs apart. 

That gave me 4 pieces of linen. 

I wanted to sew this wide cotton ribbon in between each linen piece. That will make the linen I have large enough for a skirt. 

I connected each piece of linen to this wide cotton ribbon. I alternated linen and ribbon until I had sewn them all together. Then I connected it into a tube shape.

Here is my tube. It is starting to look like a skirt!

I added a simple elastic waistband. I used a zigzag stitch to attach the elastic to the top of the skirt.

Then I turned the elastic under and stitched it again.

I pulled the waistband smooth for this last part.

After sewing the elastic shrinks back and makes this little gathered paper-bag waist look. It is a little wrinkly but the linen is going to wrinkle so they will look good together. I hemmed the bottom of the skirt and I was done.

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

***Year End Update***- This skirt was so easy to put together and it is light weight. It was great in the summer heat.

Linen Pants to Shorts

 Hello Readers. I have had these linen pants for a long time and they have been waiting to be refashioned for a long time. I already had a pair of beige linen pants. I did not need 2 pairs. Let's make something else. 

Warm weather is coming. Let's make shorts.

These pants were made of very nice linen. I liked the wide legs but these were really wide and long on me. And they had something I hate. 

There was a horrible nylon lining. Nylon makes me itchy and it is hot in warm weather. The linen fabric is great in heat but if you add a nylon layer, it ruins it for me. A lining can make the pants last longer and drape nicely when they are worn but it isn't worth it for me. I started cutting the nylon layer out.

 

I literally just cut it out. It was connected along the waistband and I cut as close to the waistband as I could without cutting the linen. If I get any stray threads when I wash these pants I can trim them. It will be inside the pants no one will know. (Shh, don't tell.)

Here is the entire lining. Good riddance nylon. I never liked you anyway!

I cut the pant legs off. I wanted to save those legs for another project. Come back tomorrow to see the pant legs refashion.

I turned the hem under twice and stitched it down with a straight stitch. Easy as pie!

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

 

Linen & Silk

 Hello Readers. I found these linen pants and silk top at a thrift store recently. I thought they would be perfect for work because it is really warm here. It doesn't cool down until late September or early October. Linen and silk breath and keep you cool when it's hot.

Before and after.

This shirt has a wide waist tie that made it really awkward to tuck the shirt in. I usually tuck things in. I thought I could just remove the 2 pieces from the sides. 

 

I sewed the 2 pieces together and made a small scarf. But it has a seam in the middle.

I stitched the center together into a tube to hide that seam in the middle. 

It turned into a fun accessory.

I added a little snap to the shirt to keep the neckline closed. It was a little too low for me. This was easy to add by hand.

I took the waist and hips of the pants in a little to keep them higher on my waist.

The whole outfit fits better and looks more put together. It would be perfect for work. But a weird thing happened. I quit my job before I even wore this. My husband's schedule changed and our childcare situation changed and so my schedule had to change too. That means more time for sewing, I hope. We just roll with it. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

 

 ***Year End Update- I made this for work and quit my job. I love the outfit though.

 

Lovely Linen

 Hello Readers. The older I get the more I hate polyester fabrics. They just don't breathe. I feel like I am wearing a plastic bag. I love wearing linen because it is so comfortable.  Call me a princess, I need to breathe. 

Before and after.

I found these pants abut a week ago at my local Goodwill. I brought them home and threw them in the washer. I like to wash all my thrift finds right away.

 

I knew I was going to have to do some sewing to make them fit but I didn't care because I saw the tag that said "100% linen". They would be so nice for work.

 

These pants didn't have any stretch and are meant to be loose and baggy. I decided to take them in about an inch on each side. 

 

When I sewed a new side seam it was 1inch from the edge. I sewed through the front and back layers of the pant leg. That means I actually took them in about 2 inches. 

 

I used the same method to take in this shirt.

 

I liked these together so I put them on and went to work. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

 

 ***Year End Update- This outfit was great for work in summer. I quit that job but I will be wearing this again this summer

 

 

 

 

Linen Luna Tank

 Hello Readers. It is hot, hot, hot! Maybe because it's summer... Maybe because the world is on fire... At this point I'm not really sure. One thing I do know is that when it's hot, I need iced tea and clothes that breathe. Like a linen tank top.

 

 Before and after.

 

 I have been in loving linen lately because its so nice in the heat. I went searching in my sewing stash for some linen pieces that I could make into a summer tank top. I washed the linen pieces that I had before sewing in case they shrank. The linen I have is from my mother-in-law so it was probably designed to be used in home decor. I was hoping this linen wouldn't be too thick or heavy to be the summer shirt I was wanting. But let's try and see if it works. (My life philosophy!)

 I wanted to make the Luna tank from Helen's Closet Patterns. You can get it free from the website. (Thanks Helen!) This is a super great project for beginners. And check out that size range!! 0-34!!! That is amazing!

I printed my pattern pieces on my home printer and put the paper pieces together. I set the paper piece on the fold of my fabric.

 

I had to move my pieces around to get a front and back from my small piece of fabric but usually you would just fold your fabric in half, put your paper pattern on the fold and cut your fabric pieces out.

Linen frays very easily and quickly. I decided to use my serger on all the edges right away so they wouldn't fray during the sewing process.

My light gray serger thread matched the fabric really well. 

The linen had a nice drape to it. It is a heavier weight linen but I liked it as a shirt. I liked it so much I left the serged edges just like this. I didn't sew in the neck band or arm bands like the pattern directed. (I have trouble following directions.) The edges looked good to me and because they were only one layer of fabric. It keeps the from getting bulky which would make the hemline get thicker and stiffer. It would lose its light flowy quality. 

 

Video summary.

This tank top turned out great. I liked it made of linen and it will be so nice in the heat of summer. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

*Year End Note From Chickie- This is a great piece. I love the linen and I added a cardigan to wear it into fall.