The Duck Shirt

 Hello Readers. When I saw this fun shirt at a thrift store and I knew I should bring it home with me. It is absolutely ridiculous and I love it. Who made this? They need a raise immediately!

Before and after. Yawn!

 

The little ducks had orange beaks and for a quick minute I really wanted to put these 2 pieces together. That is crazy right? I was going quackers. (hahaha, I'm sorry. I couldn't help myself.)
 

I cut the sleeves and shoulder of the shirt away. I just wanted the body of the shirt. 

I used my serger to make sure all those cut edges didn't fray.

I pinned this yellow ribbon around the top of the shirt. I folded the shirt over on itself so that it would fit the ribbon.

 

 I sewed the ribbon to the top of the shirt. The ribbon is a fun pop of yellow.

I used the same ribbon to make shoulder straps. I sewed them in the front first. Then tried it on to make sure I had the length right before attaching the straps in back.

I thought this would be a sundress but it really looks like sleepwear. That is OK with me. I needed summer sleepwear. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 

Quack.

 

 ***Year End Update***- I wanted to wear this more than a nightgown so I made a tank top that I could wear during the day.

Men's Shirt to Flowy Jacket

 Hello readers. When I saw this colorful shirt I thought it was so fun. The colors seemed to complement this striped dress so well. I love pattern mixing, I wanted to wear them together. But the plaid shirt was so big, it really needed a little help.

Before and after. 

I saw this long flowy shirt and loved the look of this piece.

 

I knew I needed to draw the shirt in at the waist and give it a little shape. I needed elastic. I used 1/4 inch elastic. 

 

I added the elastic to the inside of the shirt. It makes a huge difference in the shape of the shirt/jacket. I wanted a high waist but you can sew the elastic at your true waist level or anywhere you like it best. 

 

I put my shirt right-side down on my sewing machine and used a zigzag stitch to attach the elastic. I stretched the elastic while I sewed it to the shirt. I used the stripes as my guide but you can mark the height you want your elastic with chalk or a pencil to make sure you sew your elastic where you want it to be.

 

Now that the body of the shirt is done, let's do something with the sleeves.  

 

I had 2 ideas for this. You could roll up the sleeves. If they need help staying rolled up you can pin them. You could use safety pins or something like these pin on buttons. 

 

They are great for jean and jackets but they would be great for these sleeves too. They go on and off easily, so you can unroll the sleeves later if you want. 

 

I have short arms and the sleeves felt a little too bulky like this. (If you have more normal length arms or even long arms, this would work much better for you than it did for me.) 

 

I wanted to remove some of the bulk of the sleeves so I gave these sleeves a big cut in half. I spread the sleeves flat and cut them at the same time so they would be symmetrical. 

 

I turned the cut edge into the sleeve twice and stitched it down. This was really simple but it made the new sleeve look nicely finished. 

 

I still wanted to roll up the sleeves a little but it looked less bulky on my arms now. The elastic around the waist of the shirt gave it a more flattering shape. It is still oversized but it isn't overwhelming. This is a lot of color and pattern though. 

Just in case that is too much color and pattern for you, here is a look at the shirt styled differently. I paired it with a plain white t-shirt dress. I like this look a lot too. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 

***Year End Update***- I just wore this outfit last week. The colors are like a serotonin boost.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Travel Wordrobe #8

  Hello Readers. I am going on a trip to England and I decided to coordinate my travel wardrobe. I am packing all new refashion projects and I will be posting about my journey and my outfit of the day along the way. This post is about a men's shirt. It was a nice linen and I thought the plaid was very sweet. 

Before and after.

 

I decided to cut the collar off and make a V shape.

 

 I used my serger on the edge and turned it under. I stitched it down to make a nice, neat neckline.

 

I also stitched the front closed at the bottom. I want it to stay closed if I wear it as a dress.

I can wear this as a short dress if it is warm or as a long shirt with jeans if it is cold. 

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

***Follow up review***

My trip was so much fun.- This shirt/tunic/dress was nice in the heat because it is linen. I also planned to use it as a beach cover-up.

***Year End Update- I wear this as a night shirt and a shirt ad a dress over leggings. It is all of those.

Travel Refashions #6

  Hello Readers. I am going on a trip to England and I decided to coordinate my travel wardrobe. I am packing all new refashion projects and I will be posting about my journey and my outfit of the day along the way. This post is about a men's shirt that I made into a fun peplum top. 

Before and after.

I look like a suburban dad at a BBQ.

 

 

I cut the length of the shirt. It was a little too long for me. 

 

I hemmed the shirt and added some narrow elastic around the waist.  This will pull the waist in and make that peplum shape. The bottom of the shirt will make a nice ruffle.
 

I used a seam ripper to open the sleeves. 

I put elastic in the sleeve cuff so it would make a puffed sleeve.

 

I tied a knot and tucked it back in the sleeve. I sewed the opening closed so it would stay together.

 

I cut the collar off and made a round neck. 

 

I used bias tape to make a casing and put elastic around the neck. I liked the new shape the top had. It will be great with jeans by itself or with a sweater if needed. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.
 

***Follow up review***

My trip was so much fun.- This was casual but not boring or frumpy. Perfect vacation wear.

***Year End Update- I loved this shirt and wore it to work one day in the summer. A woman (Customer) stopped to tell me in detail how much she liked it. That sounds nice but then she started telling me how she lived in Germany and how Hitler was so charismatic and that I should listen to how he spoke and I would hear it in his voice. It was super weird and creepy so I got the heck out of there as fast as I could. People are weird, I can't explain it. I haven't worn it since.

 

 

Button Down to Summer Dress

 Hello Readers. Let's do a "blue" refashion project. We are all in the thick of summer. If you are in the U.S. you have felt the heat wave that has crossed the nation by now. Ugh, it's too hot!! I have a "cool" refashion idea. 

 

Before and after.

This shirt seemed to be a men's extra large. I loved the tiny floral print. It reminded me of the "Little House on the Prairie" dresses at Target. I almost made one just for fun but I am not interested in wearing that style so I decided to make a dress I would like.

I tried the shirt on and marked how large I wanted the bodice of my dress to be. These 2 pencils are marking the places where I wanted to make new side seams. I marked it with chalk but it is hard to see in the photo. I also decided where to cut the bottom of the shirt off. I wanted a high waist on this dress so the bodice is not very long. Mine is approximately 14 inches.

Here is my new bodice with the sleeves cut off. The sleeves and arm holes were so large on me that I decided they needed to be removed and saved for a later day. 

Here is a better look at the main parts of my new dress. The skirt of the dress is the bottom of the shirt. I wanted the skirt of this dress to be as full as possible so I didn't alter the size of the skirt piece. Now I need to put these 2 pieces together.

I used my clips to make sure the skirt is spread out around the bodice. You could also sew them together loosely by hand and arrange the fabric evenly that way. I wanted to make some pleats so the clips worked for me. The next step is sewing these 2 pieces together with my sewing machine to make it strong and sturdy.

The final step was to finish the armholes. I wanted to make them nice and neat. There are so many ways to do this. This time I decided to add some eyelet lace trim to the armholes. Laura Ingalls Wilder would have approved of this lace I am sure. The lace coves the cut edge of the armhole and makes it look nicely finished.

I have worn this dress a lot since I made it. I didn't know I needed it until I had it ready to wear. 

It even went on vacation and played mini golf. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

*Year End Note From Chickie- This dress got a lot of wear this summer. It was perfect for summer.

A Classic White Shirt

 Hello Readers. I think Fall is here. There are leaves all over the ground and it is cooler and nicer outside. I love the change of seasons. I also love classic simple clothing that is easy to wear. A white button-down shirt is always fresh and stylish. But I didn't have one. (First world problem, I know.)

What I did have was this white shirt that my husband didn't want anymore. (He doesn't need to wear a shirt and tie to work anymore so he cleaned out his closet.) I really liked this simple white shirt.

This shirt was too big. The sleeves were too long. The whole shirt was too long to tuck in and is close to being a mini-dress. I can't wear a short dress to work so let's make this into a shirt that fits.

I did some re-fitting. I made the whole shirt shorter and made the body more narrow.

 I also made shorter more narrow sleeves. I wanted them 3/4 length. I removed the cuffs, shortened the sleeves and reattached the cuffs. The sleeves were roomy enough to make little box pleats on each sleeve.

The over all fit is so much better. The shorter sleeves make the shirt look a lot better. It looks like mine and not my husbands.

I can tuck the shirt in because it isn't so long anymore.

The jeans I wore with the white shirt are a refashion favorite.

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

And if you are in the US, please go vote!