Thrift Finds

 Hello Readers. I love thrifting but not everything fits perfectly. That's how it is. I liked these brown pants so much but the length is longer than I expected. Let's make a quick hem so these pants fit better. 

 

New pants, same short legs. 

 

I found these pants at my favorite thrift store. I like the shade of brown and the zebra stripes were fun too. The fabric was loose and light cotton. The only problem was that were just too long.  

I cut off about 6 inches of length. That were really too long. 

 

I turned the edge under twice and made a small narrow hem. 

 

Sometimes simple sewing is all you need to make thrift store clothes work. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.
 

 

 

Very Easy Vogue 9181

 Hello Readers. I made some new dress pants using the Very Easy Vogue 9181 pattern. They seemed simple and had a straight leg shape that I liked. I also had some fabric I wanted to use and this seemed like the perfect choice. Let me show you how it went. Spoiler- It's a great pattern.

New pants! 

Here is a look at the fabric. It was pretty floral pattern. I liked both sides but I think that the blue was the "right" side. It looks like denim but is a bit lighter weight. 

I cut my pattern pieces and fabric out and had high hopes for this pattern. 

 

I had the pant legs and waist band ready to sew together in no time. 

 

This is a look at the pants sewn together. This is the inside, wrong side of the fabric, the yellow side is pretty too though. 

 

I put the waistband together. 

 

I attached the waistband to the pants and stitched the seam down flat. 

 

Here is a look at my finished pants. This was good practice for me because I had to put in a zipper. Zippers are intimidating to me but it went well. Do they look really long? 

 

Yikes, they were way too long. I cut them shorter and made a hem on each leg.

 

I liked the pants a lot. This was a great pattern. They are great by themselves but I will be back tomorrow to tell you about the matching vest I made. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Vintage Bike Shirt

Hello Readers. June 3rd is "World Bike Day". It seemed like a good time to re-post this shirt from 2019. It had vintage bikes all over and was so cute.

I was inspired by this peach shirt. It doesn't look very special so why did I like this shirt?

 

It didn't look like much from far away. It was a little too baggy to wear to work and the 3/4 length sleeves were almost to my wrists. It needed some help. 

And the pants? They almost fit at the waist but the length was out of control.

I loved this shirt because of the print. There were polka dots and these fabulous vintage bikes. I love vintage bikes!

I have a couple. My sister-in-law gave me one that actually folds in half. The other I got from the side of the road. It had a sign on it that said free. When I stopped my car a lady came out of her house and told me to please take it. I love them both.

I looked at the original shirt and decided that I wanted shorter sleeves. It is really hot outside. August is always super hot.

I took the sides in so the fit would be less baggy and I made short sleeves.

The short sleeves seemed a little plain.

 

 I added a button from the original cuff and pinched the sleeve together to gather the sleeve up a little bit.

Here are the pants my daughter gave me. They would be great for work. I decided to make another pair of cropped pants to survive the summer heat. My daughter told me to put them on inside out so she could pin them for me. Look how much extra fabric there was! She laughed and laughed while she pinned the hem for me. Then she stuck me with a pin.

I took them in just a little and I made them much shorter.

This was a great summer outfit for work. It looks like I am showing of my bicep but I am just pointing to the sleeve. My biceps are nothing I want to really point out to anyone.

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

***Year End update-  I thought of this as a summer shirt but I wore it in winter under a sweater. The little bikes are so cute. I love it.

Simplicity 1165 Pant

 Hello Readers. It's Me-Made-May! That means wearing and sharing about the clothes you have made. I made these tapered pants a few days ago. The pattern was easy to follow and they have pockets!! This pattern was Simplicity 1165. It also had a shorts pattern included as well as the pants..

Before and after.

When I saw this pattern the pants on the model reminded me of this fabric I had in my stash. I had just barely enough to make these pants. I always seem to have just enough but no more.

I had to iron and cut out my paper pattern pieces so I could cut the fabric pieces accurately. 

 

I used my serger to put most of this together. This fabric would fray inside and the seams would be messy. I tried them on as soon as the legs were connected. I wanted to see how they fit before I put the waistband on. I am glad I did because the waist was way too big. The hips fit well so I was able to take the waist in a little before I put the waistband on. 

The waistband was elastic and the pattern had a classic casing. 

Clearly I had to shorten the legs. If I had measured how long the pattern legs were in comparison to my legs I could have adjusted them earlier. That's OK. I cut some of this length off and hemmed them. 

I liked how the pants turned out and I am excited to make more things for Me-Made-May. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

***Year End Update- These were so fun and I love the colors. They were light and more appropriate for warmer weather. It is too cold for these now.

 

 

 

Fix a Wide Neckline

 Dear Readers. Do you have any weird fitting clothes in your closet? Sometimes things just don't seem to look right or feel right when you wear them. This orange shirt was one of those items. I loved the orange color, but the shirt just didn't fit in a way I liked.

 Before and after.

 

This orange color is so warm and cheerful What's not to love? The weird neckline. I didn't love it. I had an idea to fix it though. 

I wanted to use this silk ribbon to keep the shirt from falling off my shoulders. I have been waiting a long time to use this piece of ribbon. I save everything because eventually I will find a way to use it. Today was the day for this ribbon.

The new shirt was bright and fun and unique with the addition of the ribbon. I just needed some bright, fun and unique pants to go with it.

 

The fabric was so pretty but they are miles too long.

 

I needed to cut off a few inches to make these pants fit better. I turned the cut edge under twice and stitched it down with  straight stitch.

 

My daughter gave these pants to me and they are so wild and colorful. I couldn't resist. They just needed a hem because I am super short. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

*Year End Note From Chickie- I loved these pants but they didn't seem right for winter. They will come back in spring for sure.  

Cut Your Jumpsuit in 2

 Hello Readers. I found this cool jumpsuit at a clothes swap. I really do love a jumpsuit. This one had tiny flowers on it so it went really well with my florals in April theme.

Before and after. 

This jumpsuit was fine as it was but I had an idea. The top would make a cute but quick bustier top. They seem to be all over Instagram so I wanted to try and create one for myself. But I wanted to create it quick and easy. This was my chance. 

I cut the top off the jumpsuit. You can see in the picture that I cut the top fully off the pants. I kept all the seams intact. I cut as close the bottom of the waist seam as I could. The stitching of the seam will keep it from fraying and falling apart but...

 

To be sure it stays looking nice I used a zigzag stitch along that bottom edge. The zigzag stitching along the edge will keep it all together with absolutely no fraying. I used black thread to make sure it blended in. 

 

What about these pants? They have no waistband so I need to fix that. Where could I find a waistband?

 

I cut the waistband off these jeans. The waistband is just the right color for these pants and I love elastic waistbands. (I am getting old. I just want to to be comfortable.)

 

*Inside view.*

I used my serger to keep the layers of the waistband together. Then I used a zigzag stitch in black to connect the pants to the waistband. I put the right sides together and zigzag-ed all the way around the waist.

 

 *Outside view.*

The waistband is soft and works perfectly for these pants. The waistband was so stretchy it fit these pants well. All my stitching is hidden inside the pants.

 

I can wear the 2 pieces together and it still looks like a jumpsuit. 

 

I can also wear the pants by themselves with a different shirt. 

 

 And I can wear the bustier top without the pants and with a different top underneath. I liked this look because I was more covered on my shoulders and arms. I have more to say about the blouse I am wearing under the bustier top in this picture. Come back for the next post to see more. See you then. 

*Year End Note From Chickie- I loved both these pieces so much and I gave them to my daughter.