Sparkly Gold Formal.

  Hello Readers. It is Dressember 2024. I am wearing and refashioning dresses all month to participate in this fund raiser. This organization works to help the victims of human trafficking in the U.S. and around the world. Currently there are an estimated 27million victims around the world. Most of these victims are women and girls. That is why we wear dresses all month, to raise awareness of this issue. I will be wearing and refashioning dresses all month. Visit their website to learn more.

 It's New Year's Eve. Are you going out somewhere fancy or staying home? I am probably staying in this year but with this sparkly dress, I will be ready for a spontaneous night on the town.

 Before and after.

This dress was so pretty. I found it at an unusual thrift store located in a warehouse. I was on a road trip and stopped in. It was a diamond in the rough. 

It was just way too long. Even my highest heels couldn't fix this. It needed to be shortened.

 

I gave this dress a big cut to shorten it. 

 

The original hem was a visible and wavy lettuce leaf hem. I wanted to recreate that. 

 

I set my stitches as close together as I could and I gently stretched the fabric as I sewed. That would give me the look of the original hem. 

 

My dress was shorter but what about the fabric I had cut off. Let's use it. 

 

I had this piece from the hem. What if I made a shawl or wrap to go with my dress?

 

I sewed the cut edges together with the right sides facing each other. 

 

 I always like to use all the fabric and this was a great use. When I go to my next formal party I will be ready. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dresses For December Part 4, The Big Vest

Let's revisit a past refashion project.

Hello Readers. I am still refashioning dresses this month in honor of Dressember. You can go to Dressember.org to learn more about how they are fighting human trafficking and assisting victims as they begin new lives. What I read was eye-opening to me and I wanted to try to call attention to their work. 

 

 My project today began a big loose vest.

Is this a big vest? Or a sort of shawl? Whatever it is, I never wore it. It was soft and pretty but it was too big and it hung all over. I think on a tall woman this would look dramatic and elegant. On my 5' body it looked like a blanket. But I loved the design of it. The black and white make such a strong contrasting print.

 

I began by putting it on my dress form inside out and pinning it into a dress shape. You can see the pins in the pictures below if you look really close. I used my machine to stitch the two front sides together. This made a seam from the neck to the hem. That seam won't look very nice on the front of my dress though.

I turned the dress around and used the back as the front. That seam will be less noticeable in the back of the dress. I cut off the excess and tweaked the fit here and there. The length was a little on the short side.

I used some of that excess and cut thin strips to add to the bottom of the dress. It added a couple inches in length. That helped a lot.

Here is a look at the front and back of the dress. I tried to match up the design in the back but I couldn't get it perfect (That's OK!) and get the fit I wanted the dress to have. I wanted it to be comfortable and not too tight. I was happy with how it turned out. I was able to make a soft cowl neck at the top of this little sweater dress.

This was really fun to put together and to wear.

Thanks for reading, now go make yourself something fun.

Lovely Lilac Layers

 Hello Readers. The sun is shining and the flowers are in bloom. (Pollen is everywhere, I feel stuffy and congested.) It is spring for real. Spring is a great time to wear lovely dresses and enjoy the outdoors. (If your sinuses can take it.) I found this lovely lilac dress at a swap. (Free!) I loved the pastel color and the floral design. 

This dress fit pretty well but it was too long and too low cut. That is the story of my entire life so I knew what I needed to do. I needed to fill in the plunging neckline and I needed to shorten the skirt.

It was difficult to show in a photograph but the skirt had a shorter under layer. It came to my knees.  The outer layer was much longer and sheer. I thought it would look better on me if I shortened the outer layer to match the length of the under layer. I didn't alter or hem the under skirt.

I hemmed the raw cut edge of my new dress with a simple turned under hem. 

I made sure that the under skirt was fully covered by the outer layer.  

 What about that big sheer piece I cut off the bottom of the dress? It was a big rectangular shape but the fabric was very thin and soft. I hemmed the raw cut edge and I was done.

  

That rectangular piece made a perfect shawl. And...

The shawl was also perfect to wear around the neck and tucked into the front of the dress to provide more coverage in the front. 

 Cutting the extra fabric from the skirt of the dress solved all my problems with this dress. 

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

***Chickie's Year End Review-I still like this but I never reached for it again so I donated this set.

Shawl to Sweater

Hello Readers. I love the idea of a shawl. It can be warm and cozy but also dramatic and chic. But a shawl can be hard to wear if you are being active at home or on the go. So what could I do with this pretty blue shawl I found at a clothes swap?

 

 

This shawl was a beautiful aquamarine blue. I love this color. The shawl had a lettuce leaf hem all around. That wavy little hem really appealed to me. This shawl was a little big. It would be great if I was curled up with a book and a cup of tea. I rarely have time for that. Let's make this into a piece of clothing I can wear more and get more use from. 

 The back of the shawl was plain and looked ready for a refashion.

I started by using a sliver of soap to mark out a sweater shape. Could I make a cardigan style sweater?   I could try! Does it look lopsided? That is OK, the soap marks can be adjusted and will wash out easily.

After I made new side seams and cut the excess away, I had 4 little pieces leftover. You can see how much of that wavy lettuce leaf hem is there. What could I do with these pieces? I cut the wavy edges off and connected them all together.

I stitched all the edges together and had a long skinny belt shape. 

When I was done I had a cardigan shape and a tie for the waist. But did it look a little too much like a robe? I thought it did but that is OK too. Lounge wear is an important part of my wardrobe in 2021. I thought this new lounge sweater was perfect for feeling cozy.

I can also wear the sweater without the belt. It hangs open and looks more like a loose jacket or cardigan without the tie at the waist. 

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

* If you are tracking along with my zero cost refashion year, so far I am on track because it has all been free. 

***Chickie's Year End Review-I like this sweater because it is very soft. I wear it a lot at home when it gets chilly after dinner. Its not too heavy or hot.

Do You Want to Build a Snowman?

Hello Readers. You might be out shopping today since it is Black Friday here in the U.S. I avoid shopping in crowds so I am home decorating for Christmas. Here is an easy craft for you and maybe your kids to make.

Its a snowman!

 This snowman started as a white knit poncho. It became a little ghost at Halloween. I had him out on my front porch.

When I looked at him I thought he could be a cute little snowman. I left the head as it was. It is stuffed with plastic bags. 

I stuffed another section with plastic bags to make a round little snow belly. I tied the bottom closed with a big rubber band. I tucked the fringe up in the back so it didn't show.

I used my hot glue gun and added buttons down the belly. And I added a button nose. 

(Be careful it's HOT glue!)

 I used a scrap of fleece to make a tiny scarf for my snowman.

Here is my finished snowman. He is on my front porch ready to welcome visitors.

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

The Shawl Skirt

Hello Readers. Today's post is about a shawl. That is a really old fashioned sounding word isn't it? It makes you think of granny in a rocking chair on the porch. This shawl had a modern look, and bright cheerful colors but I still never wore it.

Check out this bright green and navy blue pattern. It's great. It was a soft, thick knit material. It needed to be worn and used, but I never wore it or used it. It just didn't suit my life of playing in the dirt with my toddler.

It had a sort of triangular shape when it was worn.

I unbuttoned it and put it on my dress form inside out and started pinning to make a skirt. That's right, I am making a wrap style skirt. I just had to make the waist fit well. I wanted a high waist because I think they look nice. I wanted to make sure the waist fit well to hold the skirt up because I wasn't going to add any elastic or make a real waistband.

Here is what I came up with. It was easy to work with and the knit had a nice stretch to it. That made it easy to fit and comfortable to wear. I thought I wanted a wrap skirt but I remembered that I hate wrap skirts. They blow open in the wind and flash everyone.

 (Yes, it happened to me at my old church and then we moved. True story.)

I stitched it closed to prevent it from opening up at all. It still looks like a wrap skirt but I can wear it without fear of embarrassing myself and flashing others.

This was quicker and easier than I thought it would be. And the knit is soft, warm, and cozy in chilly weather. I'm sure I will wear it as a skirt more often than I did as a shawl.

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

*Year end update- This skirt is still a favorite. It is soft and warm, bright and cheerful. What more could I want?