Make More From a Shirt 2

 Hello Readers. I am not a huge fan of button-down shirts. They are usually stiff and feel confining. And I need to be free! So, I cut one into pieces and made better use of it. Let me show you.

Before and after.

This shirt was fine but I never wore it. I decided to make some other things from it.

I made a dickie yesterday.

After I cut the dickie out of the shirt I had plenty of shirt left over. I cut off the bottom of the shirt. I wanted to get rid of the shoulders and sleeves.

I also wanted to add some elastic to the top of this piece to get a waistband. This is going to be sort of a skirt.

I made sure the elastic was the size for my waist and I stitched it to the top of the skirt piece.

This is the finished "skirt".

If I were to wear just the skirt with the dickie it looks crazy but that wasn't what I wanted to do.

I wanted to wear these 2 pieces under other clothes.

I like the shirt cut up and worn under casual or dressy clothes.

This would be so comfortable and fun for a holiday party. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

***Year End Update- This skirt piece is great over leggings. I like it that way.

Odds & Ends I Found in the Sewing Pile

 Hello Readers. I do a lot of sewing and refashion projects and sometimes I cut clothes apart. I save the pieces for later. I can be forgetful and when I find the piece later I am always surprised.

Cleaning out my sewing stash led me to these gems.

 This cotton skirt was very classic in shape and style. I liked it immediately.

 

It seemed to be cut off a dress. I has some trouble remembering what happened to the top of the dress but the skirt was great. It just had a rough cut edge that needed to be finished.
 

I used my serger to keep that cut edge from fraying more. A zigzag stitch would also work well for this.
 

 There wasn't much length to work with. I turned that serged edge under and stitched it down with my sewing machine.

 

The skirt had a 1/2 inch waistband now. It wasn't wide but it seemed to work well. It has buttons down the front to get it on and off. That fix at the waistband was all this skirt needed. How long has it been waiting to be fixed? (I hate to think.) 

 

I also found this slip dress in the refashion stash. I wasn't sure when I had picked it up or where I got it. I loved the copper color. The top button loop was broken so I would need to fix that.

 

 I decided to sew the V-neck closed. It would feel more secure that way. 

 

The arm holes were too low on me. Half my bra would be hanging out with it like this.

I decided to fix that problem by shortening the straps from the back. I opened the back, shortened the middle...

...and sewed it shut again.

 

Fixing the dress in the back was easy and the arm hole is much higher now. The fit is much better.

The slip dress is the perfect slip under this cotton skirt. 

 These 2 really work well with each other. I added a sweater to keep warm. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

***Year End Update- I loved these pieces and wore them but they are both very thin and are better for warm weather. It is cold and wet here in fall and winter.

Resize a Knit Skirt in Minutes

 Hello Readers. I found this Marvel comic skirt when I was out thrifting. It was half price and I couldn't resist it. It was so colorful and fun. It was also stretchy so I thought it would be comfortable too. I knew the knit material would make it easy to alter and the stretch would make getting the size right easier too. This is an easy project for a beginner sewist.

Before and after.

I did love the Marvel movies and these graphics were really appealing. The semi-thick knit material would be easy to work with. (Extremely thin knits can be more difficult.)

I came home and washed this skirt. I tried it on and it just did not fit well. It was too loose at the waist. I liked the fit in the hips and I liked the length. I clipped and pinned the skirt so I could see where I needed to change it and how much I needed to change it. It is always best to try things on and see exactly how they fit.

I cut off the excess fabric on the sides. I left about 1/4 inch seam allowance. The waist needed about an inch removed from each side and I tapered the cut as I went down the sides of the skirt. I cut out a triangular shaped piece from each side. I made my cuts right at the existing side seams.

I used my serger to sew these new side seams. I like to use the serger because it sews very smoothly. 

If you do not have a serger you can still do this by using the zigzag stitch on your sewing machine. Let the machine do the work of moving the fabric through. Do not push or pull the fabric. This will give you the best results and the smoothest seam.

The serger leaves a tail of threads so I used a needle to tuck those threads back into the seam. I tucked the threads under the stitches to keep the seam nice and neat inside the skirt.

 

Here is a look at a side seam. It looks just like the original seam.
 

This skirt was done in no time. It only took me about 10-15 minutes to try it on, cut it, and sew new side seams. It is so fun and the fabric is so soft. I love it. Stretch fabric makes it easier to get a comfortable fit because it can give a little if it gets too tight.

 I couldn't wear this to work but I quit that job so I can wear whatever I want! I wore this and went to the library to check out some mystery books. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

***Year End Update- This skirt is so fun. I love it. I wore it until cold weather.

An Easy Elastic Waist Skirt

 Hello Readers. My daughter gave me this fabulous sewing machine fabric. It was part of a mystery box from Mood Fabrics. She didn't want it. Can you believe that?? The piece was a rectangle 52" by 24". The shape seemed like it would make a quick and easy skirt. I love to wear skirts in warm weather so I went with that idea.

I sewed a skirt of sewing machines!

This fabric was so cool. It had old vintage machines and newer models too. 

I serged all the edges because it was fraying a little.

I ironed the edge down so I could hem it smoothly. I also connected the 2 sides of my rectangle to make a tube shape. That was the basis my skirt. But it needed a waistband.

 

I wanted a comfortable cozy waistband so elastic was the way to go. 

 

My new skirt was done. 

 

I liked everything about it especially the stretch waist. I can eat as many cookies as I want and it won't get too tight. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

 

***Year End Update- This sewing fabric is always going to be a favorite and it made a great skirt that goes with  a lot. 

 

 

 

A Tight Dress Refashion

 Hello Readers. Sometimes our clothes get too small. (I blame Covid. I didn't catch Covid, I am just blaming it for my snack habits. ) This dress was just too tight and it had NO stretch. It was really uncomfortable so it was perfect for cutting up and using for parts. Let's refashion this!

 

Before and after. 

 

The pattern of the fabric really hides how tight and uncomfortable this dress was. It needed a change. 

I cut the top off the dress and left about 1/4 inch extra above the waistband.

I used my serger to deal with the raw cut edge. It already had a built in elastic waistband. (Yay for elastic!) I folded that edge in and stitched it down. Easy-Peasy! A new skirt. 

I used a men's t-shirt to cut out a t-shirt for me. I just cut a basic boxy shape with short cap sleeves. I used a shirt I had as a pattern to guide my cutting.

I used my serger to connect the sides and shoulder seams.

The dress had a belt and that is what I wanted to use to finish the ends of the sleeves. 

I also cut the pockets off the dress. I ironed the fabric around the pocket under.

I attached one pocket and the slippery acetate fabric was getting on my last nerve. I was starting to hate this shirt and wanted to give up. I looked at the second pocket and said, "Forget You!" One difficult pocket was plenty. I used the neckline ribbing that was on the shirt originally to finish the neckline. I was forcing myself to finished this outfit because unfinished projects drive me crazy.

I finished and added a belt. The belt did not make me feel any better. I decided to walk away for a few days and got busy with other work stuff. 

I tried the outfit on to take a picture and see how I felt about the whole thing. How did I feel? I felt pretty good at this point but its not my favorite. What do you think? Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 

*Year End Note From Chickie- This was a great fix for a tight dress. I love wearing a skirt and t-shirt in warm weather. I can't waist for winter to be finished.