Blue Overload

 Hello Readers. It is possible that you are snowed in. It seems like most of the U.S. is in some sort of arctic blast right now. (Unless you are in Hawaii, you guys are enjoying some warm sun.) If someday I get dressed and go out, I have a great jacket to wear.

 

This jacket looks like a fairly normal blazer. I loved the blue color, it was a wonderful jewel tone.

 Here is where things got fun you guys. It is SUPER stretchy. This was great news for me. I love stretch in my clothes. It makes everything more comfortable. Everything should have a little stretch to it! But what is happening inside the jacket? It has a built in tank top? But why? That is a lot of bright blue velvet. Blue velour? Whatever it is, it's not great. Even I have my limits. This seemed like too much. It really limits any mixing and matching with other tops. I don't like that at all.

 

My first step was to remove the tank top. I just wanted the jacket. The tank top had to go. Buh-Bye!

 

The next step was to get the shoulder pads out too. I don't really like them. They are a little too big and I feel like a football player in them.

 

Here is what I removed. It is the complete front of a shirt. It has darts and everything. It would be a great shirt on its own. If only it had a back.

 

When I was done I had a great jacket that is SO comfortable and cozy.

 

The sleeves can be pushed up which gives it a more casual vibe. And when I open it, I can have a regular shirt under it. No more blue-on-blue overload!

 

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

***Chickie's Year End Review-I love this blue blazer jacket. It is stretchy and feels like a sweatshirt. Love it.

Wearing My Heart on My Sleeve

Hello Readers. Today is Valentine's Day. I wanted to do something special for the holiday but I didn't want something so over-the-top that I couldn't wear at other times of year too. Here is my solution, a jacket with heart shaped elbow patches. Get it, I'm wearing my heart on my sleeve. Well, 2 hearts on my sleeves. I also altered these red velvet jeans because who doesn't need some red velvet.

So, let's start with the jacket. This is a wool jacket but it felt more like a heavy sweater. It was cozy and really warm. My sister-in-law gave it to me. I think she put it in the wash by mistake. When you wash wool it shrinks of course but it also becomes thick and the material doesn't fray when you cut it. It is really fun to work with. Some people cut up washed wool sweaters to make bags, slippers, and other things. The first thing I did was iron this jacket the best that I could. It was very thick but it looked a lot better when it was pressed.

My next step was to cut out 2 red hearts from some scrap fabric and I stitched them on by hand. I had already tried the jacket on and figured out wear my elbows would be. It didn't take long to do the hand sewing.

You can see the elbow patch here. It brightens up the jacket nicely but is not overwhelmingly with red hearts and valentines.

 

I resized the jacket a little so it would be more fitted. I thought it would be more flattering if it had a more fitted style.

These red velvet pants are cut like jeans. They have back pockets and a zipper fly just like a pair of denim jeans. They also have so much stretch that they feel like sweat pants. This is a win-win if you ask me. They were a couple sizes to big and also too long on me. I made new side seams and gave them a new shorter hem. I kept the bootleg fit, I just made it smaller.

Here is my complete Valentine's Day outfit. It is perfect for the day but I can wear these pieces separately too.

Thanks for reading, and Happy Valentine's Day to you!

*Year end update- I wear these red jeans a lot. They are great for almost anything. The jacket is very warm so it only comes out on very cold days.