The Cozy Sweatshirt Dress

Hello Readers. The leaves are falling off the trees and the days are getting shorter and cooler. There is nothing more cozy on a cool Autumn day than a big sweatshirt right? I have a great one right here.

My sister-in-law gave me this big gray sweatshirt/tunic/dress. (Thanks J.) It was a little bit too big and shapeless and of course the sleeves were too long. It wasn't very flattering on me. It looked a little like a baggy nightshirt. Some part of the dress needs to fit so it doesn't look so big.

I put it on my dress form and pinned a more flattering fit. It is easier to plan and pin a new shape on the dress form. (The dress form doesn't get upset when I stick it with pins.) It was going to be loose and comfortable but not quite as baggy when I was finished. At least I hoped so, it didn't have any stretch so it couldn't be too fitted.

I did some stitching where I had my pins and created new side seams that were more figure flattering. I wanted it to be smaller in the arms and chest. I made a A-line shape. I thought it would be a simple classic dress.

You can see the arms are shorter and tighter. The shoulders and chest are a little smaller too. I was sad to lose the pockets in my re-sizing work but they weren't really very large or useful anyway. Why don't women get large functional pockets in their clothes? Real pockets would be very helpful in my real life. I have stuff, I need to carry it.... I know, use a purse. I do, but pockets would be nice too.

I dressed it up here with a belt and some dressy boots but I can also imagine this with some leggings and a cozy scarf on a cold day. Now with 3/4 arms and more fitted shoulders, and chest fit, it looks much better. I didn't resize the bottom of the dress, I thought it was great the way it was.

(I think this will be perfect for lounging, watching Netflix, and snacking too. With no belt, this would be a great Thanksgiving dress.)

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

Refashioning a Refashion

Hello Readers. How are you today? Have you been refashioning lately? I like the constant change and creative fun of sewing. It doesn't always make sense but some of the things I make get worn over and over and sometimes, an item just doesn't get worn at all. I usually try and correct that by refashioning the piece again.

I made this gray top out of a big men's T-shirt. You can see how I made it here. I liked it when I made it but I didn't wear it often. I don't know why I didn't wear it, it just seemed to hang in the closet. It wasn't fair, it deserved to get out a little and have some fun.

Why didn't I wear this? I don't know. It was cute. I'm crazy.

I have had this skirt for a few years. I have always liked it. It is a heavy weight knit and it fits fine. It was very simple and classic. I like the heathered fabric. I decided to jazz it up a little by combining the shirt and skirt. 

I cut the ruffle off the bottom of the shirt. Snip, snip. It was done. I didn't have to worry about fraying because knits don't usually fray at all. 

I used my machine to stitch the ruffle on the bottom of the skirt. I can tuck the shirt in the skirt now with the ruffle removed. The ruffle at the bottom of the skirt is just fun. I am crazy about it. If at first you don't succeed (with the refashion) try, try again. Happy sewing to you, wherever you are today.

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

The Easy Way to Un-BeDazzle

Hello Readers. It is actually, finally getting cooler outside. I am going to need a light jacket. I found this cropped denim jacket for 25 cents. I thought it was a great little jacket. It was soft and broken in. The only problem was the gold studs on the pockets. It reminded me of the "BeDazzler" from the 90's. Do you remember the BeDazzler? (Click here to see the commercial.) It was a device that attached rhinestones and studs to clothes. A LOT of rhinestones and studs! The commercial will take you back to the 90's with its hairstyles too.

 I didn't really like the studs. I don't like a lot of sparkle or extra bling on my clothes. I thought a plain and simple look would be better for this jacket. It doesn't need a lot of extra "stuff" on it. So how would I take them off?

I decided to remove the flaps on the front pockets. That's right,  I just cut them off. I could have forced the studs off. I didn't want to fight with the studs so... I didn't. I think it looks fine without the flaps and it was fast and easy. I cut as close to the edge as I could to keep it looking neat. 

BOOM!, I was done. Or was I??????

Check out the back of this jacket! More gold studs, woo-hoo.

Party's over studs! I wrestled them off with these large kitchen shears. It only took a few minutes. It was a great way to blow off steam.

The back looks cleaner, better, simpler without the studs on it. You can see the tiny holes across the back but they don't look bad to me. The blend in really well with the fade pattern of the denim. And I like distressed denim anyway. I love this jacket and I am probably wearing it today. 

***  BONUS TRACK  ***

BELTS

I have been trying to make a couple thin belts to wear with jeans to smooth over the waistbands and front button. Sometimes the front button opening doesn't lay smooth. Could I make a belt? Well, I could try. I started with this piece of faux leather that I cut off the purse in the picture below.

I made the strip narrow enough to used the buckle I had in my collection of odd sewing stuff. 

I folded the edge over and stitched it down.

I also had a cotton belt that was bright orange. I got it at a clothes swap and it was in great shape but it was orange. I didn't really need an orange belt. I decided to dye it red. That would be easy, right?

Well, Here are both finished belts. The black belt doesn't look very impressive but it is nice and thin. It keeps the waistband of my jeans flat and smooth. The orange belt didn't become the scarlet red I thought it would. It is a very orangey red. Fabric dye is never an exact science. 

I still have some work to do to improve my belt making skills.

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

Pillows and Pajamas and Pictures, Oh My!

Hello Readers.  There are times when I have worked on small projects that don't seem worthy of an entire blog post of their own. I have a few of those to show you today. I am just going to put a few of them all together in this post.

*** PILLOWS ***

 The first project is a set of pillows my daughter made. Someone requested she turn two sweaters into pillows as mementos of her loved one. She cut two circles from the sweatshirt below and stitched them together to make a pillow with this cute tea applique on the front of the pillow. 

The sweatshirt was so soft that the edges looked a little lumpy after it was stuffed. She added this little green blanket stitch detail around the outer edge of the pillow. It was pretty and it made the edges look smoother. 

Here is the second pillow. It started as a pretty sweater. The center placket was very pretty and so it became a focal point of the pillow.

This one was a simple rectangle. The bottom edge of the sweater was a nice balance to the center design. These were a sweet way to honor and remember a special woman. It made me wish I had a sweater of my grandmom's to make into a pillow.

*** PAJAMAS ***

This quick project was just an emergency measure to prevent my son from taking his pajamas and diaper off when he went to bed. All of my kids eventually figured out how to take off their clothes and it is a serious problem. (A lot of mess can occur when toddlers take off their diaper. POOP!!!!!)

I took his footie pajamas and cut the feet off right below the elastic at the bottom of the legs. That way I could turn the pajama around and zip them up the back. He knows the zipper is back there but he can't reach it. They are just as comfortable as they were before and fit fine.

I am being honest when I say that I was serious about this. I did this to all the footie pajamas. If it is really hot I have cut the arms off the pajamas so they are short sleeved and cooler to wear. And if it is cold I would add socks and an undershirt. 

This solution has worked with all 3 of my kids. No more naked naps. No more terrible messes to clean up. 

*** PICTURES ***

This final project was large but not complicated. I have always spread my blog projects out on the floor for photos but it didn't always work well. I thought a white background would be better. I decided to make a white backdrop. It took a while to figure out how and where to do this. After a few failed ideas I used a king sized dust ruffle from my old bed and a white full sized sheet. I basically made a giant rectangle. 

I turned the top edge under and made a small pocket for a curtain rod. I hung my giant rectangle from a tension rod that I hung across a closet doorway. The closet light is a gentle back light. And the wide sides of the dust ruffle are spread out on each side to hide the walls. The fabric is long enough to come forward over the floor and cover the carpet. 

I can put my dress form or myself in front of the white background and hopefully the clothes will show more clearly in photos.

That is all for today. Thanks for reading, now go make something fun for yourself.

The Tight Red Dress

Hello Readers. How are you today? It is October but it feels like August around the DC area. It is very hot and humid. A skirt or dress is nice on hot days like this. I had a great orange-red colored dress. The color is perfect for this time of year. It makes me think of the leaves changing colors, beautiful scenery, bonfires, and pumpkins.

This dress didn't fit me very well, The full skirt was too long but fit great around the waist. The top of the dress was too tight. I couldn't make it button and it was not working on me like this.

I started by cutting the top off the dress. I kept the waist intact and left a little extra above it so I could fold it in and under. I stitched it down so it had a nice, neat, narrow waistband. The buttons in the center open and close to put the skirt on. The skirt is simple and full and classic. I was going to shorten it a little so it fit me but ....

I had my tall (So nice and tall.) daughter try it on and it was such a great fit for her, I decided not to shorten it. We turned the skirt around though. The buttons look better in the back and the plain back of the skirt is now the front. It made the front cleaner and simpler. 

How did my short self get such a tall daughter? I don't know. We are about the same size and weight but she is about 8 inches taller. (She is smarter and sweeter too.) It worked out perfectly for this skirt.

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

Too Much Turquoise

Hello Readers. I am a big fan of freebies, hand-me-downs, bargains, and the like. I never saw a clothes swap I didn't want to take a look at. For some reason I tend to gravitate to certain colors at certain times. I seem to collect different items of one color all at once. That happened with these turquoise things si I decided to put them all together. 

I had a basic knit top with white and turquoise feathers or ferns on it. (What do you think, feathers or ferns?) It was slightly cropped, it ended at my waist. I didn't wear it because if I raised my arms I was afraid my stomach would show. I don't show my stomach to anyone. It has survived 3 children and has so many stretch marks that looks like ground beef. But paler.... Anyhoo.....

I also had this ruffled blue dress. It had a lot of ruffles going on. Three tiers of ruffles is a lot to me. I decided to remove one ruffle and use it as trim for the shirt. I decided the entire ruffle was too wide  so, I cut a long thin strip of fabric. It has a finished edge that will look nice and neat attached to the bottom of my shirt.

It looked like a party streamer. I pinned it in place and used my machine to attach it inside the hem of the shirt.

I also had a pair of bright turquoise jeans. (I wasn't kidding when I said I had too much turquoise.) The jeans were cute. I love the bright color, but they were too long. And maybe it's just me but the jeans seemed too baggy from the knee down. I didn't want them super tight but they were fitted in the hips and thighs and then super loose everywhere else. I always thought my legs were normal but these jeans made me question if I had strangely extra skinny calves and if so, what was I supposed to do about it.

 I shortened them and made the calves a little smaller and tighter. 

I was finished and ready to go out in public. My stomach was covered and the jeans fit so much better.

Thanks for reading this blog, I truly appreciate it. Now, go make something fun for yourself.

The Easy Peplum Top

Hello Readers. This little gem of a dress was at a clothes swap a while back. It looks a little like a school uniform to me. There is nothing wrong with school uniforms but at the ripe old age of 45, that is not a great look for me. (I love all kinds of crazy funky styles but even I have my limits.)

 I loved the plaid fabric and I knew I could do something with this dress. It was in great condition and it fit well. It wasn't very exciting or sophisticated the way it was as a dress. I decided to make a shirt with a peplum at the bottom. 

I have to be honest, it was super simple. I just cut off the lower part of the dress. I thought the peplum should be about 4 inches long. I was just sort of guessing. I made a new hem at the bottom of the shirt so it would be nice and neat. And I ironed it. I hate to iron but sometimes it is a must. 

I liked the end result a lot. It was still a simple button down shirt but the peplum makes it so much more feminine and fun.

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