In The Pink 2

Hello Readers. I had a few pink items waiting to be refashioned so, I am working on them one after another. Today's items were 2 shirts that were just not wearable for me. They were pretty but...

SHIRT 1

Why were they unwearable Chickie? Surely you could wear them somewhere. No. This shirt is just too weird. It is made of 2 layers. The blue underneath is a simple knit material. This outer layer is gorgeous but it is in separate panels. And yes they do fly up and flap around like a bird when you are walking around.

Yes, the back panel flys around too. I don't want to walk around with these pieces of material flying up at me all the time. It just makes me uncomfortable. If I am cooking dinner will they fly up catch on fire? With my luck, they probably will. I don't need this kind of danger in my life.

The first thing I did was to connect all the panels and it made normal looking shirt.

I cut the body of the shirt off the top of the shirt. I had the blue layer and the patterned layer. They are both finished at the hem so they will make a fast skirt.

I attached the two layers to the outside of a simple elastic waistband. I pinned it all in place and then stitched it down with a zigzag stitch. I wanted to cover those raw cut edges and make sure it had a little give around the elastic..

Then I turned the elastic in so it was totally covered with the skirt fabric. I tacked it down so it could not flip around.

SHIRT 2

This pink shirt is long like a tunic but it is also really full. Like really super full. It would be great over leggings. But it is so full and loose at the bottom that if you bend over to attend to your child (Or wrestle him into the doctor's office.) it will drag on the ground and flash everyone. Don't ask how I know, I just know.

Dark photo 1

I cut the entire hem off. I am going to use it somewhere else. I also cut the shirt in a straight shape. I saved those triangle pieces too. I have a plan for these pink scraps. You can see them next time.

Dark photo 2

Here is an unedited picture of this great outfit. My husband took this when I was making faces at him. And a nicer shot of this outfit. It is fun and easy going, two things I always want to be.

 

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

*Year end update- This shirt and skirt are still favorites. The colors are so pretty to me.

In The Pink

Hello Readers. I managed to collect a lot of pink clothing that needed to be refashioned. I always seem to end up with a lot of one color at one time. I don't know how I did it, but here's the first pink outfit.

It all began with these pink jeans. I really love this blush pink color. The fit was not great on these jeans but that's fine, I can fix that. I also the pretty ombre pink shirt in the picture above. I loved the colors but it is very sheer. It drives me crazy when clothes need other clothes because they are COMPLETELY SEE-THRU! Anyway....I also had this darker pink t-shirt that was loose and baggy. It was a great color but it didn't fit under the sheer top like this. 

I started work on the jeans first. I wanted skinny jeans with some distressing in the legs. I thought they would be cute and casual for summer. And the distressing would make the jeans more comfortable in the summer heat too. Those rips and holes are like air-conditioning right? I used various kitchen items and some scissors to tear and scratch holes in my pink jeans.

I also noticed that the back pockets were very low set. Half of the pockets were on my upper thighs, that's how low the pockets were. I didn't take a picture of my backside in the jeans.(It's not that kind of blog.) I unpicked the pockets, placed them higher, and stitched over the old stitch marks. I couldn't really get them any higher than this unless I attached them to the yolk at the top of the jeans. The pocket below on the left is in it's original place. The pocket below on the right has been moved up. The old stitch marks will fade away in the wash.

I made the legs more narrow and shorter, and washed them so the distressing would fray and they would be ready to wear.

I got to work on the t-shirt. I wanted to make a tank top shirt with a high neckline. Why the high neck? I am tired of everything being so low cut that it's like a cleavage show. I wanted a fitted cami to wear under the sheer top but every cami I find is way too low cut. It feels like half my chest is coming out the top. Why even wear the cami if it isn't going to cover anything? (Is it just me?)

I cut the sleeves off the t-shirt and kept the neck band in place. I wanted it to be fitted under that sheer top, so I made the shirt more narrow and stitched new side seams too.

I stitched the cut edges of the new arm holes under and I was done.

I was happy with the new look. I liked the fitted shirt under the loose sheer top. And the pink jeans are a new favorite for sure!

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

*Year end update- I love these pink jeans SO much. I wear them in the winter because I love the color. The shirts ended up in my daughters closet. I don't mind sharing.

I Almost Made a Cowgirl Dress

Hello Readers. I really tried to make a dress, but it didn't work out like I planned.

 (That's life, right?) You can see the final results for yourself. 

 

I started with this plaid men's shirt. It was big and baggy, it seemed like it would be long enough to be a dress at first. It was not long enough, I just didn't realize it yet.

 It also looks like I have lost an arm. I don't know what happened in this picture, I still have my arm.

 I put the plaid shirt on my dress form inside out and started pinning to make it fit better. I made new side seams with my sewing machine.

 

 I also had this white eyelet lace sundress. I wanted to use the ruffle at the bottom to make the shirt long enough for a dress. I was sure this would be a successful plan. I was sure it would be quick and easy too.

 This ruffle was a bad idea. It took a long time for me to realize this as well.

Here is a look at my "dress". I really didn't like it very much. It was looking a little too cowgirl. I just needed some boots and a lasso to start roping a calf. I decided to remove the sleeves thinking that would help. I cut the sleeves off at the shoulder seam. I turned it under and stitched the new armhole down.

 

I also thought I needed a little lace at the top somewhere to tie in with the bottom hem of this dress. I attached this lace to the front pockets. Did that help at all? I still wasn't thrilled. 

the shoulders look huge, and I started to see that the dress idea wasn't going to work. I would never wear this dress anywhere. It looks like a rodeo costume. That would be OK, if I was at a rodeo.

I don't like to give up so I kept working. I made the shoulders a little smaller and I made the dress into a shirt with a smaller ruffle at the bottom. It is still made of all the same materials but there would be less of them. Maybe it would look less like I was in a wild west costume if it was just a shirt? It was at this point that I realized the ruffle was the problem. 

That ruffle had to go. I cut it off and made a new hem.

Here is my new shirt. I like it so much more with the ruffle cut off. As a shirt it has a little western/plaid flair to it but it isn't as overwhelming. Simple is usually better. I need to try to remember that.

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

*Year end update- I love how this shirt turned out. The fit was great and I wore it a lot in the summer.

Refashioning a Men's Dress Shirt

Hello Readers. There are so many things you could make from a men's dress shirt. Here is one idea for you.

I started with this dress shirt my husband didn't want anymore. I like blue a lot so I took it. It was big and baggy so I had a lot of fabric to play with. A classic button-down shirt is always great but I wanted to make something more feminine with this blue shirt.

I cut the body out of the shirt. I wanted a smaller straight shape. I connected the sides and made a casing at the top for elastic. It sounds like a strapless top, but hold on, we're not done yet.

I also cut the lower half of the sleeves off too. I made a casing at the top of the sleeves and put elastic in it. Why did I do this? Because arm coverage is nice when you don't have any muscle definition in your arms. (Like really, I have none, but that's not your problem.)

I attached the sleeves to the body. It made a strapless off the shoulder top. I have told you before, I don't trust strapless tops very much. (Spoiler Alert: Gravity always wins.) I made some narrow straps from the extra sleeve fabric. I feel much better knowing that my shirt won't fall down.

  

I used my machine to attach the straps to the top of the shirt. Up until now I had thought of making a dress but I realized it was way too short. I could have kept this as a long tunic style shirt.

 Or I could shorten it to hip length.

As you can see I went shorter and made this shirt hip length. It would be a great shirt for warm sunny days. I haven't had any sun recently. It has been all clouds and rain.I know the sun will come out eventually, I am ready.

  

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

*Year end update- I still love this shirt. It's unlike any of my other shirts.It's not great for winter sp it is put away until warm weather returns.

Practicing Stitches and Going to Sleep

Hello Readers. I wanted to learn and practice some embroidery stitches and this big silk shirt seemed like a good thing to practice on.

This started as a silk men's dress shirt. It was very large on me but I had to save it. It has been around for quite a while but the silk was too soft to let it go. I cant wear it with my arms all tangled up in these sleeves. The biggest problem with this big shirt was the huge sleeves. They are going to need drastic alterations.

Or maybe I could just cut them off. HA HA! Sometimes it is easier to remove a problem completely rather than fix it. (Hidden life advice!) I also cut the collar off too. I had a nice simple sleeveless nightshirt now.

I could just use my sewing machine to finish these cut edges but I also wanted to add some decorative stitches to the neck and arm holes to make it a little prettier and more finished. I have never done embroidery before so I watched a video about different embroidery stitches. I used the blanket stitch.

I don't really know why I chose that, this is not a blanket, but I did.

I was ready to go to sleep in a nightshirt theat is softer than a cloud made from angel hair and pure joy. This is the softest sleepwear I have ever had. I am so glad I made this into a nightshirt! It is really lightweight and breathable, so it will be great for summertime.

Yes, I always wear this mask over my eyes at night. It really helps me sleep.

Thanks for reading, now go make something fun for yourself. Sweet dreams!

*Year end update- I wore this nightshirt so many times in the summer, it was perfect for warm nights. It isn't great in winter so it is put away.

Making Pillows

Hello Readers. Today's project started as a spectacular shirt covered with dogs.

***   PILLOW 1   ***

Seriously, check out this material. I assume the dog is out enjoying the great outdoors and hunting the ducks? This just isn't my style. What should I do with this shirt? I have been thinking about this for quite a while. Even if this shirt fit well, I wouldn't really want to wear it.

I realized there was someone that would like this shirt a lot. I needed to alter it for them. I started by removing the collar. I had come up with an idea for that collar. I also removed one cuff. I was going to need that too.

 

I made the cuff a little more narrow and used it as a connector to connect the collar together in the front. I needed the collar to fit a really big neck.

 Here is the guy who is going to wear his collar. I turned the shirt inside out and sewed it into a square shape. The buttons let me open it and stuff a pillow inside. Every dog needs a pillow right? He has never caught a duck but he would if he could. He can't, he's slow and lazy.

 

 Here you can see how much he loves his new dress-up collar and his new pillow. He always looks a little depressed but he really liked it when I put the pillow down and let him rest his big head on it.

 I like how the pillow stays on but can be removed and washed.

 

You can see the collar here. He looks like a sharp dressed dog. The cuff had a button and button hole already sp it is a perfect way to make the collar big enough for K.C. the Wonder Dog.

***   PILLOW 2   ***

This second pillow started as a small curtain. I hung it up so you could see it. I liked this fabric a lot but I didn't need a curtain. I thought I could turn this into a pillow instead.

I folded the curtain over and onto itself so that I was making a tube. I then closed up one open end.

Here is my pillow form. It will go inside of the curtain pillow.

Here is my pillow after I stitched the final edge closed. I stitched around the edge twice to make it strong and to make it look nicely finished.

The blue, white and yellow fabric matched my family room. This new pillow fit right in. It is comfortable for lounging, and we all need to lounge right?

Now my dog and I both have a pillow. Thanks for reading, now go make something fun for yourself. Or your dog.

*Year end update- These pillows are still being used. My dog loves his pillow. Actually he loves any pillow.