Lilly and the Pink Dress

Hello Readers. This post is all thanks to Lilly Pulitzer. That is the maker of these wild colorful pants I got at a clothes swap. I thought they were amazing.

 I had to fix the size of these pants a bit and I really needed a top to go with them. I didn't have anything in that lime green. (I don't know if I want a shirt in that color.) That coral pink was a great shade though, and I already had something I could use. This pink J.Crew dress has been sitting on the refashion rack for a couple years waiting for me to do something with it.

I tried to refashion this "Pink Ink Dress" back in 2017 but it didn't work out as I had planned. It had a spot on the front that was bleached and then "covered" with pink ink marks. It looked awful but now I was going to make it into a shirt.

I cut the skirt off the dress. I made a narrow casing and put elastic through it. I had some kind of strapless shirt. I thought I could make some kind of sleeves or straps from the top of the dress. I would work around the damaged spot and make a new shirt.

  

I cut the top into pieces and tried a couple of ideas that didn't work at all. I found that the elastic waistband was getting brittle and the neck was really warped. They were useless. I was thinking I would just wear a white t-shirt with these crazy pants and give up on this pink idea. Maybe this dress was cursed because nothing worked when I tried to refashion it 2 years ago either! 

After an emotional melt-down, I had the 2 pieces you see outlined in gray.

I finished the edges and I had 2 long narrow pieces of fabric. They were angled because they were from the shoulders of the dress. I didn't have anymore fabric so these had to work or I would have to give up.

I connected the ends to make 2 circles and added elastic that I cut off a fitted sheet. Yes, a sheet from a bed.

  

I connected these 2 little circles of fabric to the shirt to make some off-the-shoulder sleeves. You can see the pile of pink scraps left from the dress.

The Lilly Pulitzer pants were an easy fix after fighting with that pink dress. I made new side seams on each side of the pants. I made them more fitted and they were the right length already. The only downside to these pants is that they have no stretch. I like a little stretch for comfort but I made them roomy enough to make sure I could sit and eat lunch and still breathe.

 I like wild colorful clothes so these really appealed to me. They seemed bright and cheerful. And I was happy I made something wearable from that cursed pink dress.

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

***Year End update-  These crazy wild pants are so much fun to me. They can be dressed down and worn anywhere. The top was more of a special occasion top, not really a run to Walmart top. I have not won it as much.

Boxy and Blue

Hello Readers. Sometimes life gets busy but I always try to find time to do a little sewing. Today's refashion is a fast one but I really liked how it turned out. It started with this boxy blue dress from Land's End.

The dress was thick cotton pique. It was soft on the surface but it felt very stiff when I put it on. I didn't think I would want to wear a whole dress of this fabric. I also didn't like the shapeless style or placement of the waistband. It looked a little low on me. I really liked those shades of blue though.

 I decided a shirt would be better. I cut of the turquoise skirt off the dress but left a couple inches of the turquoise. I wanted to make band of trim at the waist that matched the neckline.

I turned the cut edge under and stitched it down. It was quick and easy to sew through this fabric. 

I like this shirt because its simple but the turquoise trim adds a little punch to it. It is still boxy but as a shirt, I liked it. 

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

***Year End update- I wore this a lot this summer and fall. It was perfect as a top.

The Little Black Dress with Puffed Sleeves

Hello Readers. I think a little black dress is always in style and appropriate for almost any occasion. A little black dress is simple and classic but this little black dress was not a winner. It was a boring, blah dress.

Here is the dress. It was too low in the front. That scoop neck was way too scooped. That's why I am wearing a shirt under it. It also just kind of hung on me. It had no fun or interesting details. It was putting me to sleep. This dress was as boring to me as "Moby Dick" was in school. (It was my least favorite book ever. Either catch the whale or don't. Just stop talking about it already.)

 The hem is coming out too!

I also had this shirt. It had cute details but it was too sheer. It needed a shirt under it or all of my chest would be on view. That isn't what I expected from a shirt. I like shirts that cover my body. Call me crazy, but that is what I want from a shirt. I don't want to be out flashing the goodies at everyone.

 I decided the best part of the shirt was the sheer polka-dot sleeves. The sheer shirt body was plain and seemed pretty useless. 

I cut the sleeves off and tried to make them a 3/4 length. I didn't measure, I just eyeballed it. I cut them at an angle so they would fit in the armholes of the dress.

I attached the sleeves to the sleeveless dress. The dress was stretchy so it helped to make the sleeves fit into the armholes. I like working with knits, they are just more cooperative than any other fabrics. 

The sleeves added some interest to this sleeveless dress. That was good because this dress was pretty boring. Look at those polka dots, they're so cute.

  

Here is what I did about the low neckline and the shapeless fit. I took some fabric out of the shoulders before I added the sleeves. It was an easy way to raise the neckline. I also took some fabric out of the sides and made new side seams. That means I lost the pockets.

This dress is still super stretchy and easy to wear but it isn't low and revealing in front and the sleeves fit right in with the dress like they have always been there. I think this dress would be a cute shirt too.

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

***Year End update-This is a classic to me.  I will keep this forever.

Save the Jewels!

Hello Readers. I found this brown knit dress at a clothes swap and loved the jewels around the neckline. The dress was too tight around the chest and the high/empire waist made me look pregnant. I couldn't wear it but, I really wanted to. It had jewels on it! It was shiny! It was sparkly!

The dress really needed a new top, the skirt was fine. I decided to use this big t-shirt for that. I could make it into whatever kind of top I wanted.

It doesn't look like it but, I was wearing shorts in this picture.

I started by cutting the top off the skirt. The skirt had a nice waistband already. That would be really handy. And the knit material wouldn't fray so I could just cut it off.

All I needed to do was make a small hole in the waistband, thread some elastic through, connect the elastic ends, and close the hole in the waistband. In no time I had a skirt.

I cut the entire collar piece off the dress. 

I used a favorite tank top as a guide and cut out a new tank from the green t-shirt. I thought green would work well with the jewels because some of them had a green tone to them.

Here is the tank top after I cut it out. I made new side seams first. The arm holes look rough but I turned them under, stitched them down, and they looked great.

Here is the finished tank top. The collar is sewn on the neckband of the shirt. It covers the original neckline of the t-shirt.

The skirt sits at my real waist now. I like that better.

  

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

***Year End update-  I love this shirt. I wear it all the time, even in winter. It is great to layer under a sweater. I like the skirt but I wear the shirt more.

The Zipper Vest

Hello Readers. This vest was the simplest of projects, it might take longer to explain than it did to make. This idea came from @trashtocouture on Instagram. She posted about this little vest with zipper straps and gave directions on how to copy it.

It all started with this big men's t-shirt I had handy. My shirt was thick gray cotton. A lighter weight material would probably work out just as good if not better because it would hang nicer. My philosophy is always, use whatever you have on hand or can scrounge for free.

 

I cut the body off, right under the sleeves. And there is the jacket zipper I used too. This zipper had metal teeth which will look cool on the vest.

I cut the shirt open so I had a big rectangle. It was going to be a big loose vest. And the zipper is going to act as shoulder straps.

 (Any rectangle of knit fabric would work, it doesn't have to be a t-shirt.)

I turned the gray shirt upside down so the finished hem was at the top of my new vest. I placed the zipper so that the open ends of the zipper were sewn into the front seams. The closed end of the zipper is centered at the top of the back of the vest.

 

I had an idea for the hemline. It involved cutting up this skirt for spare parts. (I didn't really like this peasant skirt but it had nice trim.)

 

This cotton lace at the bottom would be nice at the bottom off my vest.

 

Here is my vest with it's zipper straps and all the raw edges folded in and stitched down. It is basically a big box.

 

Trim close-up #1

What should I wear with the vest? I had some really awful shorts. They were a soft black  knit material, but they were so long on me it was ridiculous!

 

 I cut them off and immediately panicked because they seemed too short. That's OK, I had the trim from that black skirt.

 

Remember this one? I cut off the cotton trim that divided the tiers of the skirt.

It was a great way to finish the legs of the shorts without turning them under and making them shorter.

Trim close-up #2

I thought if I put the shorts with  a black tank I already had, it would look a little like a one piece romper. 

And  it would be a good backdrop for my zipper vest.

Here is my vest at the farmers market. The prices were great and they gave my little guy a lollypop. It made his day. 

 

Thanks for reading along, and thanks to @trashtocouture for this idea. Her vest was a little different so you might want to check hers out.

***Year End update-  I still like this vest but @trashtocouture did a better job with hers, go check her out.