The Black Beaded Skirt?

Hello Readers. Look at this beautiful linen skirt I found at a clothes swap. I fell in love with that bead work. And I always love basic black.

The skirt was a little too big. I thought about taking it in on the sides so it would fit better. It would still be so long on me I didn't think that would work. And there was no way I was going to cut into that beading to make a new hem. I had to find a way to make this skirt wearable without hurting even one bead! Look at the beads!

  

*No beads were harmed during this refashion.

 

The only idea I had was to make a dress. Could I make a dress? I could try! I started by adding straps made of some black grosgrain ribbon I had on hand. That was good but the body of my new dress was really shapeless.

I thought adding a sash in the back would create some shape and make it look more like a dress. I liked it but the top was really baggy on the sides as you can see. This makes sense because the skirt was cut to fit some hips and backside in that area. I tried to make it fit closer without being tight. The skirt had NO stretch, it had to stay loose fitting.

I turned it inside out and removed some of that excess fabric. I removed more than you see here, but this photo shows the Lego toys my little guy was playing with as he "helped" me with my sewing.

There was a zipper in the back so I folded the sides in and made a deep V in the back. This gave me room to get in and out and it looked so elegant. I loved it. There was problem with this, how would I wear a bra with this low back? I didn't have an answer. 

(I am 47 y'all, I am not going bra-less!)

I also closed the slit down at the hem. It made it easier to walk when this was a skirt but now it was dangerously high cut.

I added a small piece of stretchy black material to fill in the V. I thought this would cover my back and let me get in and out. It didn't look nearly as good though. It pulled and felt uncomfortable. The back of the dress was sooth and flat before I added this extra piece.

 This picture is overexposed so you can see the added piece of fabric.

I love this dress, and I will remove the stretch piece. I can wear the dress over a fitted T-shirt. It would have a casual vibe to it and I could wear normal undergarments. That's a win-win!

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

 ***Year End update-I loved the way this looked with the open back. I put it away for winter but I still like it.

The Dingy Dress

Hello Readers. I made a skirt and covered containers from this colorful dress. This dress fit well enough but the "white" bodice was not so white anymore. It was kind "gray-ish" and didn't look great. So what to do with it?

Time does bad things to our clothing. Life, water, and laundry detergent all take a toll on clothes. This white part of this dress was not a nice bright white anymore. I really liked the colorful fabric, so I saved as much of it as I could.

I decided to cut off the "bad" part. That left me with a skirt. 

I got a piece of elastic that was the right length to go around my waist. I attached it to the cut edge of the skirt. I wanted to make a comfortable waistband. (Momma's got to eat!) I used a zigzag stitch and put the elastic under the edge.I pulled gently to stretch it a little.

Then I turned the elastic in and under and used a straight stitch and pulled the elastic so it was stretched as I was sewing. The elastic got smaller again when I let it go. It will give and stretch as I put it on.

It makes a nice smooth waistband and it only takes a few minutes. Complicated sewing? Ain't nobody got time for that!

 But what about the top of that dress? The "white" top was not useful for anything but the sleeves still look great. What could I do with them? And what is that oatmeal container doing with my sewing?

The sleeves fit really well on the oatmeal container. They look like cute decorative containers now.

I used a bit of glue to help the silky fabric stay put. I tucked the extra material into the container for now. I will cut off the excess later.

I took the purple tops and removed all the cardboard from the lids. It was a bit of a battle, but I was victorious!

The purple went really well with my fabric. That was a nice bonus. These will be great to hold my sewing scissors, but they could be used for a million things.

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

 ***Year End update- I gave this skirt to my daughter so I have not worn it again. The 2 cans are on my sewing table holding scissors.

The Dress From Long Ago

Hello Readers. Some times clothes sit and wait quite a while to get refashioned at my house. This bright cotton turquoise dress has been waiting a long time. I found it at a clothes swap and no one else wanted it.

 Today's post is like a flash from the past. I have had this dress for over 2 years. I used some of it in 2017 to add some length to this shirt. I took the lowest tier from the skirt and added it to the hem. 

Now back to 2019, I had a shorter dress that still didn't fit but I loved that gauzy wrinkled cotton.

I decided to make a top with a nice peplum ruffle at the bottom. I cut off the bottom tier of the skirt and all the polyester lining that went with it to connect the tiers.

I took the sides in a little so it would fit better.

Here is a side view. I made sure the armholes were not too big.

There were 2 places at the neckline that were gathered together. I used them and made them a little bigger so the neckline would be pulled in and up a little more.

 I decided to make some cropped pants from my daughters hand-me-downs. Again. I am a little obsessed. I had to cut off almost a foot of fabric. Again. I gave them a quick hem and they were ready to wear. Honestly, I don't love them, I think they make me look even shorter. They are great in the oppressive heat of late summer, so I know I will wear them.

I liked the shirt even better than I thought I would. It's a new favorite.

           *Photo edited to make me look taller.                                             

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

 ***Year End update-This is still a great top. I only wore it in the summer. The gauzy fabric seemed like a summer weiht to me. It is waiting in the closet for net summer.

The Pro Bowl Shirt

Hello Readers. I think it is fun to play around with clothes and try to make something new. It can be an experiment. What can I make? How can I change things up?

I put this shirt and skirt together because the colors seemed the same. The Pro-Bowl shirt was my son's but he outgrew it. It was big and masculine. The skirt was from a clothes swap. The skirt was almost on the ground! The shirt was big and masculine. It wasn't a nice looking outfit. Free clothes are great but it's not great when they fit like this.

 

I started by cutting off the sleeves and collar off. I was seeing a tank top shape so I went with that. Check out the cool football and floral fabric.

I cut more of the front away to remove the big logo. I tried to keep each side even. I had now cut of so much of the front it was not going to cover me enough. I had a plan for that.

 I turned it around and use the back off the shirt as the front. I re-tied and adjusted the straps so the V-neck wasn't too low.

The shirt was big enough to criss-cross the back. The 2 sides cross over each other so my back is fully covered.

Work on the skirt came next. It was a fake wrap skirt. There was a fully closed skirt under that flap in the front. I cut the skirt off at my knee length and hemmed it all the way around. I made the "wrap" part a little shorter so it would be more visible. I really liked the stripes and the soft knit material.

I tucked the top in and I was done!

I went downtown and made my husband take my picture in front of these cool angel wings.

And in front of this cool mosaic mural one block over. He got artsy with it.

I gave him a lot of advice even though he is a photographer and his pictures always look so much better than mine. He was a great sport about it though.

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

***Year End update-  I really liked the 2 patterns together. It was really comfortable and fun for a date outfit.

A Curtain Refresher

Hello Readers. Today's post is not about clothes. It's about curtains. I decided to dress my curtains up with some trim that I was given.

Before                             After

My sweet mother-in-law cleaned out her sewing room and passed along some great stuff. My house has a lot of blue and white so that is what I gathered together. I found enough pom-pom trim to dress up all of my curtains downstairs.

I added the blue pom-poms because they were so fun. And because there was enough of it to do the whole job. The blue really adds a pop of color to the valances. The curtain on the left is finished. The curtain on the right is waiting for trim.

I added the blue and yellow fringe trim to the fabric blinds on the windows. These are heavy enough to block the hot summer sun from coming in and making my house too warm. The fringe adds a fun touch.

This is my dining room. These valances were straight along the bottom edge. I wanted them to match the other valances. My house is really open and you can see every room at once. I like the curtains to match each other room. Different colors and fabrics can look like a crazy mess when the rooms all join each other.

(There are toys and kid stuff everywhere so it's still a crazy mess. The curtains won't change that, but the the windows will look nice and neat. Notice that none of these pictures show  any of the floor, that's where the kid mess is.)

I used a curved valance as a guide and cut the straight curtains to match.

I added the blue pom-pom trim and hung them back up.

This is the front room, now every room is matching a little better.

Thanks for reading along, next time we will be back to the clothing.

***Year End update-  I'm not sure if this is a true refashion. I still like the blue toile curtains. I am glad I added the trim. I am still very happy my mother-in-law gave me all the trim.