Dressember 2019; Dress 6

Hello Readers. This is my 6th dress for Dressember. Dressember is an organization working to fight human trafficking and modern day slavery. They estimate that human trafficking generates 150 billion dollars a year worldwide. That amount of money is shocking because of the human suffering that is behind it. Go to my Dressember page to learn more and see how you can help.

This refashion was fun and a little surprising for me.

This cotton shirt is just too big. It is so long that it is almost a dress. So, of course, I made a dress. What else would I do in the middle of Dressember?

I also had something to go with it. This black and white jacket. It looks a little dressy but it feels as comfortable as a sweatshirt. The only problem was the color combination. It looks like I broke out of an old-timey prison. (Just to be clear, I have never served time in prison.)

So what did I do? I went to a tried and true friend, Rit dye. Rit dye doesn't know me or pay me to talk about them. I just like them a lot. And this bottle was just sitting in the laundry room waiting to be used. This dye was a surprise. I was expecting a dark red wine color. That isn't what I got.

Here is the white shirt after a wash in the washing machine with the dye. Its like bright pink! You can see I cut off the sleeves and I made a dress from the body of the shirt.

I used a sleeveless shirt as a model for the armholes and finished the edge with bias tape inside.

I made a very straight loose shape for the dress. The fabric didn't have any stretch so I had to keep it loose enough to be comfortable. I liked it by itself with a belt and...

I also liked it with the jacket. I put them in the washer with the dye and they came out looking like a dressy suit outfit. I like the jacket because it makes this dress warm enough to wear in cold weather.

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

Dressember 2019; Dress 5

Hello Readers. It's time for the 5th dress in my Dressember series. Dressember is a non-profit that fights to prevent human trafficking and forced labor around the world. They partner with other organizations to rescue victims and provide after-care and vocational training. They have raised over a million dollars so far this month and the month is not over yet. Go to Dressember.org to learn more about them and how donation money is spent.

Today's dress is very casual and comfortable. It started as a man's t-shirt. I tried to find the longest shirt I had in my refashion stash. (Spoiler Alert: It was not as long as I thought.)

Why am I making this stupid face? I have no answer.

I also had a blouse that looked a little like modern art to me. I loved the bright colors and shapes.

Here is the big comfy t-shirt. It is a bright beautiful blue. But it is not flattering or attractive like this.

I traced a t-shirt that I liked to get a good fit. I flared the sides out to make an A-line skirt.

I had a simple dress shape I could wear.

It was fast and easy project that made the shirt into something totally different. It was suddenly so much more feminine.

Now about that blouse. It was so soft and light I couldn't hold it up correctly to show it's shape. It was a great color match for the blue mini-dress I just made.

Here is a better look at the blouse. It was a criss-cross front. It was too baggy so I did the fastest and easiest refashion in the world. I gathered the front together with a ponytail holder. That pulled the sides in and made the blouse fit so much better.

I tucked the extra fabric up and inside the blouse and I was done!

This dress was really pretty short so I wore it with leggings. 

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

Dressember 2019; Dress 4

Hello Reader. This is the 5th dress in my series for Dressember. Dressember is working to fight human trafficking and modern day slavery. They estimate 1 out of 4 victims are children. They need rescue and help to recover. $25 can provide an after-care kit when a victim is rescued.

This dress was a wonderful find at a clothes swap. The swap was ending and I couldn't bear to leave it there. I loved the beautiful blue color and the embroidery.

It also had a matching jacket.

I loved them but I didn't want them to look like I was wearing them as a costume. I thought if I improved the fit and simplified the outfit a little, it might suit me better.

I started by pinning the sides and making the dress fit better. I also shortened it as well. It was sad to cut off that gold embroidery at the bottom. The shorter length was a must because I am really short. (5')

I made the jacket the same length but it didn't feel quite done.

I decided to make a very short bolero type of jacket. I thought that would still show some of the gold lace but not be as overwhelming as the long jacket was on me. I also shortened the sleeves and removed the gold cuffs. They were too big and long on me.

Would a tunic would be better for this dress? I tucked it up to see how it looked. What do you think? Do you have a favorite length? This refashion was a tough one because I wasn't 100% sure what I wanted to do. I didn't want to change the dress too much because it was fabulous the way it was it just didn't seem to fit or suit me originally.

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

Dressember 2019; Dress 3

Hello Readers. This is the third dress in my series for Dressember 2019. Anyone can join Dressember and wear a dress (Or tie.) all this month. The dress traditionally symbolizes women and women are most likely to be victims of human trafficking. You can see my Dressember page to learn more about how they rescue and rehabilitate victims around the world.

On to today's dress.

This dress started out as a sweater that I loved. It was red cashmere and it was soft as soft could be. It was a little short though so I could only wear it with high waist pants or skirts. It seemed to ride up on me when I wore it. If only it had something to hold it down.

I also had this great floral shirt. It was a nice pattern but it was SO low cut. I couldn't wear it easily. It was a loose A-line shape and I thought, maybe, it could be a skirt. If only it had something to hold it up.

I cut the shoulders and sleeves off the floral shirt and it immediately turned into a skirt shape. I was halfway done.

I stitched the red sweater onto the floral "skirt".

 Now, I had a dress. The waistband of the sweater made a waistband for my new dress.

I stitched the floral shirt closed all the way down the front so it could never come unbuttoned while I was wearing it.

With tights and boots I was as cozy as could be with my new dress.

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

Dressember 2019; Dress 2

Hello Readers. This is my second dress refashion in honor of Dressember. Dressember is an organization that works to fight human trafficking. They also help victims recover from the trauma they have experienced. They estimate that 1 out of 4 victims are children. After-care is vital. I  am part of a team wearing dresses and raising money for Dressember. Go see my teams page and learn more.

This denim dress was really unappealing to me. The white eyelet lace at the neck waist and pockets was too much. But I thought those buttons down the back were pretty cool.

The lace and the ribbon waistband seemed like they would suit pajamas and this whole dress reminded me of the "house dresses" my grandmom wore when I was young. I loved my grandmom very much. (She stockpiled Pepsi in the basement and I thought she was the best.) But even Grandmom didn't wear house dresses out off the house. I didn't want to wear this dress out of the house either but I was sure I could do something with this nice denim though.

I  started by cutting the lace at the neck right off.

I decided the only thing I could do was cut the waistband and those pockets off the dress too. That left me with the very top and the very  bottom of the dress. I liked the buttons in the back of the skirt more than anything else. So...

  I turned the skirt around and put the buttons in the front. It made a simple jumper style dress. I left room to pull it over my head and wear a warm shirt or sweater under it. I also sewed the front closed because the opening was a little too high. I found a couple buttons sewn inside the dress and used them to extend the row of buttons.

This still wasn't a very exciting dress but I think it will match anything and everything. That is handy when you are wearing dresses all month for Dressember.

I think I could wear this in a lot of different ways.

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

Dressember 2019; Dress 1

Hello Readers. It is time for Dressember. No, not December, Dressember. It is a month long event to raise money and awareness about human trafficking and modern day slavery. They estimate that there are currently 40 million victims worldwide. Dressember is an organization that works to fight these issues and help victims recover. 

One thing they do every year is a style challenge. The challenge is to wear dresses or ties all month as a way to raise awareness. All my refashions this month will be dresses in honor of Dressember. You can go to the Dressember website to learn more about the work they do.

This dress was an easy and surprising refashion for me. It started as a really unflattering denim dress. As a homeschool mom, (I homeschooled my kids from kindergarten to highschool graduation. Ask me anything!) I would call this "the homeschool mom special". It isn't doing anything good for me. Its a little baggy but really the problem is the length.

There is too much dress for my short height. It is in great condition and I liked the snaps down the front. I thought I would just take it in a little and shorten it. 

I did both of those things. I made it much shorter and took in the sides a little. Actually, I took the sides in a little too much. Well, a lot too much.

When I was done I realized it was too tight. When I tried it on I found that I really liked it as a long open vest. It was a great layering piece in cold weather. What a happy accident!

An extra layer is especially nice when you are wearing dresses all month in the cold! I didn't hem it. I want that natural denim fray along the hem.

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