Two Too Small Dresses

Hello Readers. My project today is a combination of two dresses that were too small. I put them together so I could wear them in public and keep everything covered that regular old moms want to cover. 

This little red number is cute and colorful but I didn't expect it to be so short. I thought it was a dress but I think it is a long top. It was roomy enough but way too short. I thought about just adding straps but I didn't want a long shirt. And hemming away the appliqued stitching was out of the question. It's too pretty.

I also had this gray T-shirt "dress". It was also very short and too tight through the back-end. So, no pictures, just take my word for it. I thought about cutting off the bottom and just using it as a T-shirt, but that sounded boring.

I started by removing the elastic from the the red top. I am going to attach it to the gray dress, I won't need the tight elastic. I pinned the side seams of both dresses together to keep it all lined up. I had already tried them both on together and I knew how much of the gray dress I needed at the top. It was eight inches. I just tried to keep it as straight and even as possible while I sewed. I cut off the extra gray dress from the red dress.

I also added a few inches of the gray dress to the bottom of the red dress. I just cut off the bottom of the gray dress and attached it to the red dress. The only challenge was keeping it all the fabric from overlapping and getting tangled on my machine.

I have a normal mom life and I wore it to clean up my kitchen. With 2 teens and a baby, it is usually chaos in the kitchen. The dog and the baby are usually trying to climb in and lick the dirty dishes. They seem to work as a team, they are very organized and systematic in their approach.

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

The Purple Nightshirt Peasant Top

Hello Readers. It is really summer now and I am working on new tops for hot weather. My project started today started as a night shirt. I assumed it was a night shirt. It was very light weight and the weave was a lacy and open in places. It was very large so I needed to address that too. 

I took a little off the straps and some out of the sides. I cut the excess off with pinking shears to help with fraying. That made it smaller but it is still too sheer. I can't go out in a see-thru shirt, I'm not a pop star. I need real clothes.

I decided to line this top with a dark purple T-shirt I had. The T-shirt was a little worn out but it would make a great contrast to the light purple. It had a large round neckline just like the nightshirt. I attached the two with my sewing machine. I followed the seam on the nightshirt and stitched over it. I did the same thing with the arm holes and cut off the excess T-shirt.

Here you can see the two shirts are attached but the night shirt is much too long. I like the outer shirt to cover the under shirt, but this is way too long.

I cut off a few inches from the bottom. That made the length work. That cut was right in the  middle of the two front pockets.

I removed the two pockets. It would make the lines of this new peasant top cleaner and simpler. This top will be loose and the pockets would just add unneeded detail and look too clunky.

Here is my finished top. I like the loose comfortable fit and the light weight fabric should be great for the heat of summer. You can't really see the dark purple T-shirt underneath from a distance. Up close you can see it through the lacy parts of the fabric. 

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

Re-wrapping the Wrap Shirt

Hello Readers. I wanted to fix this wrap shirt. There isn't anything wrong with it. It is just a little big and it's just too low cut. But I love the color so much and I need some tops in my wardrobe.

I cut the front, but not in the middle. I cut it up the side so the cut would meet one side of the V cut neckline. I wanted to just pull the shirt tighter and make it less low cut. 

I stitched it closed along the cut in the mid-section and I closed the V neck so I could wear it without a shirt under it.

You can see the difference in the neckline on the dress form. It is much less low now.  This was a quick project but it made a huge difference. 

Much too low!                                            Now, it's just right!

Here is my new/old shirt. I love the new fit and I can wear it more easily now.

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

The Porch Makeover

Hello Readers. Believe it or not, this cotton blouse is responsible for decorating my whole front porch. I know. It sounds crazy. Read on and I will tell you what happened.

I have had this blouse for ages and I don't like it because when I look at it all I can see is this, I would feel like a big fat candy cane in this blouse.

Here is what my front porch looked like all winter. It's pretty plain. 

I suddenly realized this blouse also looked like the stripes on the American flag. I had this small piece of blue flag fabric and when I realized it is almost Memorial Day, it all came together in my head.

I cut the arms and collar off the blouse.

I turned it inside out and sewed all around until I had a rectangular shape. I used the button front to open and turn the shirt right side out. It isn't a perfect rectangle and the darts of the blouse are visible. Don't worry, it won't matter.

It is going to be a pillow. I am going to stuff it for free too. Here is a look at my free pillow stuffing. Plastic bags from the grocery store. I don't do this for pillows in the house but it will be great for outdoor use.

The buttons down the center let me open the pillow and stuff it with bags and then button it back up.

Here is my finished pillow with a little bow on it. I cut a strip of fabric with  pinking shears and tied it in a bow. It is pinned on to the pillow from the inside with a safety pin. The buttons are in the back but they might be cute in the front too.

I put some of the blue flag fabric around the inside of my flower pot. It is a good liner and keeps soil from washing out the bottom when I water the daisies. I also hung up the flag that was put away in my garage.

Memorial Day is usually considered the beginning of summer. I wish you all a summer of fun where ever you are. And a big thanks to all our military past and present.

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

Blue Suede For Days Part 2

Hello Readers. This project has been in the works for a long time. This top is part of an outfit made of faux suede. I posted about the skirt half of the original outfit here. For a long time I wasn't sure what to do with this top. I love the color but how much baggy shapeless blue suede does one person need?

The top was too big and it had no stretch or give at all. I couldn't just take it in, I wouldn't be able to get it on and off. That is what kept me from doing anything with it for so long. I just wasn't sure what to do with this top. I cut it straight up the back.

I turned the raw edges under and stitched them down. This took the shirt down in size just a pinch. I also added a button and a buttonhole at the top. That would connect the two sides. I liked the idea of an open back shirt but I don't like to show that much skin. How could I make it open but not show anything?

My solution? Hidden snaps down the back.

You can see the back is open at the bottom but not up the back. The shirt fits better at the top, especially the armholes and is loose at the bottom so it skims the hip area and doesn't ride up. It's a loose fit in front but not huge and shapeless.

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

The Too Short Shorts

Hello Readers. I am still waiting for warm Spring weather. We have been having rain for three weeks straight. We don't usually have this much rain and cool weather in May. If it ever warms up I will want some shorts. I found these great shorts at a clothes swap. They were in great shape and fit well but seemed a bit short. I decided to lengthen them a little. I have seen similar ideas for adding trim to shorts elsewhere and decided to try it for my self.

I ordered this lace trim from Amazon. The selection is great and the price was really good, but I had to buy 5 yards. I will be using this trim in many projects in the future. Whatever the project, I will have some navy blue lace to add to it.

I attached it to the inside of each leg. Super easy.

Here is the finished look.

It added a little more length and I liked to see the change in how they looked. Wider lace would add more length to the legs.

Thanks for reading, now go make something for yourself.

The Shapeless Sack of a Dress

Hello Readers. I found this dress at a thrift store for $1 so I decided to bring it home and see what I could do with it. It was a little dumpy and shapeless. I didn't like the green and white color scheme. But it was in great shape and light weight for warm weather.

I thought a change to light blue would look better. The polyester blend of this dress didn't absorb much dye as you can see from the picture on the right. I wanted more of a change.

I dyed the dress again with a darker blue. It was for denim so I thought it would be pretty dark.

It came out darker and toned down the green. I liked it better than the light blue. The pattern is more subtle. I cut off the bottom 4 inches of the dress. I had a use for that cut off fabric. I folded the raw edge down and made a long narrow strip of fabric that was about 1 inch wide.

I used this buckle I found in my button stash to make a simple fabric belt. I couldn't believe how well it matched and it has been unused for years and years. I think it was from my mother's sewing stuff.

Here is my new finished dress. The belt fixed the shapeless middle of the dress. It didn't need major alterations. It just needed to be a bit shorter, and cinched in the middle. 

Hats. The best cure for a bad hair day.

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