One More Dress of Shirts

 Hello Readers. I have been scrap busting as much as possible and I got to an outdoor swap recently too. My plans to refashion for free in 2021 are going better than I thought they would. Today's post is one last dress made of shirts. These dresses have been fun to make, so comfortable to wear and I have been able to use up some of my scraps and pieces.

This dress was made possible because I had this large piece of black and white fabric from a refashion I did a couple years ago. I used a dress to make a bathing suit that covered everything I wanted to cover. 

This piece was the skirt of the dress. I always save the leftover fabric from refashions so I can use them later. 

I knew I wanted to make a dress so, I found a couple shirts that would work with this floral fabric. I started with a black tank top. I wanted it to be the top of my dress. I made sure to mark where I wanted to cut it. 

I started cutting shirts to make the tiers of my dress. 

I like red and black together so this red shirt is next. Cut, cut, cut. 

Cutting the hem off the shirt is important because the red is going to be the middle tier. 

I checked my pieces to make sure they would fit together well. To get a nice A-line shape I used the widest piece at the at the bottom and the narrowest at the top. I used a zigzag stitch to connect the pieces together.

My dress was a quick and easy project. I was ready to go out I the summer heat. 

*** BONUS TRACK ***

I still had the top of this red shirt left over. I thought it would be a great piece to use in a pajama set. 

I used these capri length pajama pants to make shorts. I cut them off and had the ends leftover. The fabric had a fun comic book design featuring Captain America.

I used the bottom of the capri pants to make a shirt. I cut each pant leg open and stitched them together into a tube. I connected that tube to the the red shirt. There is a seam in the front and back of the shirt but the design hides it quite well.

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

***Chickie's Year End Review-I liked this dress a lot and I wore those pajamas at least 347 times.

Dress of Tiers

 Hello Readers. I have seen a lot of dresses with full tiered skirts lately. I decided to try and make one from the clothes I have on my refashion rack. If I made it myself I could modify it and make sure it wasn't too full or long on me. I am pretty short so refashioning something usually works for me. 

I started by trying to match the colors of this beach cover-up dress. It had a bright summery pattern to it but it was too low cut on its own. I had a couple t-shirts on-hand that would work well with the colors of this dress. 

 I wanted to use the black shirt at the top so I held it up to myself to see where I wanted to cut it off. 

I cut the black shirt so I could add the next tier of fabric right under the bustline. Every body is different. The only way to know how long to make this upper part of my dress was to check it on my own body.

I cut the top off the dress and cut the skirt of the dress into 2 tiers. It was longest and fullest so I could use it twice in my new dress.

I also had this bright green t-shirt. It had some advertising on the shirt but I could cut one tier out of the body of the shirt. I cut the hem of the t-shirt off because it would be bulky and thicker than the rest of the fabric I was sewing together.  

I laid all my pieces out in front of me. I wanted the smallest at the top and the widest at the bottom. That will give me the full A-line shape that I wanted. 

I stitched everything together one tier at a time. I made sure the pieces were evenly gathered so that they made a ruffled look at each level of the dress. I used pins to make sure the different sized tiers would stay even as I sewed. I left the hem on the bottom tier of the dress. That way my dress is all finished.

My new dress is nice and full. It has a loose fit but it doesn't look like I am lost or overwhelmed in all the tiers of fabric. 

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

***Chickie's Year End Review-I liked making this but it wasn't my favorite dress of the 3 tiered dresses I made.

Lime Green Dress to Skirt

 Hello Readers. Summer is here! We made it to the beginning of summer. We need a cool drink, some sunscreen and summer clothes. When I saw this pretty lime green eyelet-lace dress I loved the fabric. It was so light and summery.

 

 I love green and I love eyelet lace. I did not love the very small bodice of this dress. I could not wear this and be comfortable. I like to keep it all pretty much fully covered. Maybe it's because I am 49. Maybe it's because I had 3 kids. Maybe I am crazy but, imagine all the sunscreen I would need in this open back dress!

My first step was to unzip the zipper and then cut off the very small top. (Having the zipper down will be important later.) Bye bikini top!

I also cut off the straps and trim. They would be useful later. I used a zigzag stitch on the cut edge of the skirt. It was fraying and I wanted to keep it all together. (Don't we all just want to keep it all together?)

I originally wanted to make this dress into a pair of shorts but the fabric was a little too sheer. The dress was already lined so that is why I decided to make a skirt. Skirts are great for summer.

This dress actually had a side zipper and I wanted to keep that to get in and out of my skirt. It is easy to keep and shorten a zipper. I pulled the zipper all the way down when I cut off the top. Now I wanted to fold the waistband in and stitch it down. I folded the zipper in and under when I was sewing. The zipper will still work. When the zipper is folded in like this, the zipper will stop at the top when I zip it up. 

 

  I made a working waistband but I also wanted to make a nice looking waistband. At this point it looks a little rough. It's going to be OK, I am not done yet. The zipper is working and tucked in safe. Now, I can make it pretty.   

 

 

Remember the waist tie straps I cut off earlier? It's time for them to get into the game. I ironed the straps and connected the cut ends. Now, I had one long piece that I was going to connect to to the waistband. It will be a smooth and nicely finished waistband on this skirt.

I used my sewing machine to add the waist tie to my skirt. It covered the small rough looking waistband perfectly. I liked how this skirt was coming together. 

I made sure to position the waistband so that I could tie the ends on the side, over the zipper. 

The tie helps reinforce the zipper and cover the zipper at the same time.

It saved time to keep the zipper in. It also saved time to use the waist tie to cover my small roughly sewn waistband. I was able to sew a new skirt in no time by using a dress to start with.

 

 I am ready for some fun in the summer sun.

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

***Chickie's Year End Review-This eyelet lace was so pretty. I wore this a bunch.

Another Dress of Shirts

 Hello Readers. I found myself with a pile of shirts on my refashion rack. And I am trying to use up my stash. What can you make from a pile of shirts? Lots of things! Today's post is about another dress made of shirts. 

My refashion stash has a lot of shirts in, so I needed to find a way to use them. I made a maxi-dress last week. I wanted to make something shorter this time. I pulled together the shirts that had harmonious colors. 

I adjusted the straps on this tank top so it wouldn't be so low cut. This will be perfect under the peachy colored shirt. The peachy is very lacey and sheer so the tank top will give some needed coverage.  

 

 

The next step was to add a skirt piece to this dress. This burgundy t-shirt is big enough to fit around my hips as a skirt. Men's big and tall t-shirts are great for this. I cut the shoulder and sleeve part of this shirt off the body. The body of the shirt is just a tube that will make a great skirt. What will I use as a waistband to keep the skirt on?

This peachy shirt has elastic in the waistband. It can be the waistband of this dress. I attached the peachy colored shirt to the big burgundy t-shirt. I stretched the peachy shirt as I stitched. I had pinned them together earlier so that the burgundy shirt would be gathered evenly all the way around. 

My new dress is finished. It was comfy and soft because it was all cozy knit material. The peach shirt hold the full skirt in place just right. I wore the tank top under the peachy shirt so that I was fully covered and would not flash anyone.

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

***Chickie's Year End Review-I loved this dress. I liked the colors and the lacy top. I never wore it again though. I need to go find it in the spring and wear it again.

Easy Wide Legged Pants

 Hello Readers. I am still working my plan to refashion for free in 2021. I am trying to challenge myself to use my stash of sewing "stuff". I also thought that 2020 was a tough year financially for a lot of people. It can be encouraging to see people be creative with what they have. So let's see what I can do with some hand-me-down pants and a big t-shirt. 

These wonderful pants came from my daughter. She got them on a trip to Italy (Pre-Covid.) Either they shrunk or she grew a little and she gave them to me. I loved the fabric and all the colors. They look like the colors in peacock feathers. I didn't like the elastic at the ankles. The pant legs were too long on me and the elastic made them bunch up on my calves. They reminded me of that old TV show "I Dream of Jeannie". (I might have been dancing in a sad middle-aged way in this picture. It wasn't pretty as you can see.)

I started by cutting off the elastic at the ankles of the pants. I didn't like them so they got cut off. I ironed the pants and realized they were actually more of a wide legged style. I liked that so much! I turned each leg under twice and used my sewing machine to stitch them in place.

But what about that shirt that I found at a swap? I loved the color but this shirt had some issues. It was big and the V-neck came down too low. It also had a small spot of paint on it. Right in the front!

I decided the best thing to do was make the front smaller. I sewed a new seam straight down the middle of the shirt. It made the shirt smaller, and it allowed me to cut out the middle where that paint spot was. I shortened it by a few inches as well. Then, I turned it around and wore it backwards. 

When it was backwards the seam I made in the shirt was in the back and didn't look out of place and the V-neck was not too low because I made it smaller. The "new" shirt looked great tucked into the "new" pants. 

The "new" shirt looked great tucked into the "new" pants.

 

This was a fun and comfy outfit. I am glad I was able to re-work them into something that worked for me. It looks like I overheard something suspicious.

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

***Chickie's Year End Review-I thought this outfit was fun, cute and comfortable. Win! Win! Win!

The Stove Board Mystery

 Hello Readers. I have not been sewing much this week but I have been doing things around the house. My mother-in-law is down sizing and has passed a few things on to me. One of the things was this metal piece. I had no idea what it was. I originally thought it was a patio table top. I had some help figuring out what it was from my antiques expert/sister-in-law.

 

It is actually a "stove board". It protects the floor in front of a wood stove from sparks. The metal made  sense because metal would not burn as easily as a wood floor. 

 

 

 It had a design on the metal front but unfortunately one end was very rusted and actually crumbling into dust. I couldn't put it in the house because rust was falling off of it. It would have made a mess and the rust couldn't be very good for you. 

When I turned it around I saw this company name and logo. I thought the image was pretty cool. It reminded me of wide plank wood floors and it guaranteed first quality! Could I salvage the wood by removing the metal from the front? I could try!

I worked in a well ventilated garage for safety. I started prying the metal from the edges and tried to remove it gently. It was not glued so I just had to bend and loosen it from the wood. the wood was fragile and I tried not to cause damage as I worked. 

 

 This metal was on tight! It did not want to let go. I needed some kind of metal cutters but I only had these kitchen shears. They got the job done well enough. They broke and ended up in the trash at the end of this project. 

 

 The rusted end of the wood was pretty dirty and had "rust dust" on it. It needed some clean-up. 

I used sand paper to remove some of the dark discoloration and get rid of the dust. I did not sand the whole board just the edges and dark spots. I wanted the logo to be what you noticed, not the dark stains. Lightly using sand paper made the stains fade and be less noticeable.  

When the wood was free of the metal and wiped down it looked pretty good. But what would I do with it. I liked the idea of displaying it but it needed a good location. 

 

 I thought it looked great on the front of my kitchen island. My front door opens into the house and you see this island down the hall. It is always in view so I have tried to decorate it in different ways. 

 

 Taking it all apart has probably ruined the value of the piece but it made it usable in my home so I am OK with that. This was a fun project made possible by my mother-in-law (Thanks L.U.) and the Wabash Screen Door Co. Thanks to them as well. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.