Posts Tagged ‘thrifted’

Refashioned: Floral Liesl Dress

January 10th, 2013
10 Comments

My sister-in-law gave me this dress over the break and I just finished refashioning it. It was just a bit too short for her and she wouldn’t be taking it with her to Chicago anyway. I happily obliged. The fit wasn’t fantastic and the sleeves were about a mile high. BUT THE PRINT!! Oh that print.

The poor fit and the puffy sleeves combined made me look like I was about to break into song, “I am 16, going on 17. . .” Yikes! I’m not particularly awesome with sleeves, but I thought I would give it a shot. The puffy sleeves provided more than enough fabric for the sleeves I reconstructed. And if I failed, I could at least finish the arm holes nicely and wear it with cardigans.

And the sleeves worked! I’m so excited with how it turned out. It looks and feels so much better. Here’s how I did it:

  • I unpicked the armhole seams and the side seams all the way
  • I laid out the arm hole flat on the ground and traced the hill shape on some swedish tracing paper
  • I cut that out and pinned it to the arm hole seam and adjusted the pattern from there
  • I pinned and sewed carefully
The sleeves have a little bit of gathering at the top, but just enough to coordinate with the hem below and the straight hem of the actual sleeve make it look more grown up. Much better.

It doesn’t look like much of a change, but it took forever and feels completely different! Another piece crossed off my list for my Alt Summit wardrobe.

Outfit details:

  • earrings: Forever 21
  • dress: handmade, thrifted and refashioned
  • Bracelet: c/o Apricot Lane
  • tights: H&M
  • shoes: H&M

Refashion: Polka Dot Shirt

December 13th, 2012
8 Comments

I’m starting to feel better about my sewing with a few successful projects under my belt these days.

Laura sent me this awesome navy polka dot top that needed a slight fit adjustment. It’s made of some sort of polyester knit fabric so it was a little bit slippery, but not as mischievous as the last one.

I didn’t have to take in the shoulders, it just needed shorter sleeves and a narrower bodice. I took it in by about 2 inches on each side, and cut off about 3 inches of sleeve. It’s a fantastic staple shirt that will go well with cardigans this winter, or with flowy skirts this summer.

I love the little keyhole in the back.

I’m pretty excited to party in my new shirt, can you tell?

Outfit details:

  • earrings: etsy
  • top: Laura, refashioned
  • necklace: Forever 21
  • belt: grandma’s hand-me-down
  • pants: Ross
  • boots: thrifted

 

Style: Confidence to Sew

December 10th, 2012
11 Comments

Confidence in my sewing abilities waxes and wanes on a regular basis. Recently it’s been waning (as evidenced by the lack of refashions around here). I know I’ll get back into it, I just have to be patient and slowly build my confidence.

Saturday night I was having a hard time going to sleep, my mind racing with projects for the next month. I guess I needed something to unwind. So I made myself a single-seam tube skirt. Since I’ve already made one before, I had this one finished in under 20 minutes (hems included). And I wore it to church the next day.

There’s something about brainlessly and successfully completing a piece that you can actually wear that I crave all the time. But I don’t think I need a million of these in my closet. Only like 4 or 5. I found this fabric at fashionfabricsclub.com on super clearance. It’s sort of an off-putting color scheme, but I still like it. The texture is great as is the stretch, lending itself perfectly to a tube skirt. I made Penelope a little top out of this fabric last spring (when my sewing confidence was much higher).

I wonder if I’m the only one whose confidence waxes and wanes in one’s own ability to sew (or DIY) a project. Does yours? I’m happy I finished this simple piece successfully. I’m hoping it’ll give me the confidence I need to attack all the projects I’m brewing for Christmas break.

Outfit details:

Mini Trousers to Skirt Refashion

October 25th, 2012
5 Comments

While at the Sewing Summit Thrift hop, Carrie came across these adorable pants and suggested I get them for Penelope. It was a no brainer. Especially at a whopping $3.

They were about 3 sizes too big to keep as pants, so I made them into a skirt. And I did this in about 20 minutes from start to finish.

Aren’t these little details just adorable? I love the paper bag detailing on the sides and those little pockets.

I love those little embroidered flowers.

It fits her just above the knee when it’s at belly button height, which is really fortunate because I just eyeballed the length.
Doing this on your own takes very little time. Jen summed up the easy steps on her latest refashion swap tutorial. If the trousers are the right fit in the waist, it takes just one snip, two seams and a little bit of hemming. Seriously, you don’t really need to know how to use a sewing machine for something like this. It’s just straight lines.

 

Style: Tribal + Floral

October 17th, 2012
4 Comments

It’s been a while since I’ve done a style post. I miss these because they motivate me to get dressed in the morning, even when I have no place to go.

I’ve been digging mixing tribal with florral. Besides the fact they’re both all the rage these days, I love the juxtaposition of masculine and feminine so to speak.

This outfit isn’t outright tribal, but the western themes and the statement necklace make my mind go there.

Outfit details:

  • earrings: thrifted
  • necklace: handmade
  • cardigan: thrifted
  • top: thrifted (last weekend!)
  • belt: thrifted (last weekend!)
  • skirt: handmade at Sewing Summit
  • shoes: thrifted

(I’m pretty sure this outfit falls in the under $20 category.)

Can we make this combo a meme together? Hashtag your tribal and floral outfits on instagram using #tribalandfloral. I will be.


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