Supersized Tunic

Time to Complete: 15 mins
Sewing Machine Required? No
Difficulty: Easy

Sometimes I'm just not in the mood for a major refashion. Sometimes I don't feel like wearing anything in my closet. Sometimes both moods strike within one hour of when I need to leave for work. This project is the result of just such a perfect storm of apathetic whininess.

I started with this.

Don't I just look thrilled?

This is actually an XXL shirt. Fortunately, it also leant itself well to becoming a super easy, almost no-sew tunic.

Step one, as always, remove the shoulder pads.

Go...just go.

Now, I wanted to wear this to work, and that neckline was just a little too gaping for me to feel comfortable doing so. Particularly as I have to wear a staff badge which throws off the drape of pretty much anything I wear. 

So I rifled through my notions drawer and found some pieces of coordinating ribbon. I think these are leftover decor from my bridal shower? I pinned them to the inside of the collar, which fortunately had an reinforced band.

Attach to band...

I used my sewing machine to stitch down the ribbon, because I was in a rush, but honestly, this is such a tiny amount of sewing you could easily do it by hand.

I didn't have time to take in the sides, so I just grabbed a belt! Tie those ribbons in a cute bow, cinch in the waist, and I was ready to go!

That's it. I wore it to work all day, where it was so cold I had to keep my new dress covered with a bulky cardigan anyway.

Quilted Vest to Autumnal Tote

Time to Complete: 15 mins
Sewing Machine Required? Yes
Difficulty: Easy

I'm a sucker for the ugly ducklings of the thrift shop. It's not their fault they exist, and they deserve a second chance at life. When something is so ugly it just SHOULD NOT BE, I have only one choice: turn it into something completely new.

Here we have one such specimen.

Actually, I kind of liked the quilted cornucopia and the weird clashing stripes on the other side, just not as a vest. So I lay the whole thing flat on the floor and made two big chops.

A vest no more!

I put the centre piece away for a future project (I'm thinking an autumn hot pad for my kitchen), and flipped the left side piece over the right so they were front sides together.

Like so...

Then it was a simple matter of stitching across the top narrow band, and around the thicker part (shown on the right in the picture). I trimmed off the excess and turned it back inside-right. When finished, voila!

Dare I say...totes fabulous?

This quilted wonder makes a much less offensive bag than it did vest. I'm looking forward to getting into the fall season!

 

Dress to Jumpsuit

Time to Complete: 1 h
Sewing Machine Required? Yes
Difficulty: Difficult

I've been refashioning all summer, but haven't gotten around to posting my creations!

On a sunny day back in May, I decided it was time I joined the jumpsuit frenzy currently washing through the fashion industry. Fortunately I had just the piece:

Sort of...

Obviously, this is a dress, not a jumpsuit. One could theoretically do a handstand in a jumpsuit with no undergarment-related disasters. I cannot do a handstand in a jumpsuit or out, but it doesn't change the fact that this is most definitely a dress. 

But this dress did fit me nicely up top, and since I knew creating legs out of that voluminous skirt would be a big job, I didn't want to have to alter it anywhere else, too.

I'd never done a jumpsuit refashion before, I started off by very awkwardly gathering the fabric between my legs where I imagined a crotch seam ought to exist, and pinning it with a safety(!!) pin.

I don't do this for the dignity.

Then I took the dress off, lay it on the floor, and drew a rough arch to create legs. I intentionally drew it a little lower than my pin mark, because I really didn't want to take off too much. 

Seeing the vision, fingers crossed.

Then I cut!

Past the point of no return!

I turned the whole thing inside-out and stitched up that raw edge. I knew I would probably have to make more adjustments, but I wanted to see what that would accomplish. The result? MC Hammer would have been envious. 

Like I said: not in it for the dignity.

To clarify, this is a picture of me trying to figure out how to get rid of the diaper-like bulk I'd managed to create. Hey, it was my first time doing this type of refashion, there were bound to be a few hiccups!Anyway, after cutting and re-sewing the inseam a couple of times, I had a fit I liked. They were still loose, but that was my original intention. I paired my new jumpsuit with an oversize pendant necklace.

Ta-dah!

Given the embarrassing sequence in the middle of this refashion, I was relieved to pull it off. I was never a huge fan of the jumpsuit craze, and I still don't know if this will ever become one of my favourite pieces, but it was a fun challenge! 

Criticisms: I learned one obvious lesson while making this piece, which is that my butt actually takes up space--which means I need to take in more of the front of the skirt and less of the back. This makes for an unequal raw edge, which is why I had such difficulty getting a good fit. If I were to do this again, I'd spend a lot more time pinning it to make sure I got it right the first time!

The Refashionista Strikes Back Sweatshirt

Time to Complete: 15 mins
Sewing Machine Required? No
Difficulty: Easy

Apparently I took pictures of this refashion when I did it about two months ago when the weather was still cold, I just never wrote up a post! Here it is!

Cozy!

Actually, there's nothing wrong with this sweater. It is cozy, and it has cats on it. Perhaps it's only flaw is that it's a bit on the large side for me. Still, I wasn't going to just take this in the old-fashioned way! I wanted to try something new!

First, I carefully cut off that bottom band, keeping as close to the seam as possible. I did the same at the sleeve cuffs.

snip!

Then I measured up each side seam of the sweater to my waistline. I made a small incision just to the front of each side seam.

See where I'm going with this, yet?

Now it was time for that bottom band to come back into play! I snipped it so that instead of a loop, I had one long length.

Then I pulled the sweater on, fed the band through one incision from the front, passed it around my back, and pulled it out the other hole on the other side.

Like so...

Now it was a simple matter of tying off the ends in a tidy bow! 

And a Jedi-cat sweater is born

The way I'd threaded the belt gave this sweater a new kimono-esque shape, but being the nerd I am I immediately thought "I'm a Jedi!" While my immediate attempt to trigger my camera using the Force failed, I live in hope that someday it will manifest!

Criticisms: Pshaw! You think I could complain about a super comfy Star Wars-evoking sweater with cats on it? Though to be fair, I have my doubts about the longevity of my DIY belt--it seems like it will stretch out over time.

 

Sunny Jumper

Time to Complete: 1 hour
Sewing Machine Required? Yes
Difficulty: Difficult

We've been getting some gorgeous weather, so I decided to celebrate with this sunny number:

Look closer...

Witchy sun-moon-face!

I bought this very 90s dress purely for the gold-embroidered emblem on the front. I did an MA on medieval magical practices (not witchcraft, and don't get me started on how they're different!), so the subtle occult detail tugged at my heart. 

I've been seeing a lot of jumpers around recently, like this cute one from Modcloth:

So I decided to make one for myself. First, I was going to have to get rid of those sleeves:

Goodbye!

I don't often take sleeves off entirely, because it's tricky to hem the armholes again. Often they'll end up huge and gaping, which just doesn't work for most dresses. For a jumper, however, an extra-large armhole is ideal!

Real armholes have curves, so I made sure to snip about 1/2cm in every 10cm or so along the raw edge.

Like so...

This provides some give for double-folding the hem, so it doesn't get clumpy and awkward. I stitched around to close up the raw edges.

Next, I needed to take it in a bit. I still wanted it to have a relaxed fit, so I sewed a straight line down each side.

Marked and ready for stitchery!

Once I'd taken in the sides, it was just a matter of adjusting the length. I forgot to take pictures, but just see any of my other posts for tips on shortening a dress.

The end result? 

I so need to find a better backdrop!

Paired with a yellow T-shirt to bring out the gold, I think this baby-doll style jumper feels like a nice mix of youthful and grown-up.

Criticisms: Actually, this one turned out pretty much the way I envisioned it! I can't think of anything I'd change. I love it when a plan comes together!