Red Skirt Refashion

It started out as size XL skirt from Coldwater Creek that I got for $.70 at the Salvation Army.  Both the skirt and the lining were 100% polyester and there was plenty of fabric.

Started as a skirt

I never tried wearing this as a skirt as there was just too much fabric swishing about.  I liked the border pattern on the bottom though and hoped to keep that in the new design.

Stewie is pressing the fabric and pondering refashion options

My first step was to cut off the waistband and to take out the zipper in the back.  Then I took out the pleats that were about every 4" around the lining below the waistband. This was a tedious process, but it did yield quite a bit of useable fabric when the pleats were removed.

I had recently made the Eve pleated blouse from so-sew-easy.com in a size M and it was a bit too tight across the back of the shoulders so I reprinted the pattern to try out a size XL here. With a bit of finagling in the layout process, I was able to keep the border pattern from the skirt as the hem of the shirt. I chose to leave out the keyhole on the back this time only because this fabric was like cutting water and I wanted to make as few cuts as possible. I was able to get the border pattern to line up nicely on the side seams.

The pleats in the front neckline took several repinings.  Again, it felt like I was trying to fold water and pin it into place.  Not an easy task, but I really do like the look of the finished pleats. Sides and shoulders were finished with french seams and the sleeves were finished with a basic turn under hem. The neckline has white bias tape and the shirt hem is the original skirt hem.

Finished shirt on dress form

Here is how the shirt fits on me.  I don't know if I just need to go down a size in shirt or if the fabric was too flowy, but the neckline is too low and too loose for me this time.  I knew I'd have to wear a tanktop under the shirt because it is see-through, but I'd rather showcase the neckline without a tanktop strap or neckline peeking through.

Good finished shirt length

Border print lines up well at the side seams

Back seam blends in to fabric pattern

The front pleats do let this shirt hang nicely

I don't think I'm done working with the Eve pattern. Next time, I'll try the size L.

Blue Shirt Refashion

This was a quick, no machine needed, shirt refashion. I was drawn to the lightweight fabric in this shirt and the statement zipper on the back. The shirt was originally a large and it felt very roomy when I first tried it on. There was too much fabric under the arms and the neckline was a bit low.

Front view

Great zipper

Fabric pooling in lower back

Instead of taking in the sides and arms, I tried pulling the shirt forwards a bit at the shoulders. This brought the neckline down inappropriately low, but it did fix the fabric pooling in back and it took out some of the extra fabric under the arms. I pinned the new neckline into a v-neck.

New neckline

By hand, I tacked the new neckline in and then folded the extra loop back on itself. That created a bit of a gathered look across the chest. I hand stitched the loop flat at the bottom of the neckline and then the shirt was complete.

I think I like the v-neck better on this one

Here are a few pics of how the finished shirt looks.

Neckline not as low

Less bunching in the back

Side view

Purple Flower Shirt Refashion

It was the purple flowers that caught my eye on this fabric. Originally sewn into pajamas, this fabric was looking for a bit of an update to take it from lonely item on the sale rack to new item in my wardrobe. It was priced at 70 cents and there was a lot of fabric to play around with, so the pajamas came home.

Front view

From the back

The tag said made in India and there was no size label, but it was too big on me so I'm guessing XL or XXL. I started by taking in the sides and sleeves to get a better fit and plan A was to make a tunic or dress. A t-shirt that fit me well helped me see how much to take in on each side. I basted the sides and then tried the pajamas on my dress form.

There was quite a bit to take in on the sides

After the sides were basted in, I tried playing with the length. If it went below my knees, it still looked like pajamas. If I shortened it a bit to wear with tights or jeans, it still felt like too much fabric. I settled on plan B and made it about the same length as a t-shirt.

Inside out before sides are finished

The side seams on this shirt are finished with my new-to-me serger. This is the third serger I have bought and it's the first one that has worked. It's a Brother 1034D and it seems to have finished the seams pretty well. I look forward to learning more about how to use the serger, but this was a good first project.

Serged seams, is the thread sticking out too far from the edge of the fabric?

Oops, I sewed a pucker into the side.  That will have to come out

Pucker eliminated

With the side seams done, I pinned the hem and sleeve lengths and used my Bernina 830 to sew those in. The fit well now, but I thought it still needed some embellishment on the front. The shirt definitely has a vintage look, so I searched my odds and ends box for buttons, snaps, etc. that would liven things up. I found some embroidered flowers that came from an estate sale a couple summers ago. I stitched three of these on to the front panel by hand. Lastly, I added some purple centers to the flowers to coordinate with the purple flowers in the fabric.

Flowers stitched on

Adding purple centers

The weather around here isn't going to call for a short sleeve shirt any time soon, but I'll have this shirt ready in my closet when the time comes. Here it is finished on the dress form.

I think the white flowers were a great addition

Loose fitting, but not several sizes too big

Kept the pleats in the back

Ruffled Shirt Refashion

Let's start this year off with some color and whimsy.  My first refashion of 2017 was a dress to shirt conversion.  This is the only picture I have of the original dress.  The price tag says $5.88, but I got it for $1.93 last January.  In fact, I bought it on Martin Luther King Day last year, so it it only took me a year to get this refashion done. It was a button-up dress with ruffles on the front that had a matching belt.  It was too big for me, but I liked all the colors in the fabric and thought it could be sized down into a shirt.  

Belt missing from this picture

The first thing I did was to take in the sides a bit and to cut out the side pockets.  The pockets were placed a bit high, and there was too much fabric so it added padding to my already sufficiently padded hip area.  The next step was to shorten the dress to a reasonable shirt length.  Thirteen inches came off the bottom.  I finished the new the hem by hand.

New hem goes in

Finished hem after pressing

The sleeves were a bit short, but I didn't want to take them off, so I cut off the ends of the belt and put straps on the sleeves so I could roll them up and wear them as 3/4 length.  My plan was to make button holes, but I'm still learning how to work with my Bernina 730 and I am haven't mastered consistent buttonholing yet.  I rooted around in my button box and found two small snaps for plan B. They are not the same shape, but I figure they're going on two separate arms and no one will ever notice the difference.

Close enough for now

Here is one sleeve with the snap sewn in place.  You have to look pretty close to even find the snap, so I don't think anyone is going to notice the discrepancy in fastener shape.

Can you find the snap?

Once the sleeve is turned back and snapped up, the snaps are hidden and it looks good.

Finished sleeve

The finished shirt on the dress form.

Front

Side

Back

Zoom in on ruffles

The shirt was finished yesterday and it got its first outing into the city last night.  T and I drove down to meet his brother for dinner.  These pictures are from the hotel lobby near the parking garage.  The lighting is less than ideal, but we just snapped a few pictures before they kicked us out for loitering.

                                        

Good finished length

From where I sit, this project appears finished.

Sewing Month Project #2

We are over half way through National Sewing Month.  Here's one sewing project I have been working on in the last couple weeks and a good reminder that not every refashion goes as planned. You think you're going to make one thing and the sewing gods have other plans. This skirt started out as a very large shirt that I bought at the Goodwill last summer.

I took the sleeve cuffs and collar off and then ripped the sleeve and side seams.  I planned to make a dress using the same pattern as I had used for an earlier blue and white polka-dot dress.  I decided not to line the dress and that left me just enough fabric to cut out all the pieces. 

Here are the pieces I had to work with after disassembling the shirt.

A sleeve becomes bodice pieces

I did not follow the grainline when laying out the pieces.  I was just trying to fit them onto the fabric. When I got them all cut out, I spent about 2 hours trying to put the bodice together.  When I finally tried it on, the armholes were too small, there was not enough fabric to put a zipper in the back, and there was puckering in the yoke.  I didn't have any extra fabric to make changes or start over,  so I scrapped the top and just sewed the bottom into a skirt.  I had worked the original shirt front buttons into the front of the skirt, but I needed to add bias tape for the waist and then a fastener for the waist. It's not what I set out to make, but it was a good learning project.  How are your sewing projects coming along?

Finished skirt