Wardrobe Refashion

It's all I can do for now

I've been without sewing machine for two weeks now, and I really don't like it any more... I finished the knitted cowl, but I'm not very happy with it (it should have been bigger, but I only had to balls of that yarn). 

I've got just one thing to share with you, and I really don't think it classifies as a real refashion. I found this half circle skirt in soft red leather at a thrift stall at the local market. I tend to buy cheap second hand leather items there in order to cut them up and make bags. I kind of like to 50-look of this one though, so I'll keep it as a winter skirt for now. All I had to do about it, was thread new elastic in the waistband to make sure it would stay in place on my body.

Staying motivated

Hiya! I'm keeping on track-yay! made a funky lil dress out of a thrifted tee,skirt&a bit of lace for a friends daughter.

I also used some thrifted black fabric from my stash and modified a retro girls pattern from 1982 & made myself a playsuit (the original pattern came in at the waist but i wanted the band to sit on my hips, so I lowered the waist on the shorts&lengthened the top down to fit). I haven't worn one since i was 5 but I'm actually loving this one&I'm sure it'll be perfect for poppin on over my bikini for trips to the beach this summer =) I definately think I will make another one with a bit more detail&slighter longer shorts to get away with wearing off the beach too!

Jammies From Vintage Sheets

I hate to brag, but ARNT'T THESE COOL?  I love love love them.  I bought several vintage sheets at an estate sale a while back for 50 cents each.   I'm sure I'll make enough of these to last me through a few ice storms this winter!  Details at My Inner Old Lady.

ohhps catch up

So I've been a little slow at adding things in. but my resolve has been strong. I've found myself walking past clothes shops, or just popping in for ideas...i might be contemplating signing up for longer.....but let me show you my work... first completed project is a rowan jumper which started off as wool, which turned into a blanket which turned into a jumper and here it is...it's still a little big but I'm liking it

I also finished a dress made from £5 remnant cotton which i'm still not sure whether it's too baggy but with some cowboy boots and a little bit of confidence had it's first successful outing last week.

and finally I'm not sure if this counts but instead of buying a new dress for my friends wedding last weekend I decided to drag a dress out that i love but have never worn that much because of it's low low neckline and my itty bitty bee stings. But with a bit of needle and thread adjusted the neckline, put a hand made shrug over the top and i danced the night away...plus i get to show a picture of my beautiful friend.

Fit to be Tied

In my last post I mentioned that my sewing machine stopped working.  Turned out it was a connection in the foot pedal that wasn't working.  My step-dad 'fixed' it but it no longer eased into higher speed, it was either not going or going fast. :D  I don't mind, it works, but then I broke a piece off the back of it putting it in the trunk of my car so now I have to fix that.  Thankfully my mom loaned me one of her machines so I can still sew.  In the last week I finished a shirt for my husband, several bibs which were made from recycled fabrics and scraps and are for sale at Rare Funk in downtown Kitchener and two shirts for my son.  I posted a couple pictures of the latest shirt on my blog and I also posted a picture of an example of the bibs I made up though the photo is an older one, my son is definitely not that small any more!
Here's my boy in his new shirt.  I think he's scheming something.

Bleeargh.

Hello all!

I haven't posted anything since my introduction and it's driving me crazy. School is mostly eating me alive, but i've found time to work on a few things. It's still a work in progress, but I thought I'd post what I was working on so I don't feel like such a slacker. 

I have this men's shirt I got at Goodwill ages ago. I saw a really cute shirt on modcloth.com that I wanted to buy, but since I'm being a good kid, I didn't. It is serving as my inspiration. I'm making a few changes. There will probably be straps and the waistline will be lower. I'll post pictures as soon as some of my deadlines pass and some assignments go away for good. I'm hoping to get this finished by the end of the week. 

Refashioned dress for DD from my old T

Left: model; right: my finished refashion.

I had this old T that I didn't like. And DD has this favourite dress that's too small for this coming summer. So I used the dress to trace out a dress on this T to make a refashioned dress from the T.

I was so mean that I tried to use almost every bit of the T.

See more at my blog here and here.

Boy's Bath Robe Made From Sofa Throws

I made this bath robe for my son using Butterick 6974, a 1980's pattern. It is so comfy. He loves to snuggle up in it. I used plush fleece sofa throws for the material. It feels very luxurious. You should have seen my floor. This material really sheds when you cut into it. To help prevent further shedding once it was sewn, on the inside, I first sewed two rows of stitching, then zig zagged the edges. For that professional finished look, I top stitched the outside of the robe. And voila, a handsome robe for a handsome boy.

I'd love for you to come and visit me at my blog.

Trudy Callan of Sewing With Trudy

Oops....:\

AH!  So, I'm really bad at posting the things that I have done, and even worse at taking pictures of everything I've done....So here's a list of what I've done over the past month so far:

1. T-shirt to ruffled shrug
2. Halloween costumes for the boys from leftover felt (dinosaur for my 3 year old and a baby dinosaur egg for my 1 year old)
3. 2 dresses out of stash fabric (LOVE these!)
4. 1 Skirt out of stash fabric
5. I've attempted to make a skirt out of an old pair of pants...turns out there isn't enough fabric (AH!)

So that's it for now.  Hopefully I can get more done...but of course I didn't think about the fact that I started grad classes this semester....Silly Erin...

Happy Apron

The management at my local thrift store saves up all the vintage clothes, or things that are generally a little too strange for everyday wear, to sell at Halloween. So it is that I recently bought a rather odd little sun dress on the Halloween rack with an irresistible print. 

I squeezed into the dress, which was  (I hope) designed for a girl and it looked ridiculous on me. But, I decided to buy it anyway for the fabric. It just made me so damn happy.

The design was unusual: one piece of fabric, a half circle, with the bib and back cut out of the middle and a seam up the back.

So it was very easy to refashion into a new apron . I just cut off the back and used it to make ties and a pocket. Then I re-sewed the facing in an apron style with the ties encased, trimmed off the extra triangles and hemmed the sides.

Now I  can dress-up like a cheerful, happy housewife while churning out yet another dinner. For another before photo, and bonus digressions on aprons and firefighters click here.