Dressing Gown to Dressed Up

 

Just a quick refashion for today! As you know from my last posts I took a trip back to home to Minnesota. I can tell you that small town thrift stores are the BOMB! Like $.50 and item at one and a $4 all you can fit in a bag sale at another (Tags shown above)! I also got a ton of inspiration from going to the Mall of America. One piece of inspiration started this refashion. One of the best stores I went in was Ragstock. While there I noticed that they were selling vintage dressing gowns to wear as kimonos! What a novel idea, but for $24 I think I can thrift my own! I purchased this one for around $.20 (it was part of the bag sale) and another one for around $4 (it is vintage Hawaiian from Hawaii in the middle of podunk nowhere in MN I had to have it). My grandma didn’t necessarily see the vision behind the look and after trying to wear this one I had a bit of agreement with her that it still looked like a robe. I decided to grab some fringe from the fabric store to throw on the bottom to make it look more like a rocker kimono. Well I soon found out fringe is expensive and putting $18 a meter fringe on a $.20 robe is crazy talk. So I decided to make my own!

$5 later and an entire roll of crochet thread later I was ready to go! Some of my inspiration for the fringe was:

• Inspiration 1
• Inspiration 2
• Inspiration 3

Sorry about the selfie photos! I am redecorating my apartment and stuff everywhere, but there are a few refashions there too! I tried this out two ways once with the distressed jean shorts and one with a simple black dress! I am thinking about possibly adding more fringe, but that can be added later! Overall I think adding the fringe and omitting the belt it looks far less like a robe.

This is my small towns county fair parade! Till next time as always stay creative!

From Long Sleeve to LBD!

This is my favorite refashion that I have done recently! I found this men’s XXL long sleeve t-shirt at the goodwill outlet and fell in love with how soft it was! I knew it could be turned into something fantastic!

I swear I’m wearing bike shorts in this photo! To start with I knew I wanted to make it sleeveless so I seam ripped the sleeves off and disassembled them. Then I ripped out the side seams of the torso.

I have another black swing dress that I used in my Outfit #2 Floral Swing Dress as a pattern. I laid out my pieces on the floor and then simply put the other dress on top as a template.

It is somewhat hard to see because both items are black but you get the idea.

I traced around the arm holes and just below to get the angle for the sides of the dress. After a quick snip to get them the right shape I put a simple hem on the armholes. After working with it I decided to not just make a simple mock necked swing dress. The plan had been to trim the shoulder curve of the detached arms to recreate the swing, but I decided to just put a simple hem on the existing curve. This would make it a straight front and back with longer curved sides. Doing this would set it apart from my the dress I patterned it from.  I trimmed the sleeve pieces into triangle shapes and attached it to each of the sides.

DONE! I love quick refashions! This dress turned out to be super comfortable and can be dressed up or down! It is possibly a tad short but I will always wear my black bike shorts under so no mater where the wind blows I’m covered! I think I prefer it belted, but it looks good either way!

I just finished it yesterday and it has already been worn to a birthday party and for a long walk in the park! The only thing I may change is the hem on the arm holes. I think taking just a bit more off would give me a better shoulder line. Other than that I am really happy with it and I think it will transition to fall quite nicely!

As always until next time stay creative!

A Shameful Refashion

For my second vacation refashion I decided to do something that I KNOW I am going to get razzed for when I go home. I made cutoff distressed shorts. I have numerous memories of my dad saying “it’s such a shame that they can’t afford to wear pants without holes” when looking at a “trendy” teenager. He fully knew that they had purchased the jeans with holes in them, but being a farmer that often put holes in his jeans without trying he would shake his head.

I have wanted a pair of darker washed distressed shorts since doing the black doily blouse because I think that would be a nice outfit. I started out with these dark wash jeans. If I knew ANYONE who would fit them I would have gladly given them away because they were nice jeans, but because I found them at the goodwill outlet (where they had been passed over) for around $1 I

This photo is my inspiration! If you would like to see the original blog it can be found here. The blog is Soraya Bakhtiar with photos by Lina Bessonova and the shorts are from Rag and Bone and can be found here. I liked these shorts because they were more of a Bermuda style and were somewhat baggy in the thigh. 

From there I simply cut them off with plenty of length to be able to provide the wide cuff like the inspiration photo, then I went into distressing mode. There are plenty of tutorials that show graters used to distress jeans, but I decided to just use my seam ripper to cut the vertical strings. This was because I liked the look of the dark wash and I wanted them to keep some of their strength. I also decided that these straight leg mens jeans with a wide cuff just didn’t give the nice lose fit through the thigh. I guess this refashion wasn’t going to be as easy as I thought.

I decided to add in a triangle in the outer seam to make them nice and baggy. I thought I may mind the way they looked after but I don’t actually mind with the distressed vibe of the shorts. I tacked the cuff down using the existing seams and a few small stitches on the back to hold the shape.

Confession time. I sometimes use my hair straightener to fix my hems. This hem was extremely messy after it came out of the wash. I have no room right now to set up my ironing board so out came the straightener.

Ignore the doggie death stare he was far from impressed.

Overall I am really happy with how they turned out! There is far less distressing on mine than the inspiration ones, but holes tend to get bigger over time so that was on purpose for the longevity (and perhaps less razzing). There is also no distressing on the back or the sides to prevent snagging on things while I’m sitting.

As always till next time stay creative!

 

From Bottom to Top

Just a quick refashion for today! I am gearing up for vacation (if you are going home does that qualify????) and I could use a few new items to add to my suitcase. This is the first one! Have you ever picked up an item and fell in love with the print? Well that’s what happened with this skirt! Unfortunately….

It fits one of my thighs. I kid you not…

OK it wasn’t a snug fit but you get the idea. I also don’t prefer to wear this type of skirt anyway so I decided to do a 180….literally. I turned it upside down.

I used the waistband of the skirt as the bottom band of this crop top. When I cut the skirt I made it wider for the front of the top than the back. Then I made a simple hem all the way around. For the straps I took the bottom existing hem of the skirt and folded it over and cut it at the existing seams. Fortunately the straps were long enough to allow me to make a cross in the back. The final addition to the top was to create a ruching in the front for a further vintage vibe.

For these photos I paired it over a black bandeau, but depending on what you were wearing any color could look nice. Sorry for not taking more photos I made it at around 4am. I am quite happy for such a fast refashion. The only thing I am slightly disappointed in is the fold over on the left side looks like a bit of a mistake because it is white, but the right side folds the same just with a patterns so it looks better. As always I need to throw in a dog photo!

As always till next time stay creative!

All Doily-ed up

This refashion is far from work wear! I refashioned this a few weeks ago, but I have been neglecting to post it because I wanted to take a few better photos. I originally purchased this shirt to use as fabric, but there was something very lovely yet strange about the embroidery on the chest. That was about all that was good about this top. It felt like a combination of a hairdressing smock and something a cult leader may wear?

I always take the worst in progress photos! Granted this could be because I work on these things from Midnight-5am and I plain forget. So basically for this refashion I ripped all the seams besides the ones connecting the neck to the front of the dress. To add interest to this top I decided to reach into my doily/hanky stash. On a related note if anyone would like doilies/embroidery/cross stitch peaces seriously give me a shout! I buy them every time I see them in the goodwill outlet so I probably have around a hundred and will never use all of them! I decided this white square with a subtle cross pattern would be perfect for the back! Since I seam ripped the back of the collar I just slipped the doily inside the collar.

I made the armhole go completely from the neckline to the rib-cage to give it an edgy vibe.

From there I turned the arm fabric upside down and created a gusset type side panel to give it far more flow. In the photo above you can see it as the trapezoidal shape.This is one of my staple tricks to make things bigger!

I took the existing back panel and pleated it to the size of the doily and attached it. Then all that was left was to sew the back to the side gussets.

Here is the final look!

From the front!

 

From the side!

And last but not least from the back!

I am overall rather happy with how it turned out and if the weather stays hot and humid I may need to make a few more! The one thing I am not in love with is its length. If it was a few inches longer it could be a dress, but I think once the weather chills it will be nice to wear with skinny jeans. I might refashion a pair of distressed denim shorts just to wear with this top. Any thoughts? I would love to hear from everyone! Till next time stay creative!

Darn Darning!

OK I actually find darning a bit therapeutic (along with seam ripping). Which is kind of a good thing with it comes to my vintage style! Recently I was asked how to fix a hole in knits. I feel like that half way jinxed me because the next amazing vintage cardigan I had to have turned out to have a hole in it. I guess it’s time for a quick tutorial! Now I will fully admit I don’t crochet or knit so before anyone starts to laugh at me I am doing what I know.

Look at how pretty these colors are! Look at this unattractive hole! I needed to fix this amazingly chunky cozy cardigan!

I dove into my stash of threads and pulled out a burnt oragne that I used on my suede skirt refashion (note to self that was amazing and I need to show you guys) and a gray that I used on the gray yoga pants to shorts refashion a few posts ago.

I took both threads and doubled them up to make them resemble the yarn without being that bulky. The previous owner seem to have knotted the broken threads together keeping the sweater from unraveling, but not really fixing the hole. I worked with the inside of the cardigan leaving the tails of the thread out so I could knot it in the end. I then wove the thread in and out of the knit.

Going back and forth I created row after row of weaved in and out of the knit. It is important to look at the outer view of the knit if you are worried you went to far. This is especially true if your thread colors aren’t right on.

When you are done creating your rows it is time to start weaving in and out columns. I am sorry the photos get hard to see what is being done.

This example is from a 1941 British clothing ration booklet. I was unable to link to the original blog, but I found it here in a blog post created on Colette by Zoe Edwards.

To finish it off I just simply pulled the threads together just a bit, then knotted the starting thread with the ending. It looks just a tad bumpy on the inside, but you need to keep in mind the original bump of the yarn being knotted together.

This is the outside of the cardigan. Can you tell where the hole was? Little hind it is smack dab in the middle of the photo.

 

How cute is it?!? I know it is the middle of summer, but I think it will be a perfect addition to my sweater hoard collection. Although this is not a refashion I think it is a job well done! Until next time stay creative!

Ghosts of Shoulder Pads Past

The Blazer:

This piece wasn’t in my shopping spree, but it is an item I purchased recently! I will fully admit that I was terrified to try to fix the shoulders. I watched a few tutorials and was not confident by any means! Never the less I love the colors and the suede details. I figured worse comes to worse I can make a dog coat out of it!

I started by ripping out the shoulder seam and ripping out a shoulder pad. The right hand photo shows the blazer with the shoulder pad taken out of the shoulder with the breast pocket. The slope of the shoulder can clearly be seen on that shoulder.

I then took the shoulder pad out of the other arm and took the shoulder hem in about half an inch in a circular seam. As you can see by the photo on the left the shoulder is very pointy on the right it is more of a fluid circle.

Needless to say there was a LOT of shoulder pad in this blazer!

The Blouse:

Ok I am not positively in love with this blouse I find its pockets really strange.

Pushing forward from that I really liked the color and I think it could work into my work wardrobe well, but not with these warped icky shoulder pads.

The Top:

I apologize that this was soooo wrinkled! Of all the refashions this had the tiniest shoulder pads, but yet they still bade a difference. I’m not sure what was going on in the 80’s (I only spent a month there) but these pads could clearly be seen through this thin silk.

The Look:

As always till next time stay creative!

Dress Code Ufta

So last week my big boss made an impromptu visit to my office. Unfortunately neither my coworkers or my manager were adhering to our “dress code”. In turn this week the big boss sent out a new dress code form for us to sign. Now to be clear my office is in a truck stop, and our door is literally 15 feet from showers. I don’t disagree with having a dress code by any means, and I LOVE to dress up. Sadly this one is rather constraining and I am at odds with it especially with the high temps and humidity that we have been experiencing lately. Not to get into to many specifics but I don’t want to wear hose when it is 100 degrees out. My one saving grace is that I typically work the graveyard shift and I have been told it is pretty much casual Friday everyday, but for the next few weeks my shifts will be crazy because of peoples vacations. Ok long story short I purchased stuff to make a new quirky work wardrobe.

Now I will admit that not all of this is for a new work wardrobe. I got an absolutely amazing vintage kimono, and a huge roll of this edging which I may use as a stripe on a cigarette pant but mostly because it was just cool. In total I got:

1. Men’s Oscar de la Renta dress pants
2. Men’s Herringbone dress pants (tags on)
3. A full men’s suit (jacket and pants)
4. Retro feeling tweed jacket
5. Gray men’s button down
6. Short sleeve silk top
7. Salmon women’s crop sleeve blazer
8. Teal shoulder padded blouse
9. Funky tapestry vest
10. Vintage super cute kimono
11. HUMUNGUS roll of edging

How cute are these little guys!

So all in all I got 12 pieces for 17.20! Before anyone asks why so much menswear that is what was there and I fell for the fabrics, patterns, and textures. I find it very odd the differences in men’s and women’s dress clothing. Unfortunately (yet somewhat fortunately for you) there is only 1 piece that I am totally 100% sure is ready to wear, but I’m up for the challenge! I will also be pulling a few other items out of my refashion stock to work in! Stay tuned for the progress!

 

 

Two for One Refashion

I LOVE sharing my refashions with people, and no matter how I am introduced to people it is usually one of the first things they find out about me. Because of this I am constantly receiving items to refashion from friends which is amazing! After my last yoga pants to bike shorts refashion I was given these gray wide leg pants from a friend who had replaced them in her wardrobe. She had accidentally sliced a hole in the thigh of these which was at the perfect length to make shorts out of! I know I just did a yoga pants to bike shorts refashion so I wont go particularly in depth about that repeat refashion, but with the leftovers I made a simple companion turban headband!

For these bike shorts I made them slightly longer and with a thicker hem. The thicker hem arose from the leg on these pants being narrower and the fabric being thinner and stretchier than the last pair.

 

That gave me the leftover legs for a matching headband! I decided to make a tunic style one using this tutorial from Do It Yourself Divas as inspiration! The leg seam was in the perfect place for me to make a headband out of half of one leg. I simply cut around the seams then folded it in hot dog style to get my two pieces.

Then I simply used a zig zag stitch to create two tubes then I turned them right side out.

Once they were both turned the right way I folded them into each other. then gathered all the strands together right sides together and sewed them all together. I will more than likely add a piece to cover the raw edges. This isn’t particularly necessary because the raw edges are against my head, but it looks finished. I will probably leave it for now because I want to wear it a few times to make sure I like the fit.

And there you have it!

As always stay creative till next time!

P.S. Yes Rio is smelling my leg in the after photo! If you can’t tell he is a total goofball and always feels the need to be in the photos!

From Pregnancy to Poolside

 

OK first off before anyone gets any ideas I am not expecting. I actually didn’t know that this was a pregnancy top till I started seam ripping it and took a close look at the tag! Needless to say I felt kinda silly because I was really confused as to why this top fit so funny.

Moving on! I love the super fun floral print so decided to make a cute trapeze dress/ swim cover. I started by removing the sleeves. Then turning them into what will be the ties and the loop piece for the front and the back ties to go through. Forgive the threads I missed a few before my photo shoot.

Then I simply sewed up the arm holes and added on the loop to the front and the back. I threaded through a strap at the front and back and tied them together at my shoulders. I wanted to keep it adjustable so I have the ability shorten them and wear it as more of a top if I want.

 

So there it is short sweet and fabulous! I cant wait to wear it to lounge by the lake or pool!

As always till next time stay creative everyone!