Refashioned Tank from Men's Button Down

My b-n-law gifted me a stack of clothing after a closet clean out. Is there anything better for a refashionier? It was a little while ago, but I am so pleased to get around to one of his pieces! After gathering plenty of "pinteresting" ideas for men's button downs, I am happy to give one a try...

For the direction I wanted to go with this, I knew this old blue, ribbed, Anthro tank with lace trim would be the perfect partner in crime.

I tried it on first, drawing in chalk approximately where I wanted the pieces to fit together, and made sure to cut below that line.

Then piece two got the axe.  I cut off the arms/chest/collar all in one piece, thinking I may use that portion for another refashion someday.

It took the power of my whole brain to figure this puzzle out: right sides together, top portion upside down, so when sewn and flipped up, full article will be correct. (Yikes.) 

Starting with the underarms in place, then front center and back center, I stretched the tank to match the button down, like you would with elastic*, creating a bit of gather.

A zig-zag stitch seemed right to use to sew these two together, so there would be a little give, and then I trimmed off the excess.

*In hindsight, I would not do this exactly the same. The knit fabric pulled too much in the back especially, and had a funny, puffy effect. I suggest not to stretch the tank portion, but pin the dress shirt to it in the same manner. But, rather than taking the stitches out and starting again, I created a few little darts to get the back to lay more flat, which helped, and was quicker solution.

All in all, I think this is a completely wearable summer top. Luckily for me, I have more dress shirts to play with, so I'll have ample opportunity to put to use the lesson learned here.

...and in the meantime, I'll stop and smell the roses. 

T-Shirt Refashion with Lace Trim

This concept came from my favorite source: someone else's blog. Trash to Couture, offers truly compelling ideas and inspiration, and if you're a regular on the Pinterest like me, you've undoubtedly run across her work.

Though my interpretation varies from the original, the notion is is the same. The steps are simple enough: cut apart sides creating a basic rectangle shape, attach lace to T, sew two sides of lace together, leaving room for arm hole, repeat on the other side.

Admittedly, this project was done a while back, but it is still getting plenty of action in my wardrobe rotation. Just the other day I was wearing it and thought I'd post, share, and let it simmer in my brain to perhaps motivate a new piece...

Refashioned Utility Vest

What you would call this before number? Short sleeved utility tunic jacket thingy? Whatever it is, I loved it pretty intensely, years ago, and have tried it on many times lately. With each attempt to wear, I'd stare in the mirror for a bit, then hang it back up, feeling somehow, something off about it. But recognizing its potential to become a vest- a refashion is the clear solution!

Is it just me, or are these kinds of vests everywhere right now? In stores and DIY blogs like crazy, no? I must admit my pleasure in the color (my fave) of this piece. It is not the typical olive or khaki- which to me makes it trendy, but not overly trendy.

To start this transformation, I got rid of the pocket flaps. The hardware on them was a little too: nipple jewelry! I'm sorry, but it's true! The placement and way they hung was just... they had to go; trust me.

Then the sleeves were removed and re-hemmed. Someday, I'll take the time to learn the proper way to notch and sew curves, but for now, I'm a total wing-er. This step not only immediately makes it a vest, but solved a slight problem as well. The sleeves had always been a tiny bit constricting. You're welcome, arms- be free to move about as you please!

I could have left it at that. But when I tried it on again, the drop waist aspect was not making me happy. I realized, this is why it originally felt off to me. A drop waist can be great in the right context, but it wasn't making sense for this nor was it flattering. After hemming and hawing about how to tackle that, I chopped about 3 inches out of the middle. Thank you rotary cutter. You are a true friend.

Upon sewing the new halves back together, I top stitched just above the belt loops, to match the detail already done below them. I was really nervous about this, having never tried to take length out of the middle of a garment, but I think it turned out alright.

For icing, I added a couple of darts in the back to alleviate some of the boxiness. Again, I'm not sure that my technique here is the best, but the desired affect was achieved- I'm learning as I go!

So: for exactly $0, I have a new, on trend piece, that is 100% unique, incredibly versatile stylistically, and functionally utilitarian; a welcome addition to my Spring wardrobe. Score. I love refashioning.

I'm feeling very inspired after this project... on to the next!

After enjoying a beautiful day in downtown Austin, that is.

Eyelet Trimmed Sweater

As my farewell to cool weather, and a long, strange winter for us here in ATX, I'm posting my last sweater for what I fear will be all too many moons...

This over-sized grey (and tiny, white striped) sweater came from a place where I often find myself browsing: the clearance rack in the men's department at Target. All it needed was a couple of tweaks.

Changing the neckline makes all the difference in the world, don't you think? Adding this eyelet trim gave a slouchy sweater a sweet, feminine detail that I love.

I needed this super simple refashion, as I've been working on another for weeks and weeks, slowly but surely. I'll give you a clue: sequins. Check out my SequInspiration Pinterest board for more hints. Hopefully it'll be ready to share really soon!

Toddler Vest

You know when you start a project thinking, "This will be an easy, simple, quick project", and a couple of months pass and it's still not finished...

This scrap fabric came from the clearance bin at the fabric store. I wasn't intentionally looking for fabric (it was supposed to a quick in-and-out trip), but this rocketship-printed fleece was so precious, I couldn't not buy it. So I did; although I had no idea what it would become, I did know who the what would be for.

I have an adorable, nearly 2-year-old niece who I don't get to see often enough as we live 1800 miles apart. We were together for the holidays though, so, using one of her vests, I made a pattern and quickly had three pieces sewn into a basic vest shape.

That part was easy, however, as often happens with me, I got stuck on the finishing. So this became an experiment and lesson for me on a few things:

1) Fuzzy fleece- this shed like a mutha! There were (and still are) little blue fluffs all over the floor! Plus, and more importantly, this is why I desperately needed to finish it. Trying to fold and hem it under was impossible- it got all stuck in the machine when I tried. 

2) Binding- I have never used binding before, so this was for sure a learning experience! I used the extremely knowledgeable Habby Goddess as my main teacher, though I read and viewed a bunch of tutorials before I started so that I didn't mess it up too badly! The result is imperfect, but I did get a little better as it as I went.

3) Zipper installation- sucks. I was so proud of myself a while back when I successfully put in a zipper on a Pillow Case, but that was a whole different story. Mostly, again, because of the fuzz factor. Maybe I should've bound and then zippered? I ended up using wash away basting thread to hold it in place, then machine sewed. That worked. -ish.

You can see it looks a little bumpy and does not lay completely flat, but the wash away thread is super cool!

All challenges and lessons aside, I think it turned out to be pretty dang cute! And it's really dang cute on the really dang cute little girl!

I also included a little lovie blankie from leftovers and legwarmers from an old pair of my socks in this "just-because" care package that didn't make it for Christmas and might be out of season come birthday.

...and maybe I'm just a proud aunt, but this thank you note is the. best. thing. ever.

Sweater with Removable Leather Details

Here it is! My completed sweater with leather details- and not just any leather details, removable leather details! Though it has been a long process, I'm so happy with the outcome.

Inspired by this trend, I have created a mood board on Pinterest dedicated to collecting like images, but there were a couple of aspirational pieces in particular swirling around in my head during this refashion.

My most recent post showed how I made the collar. And though the collar was the most complex piece to this puzzle, I won't describe the rest was as simple...

This blue-green sweater is a thrifted find, which began several sizes too big for me. I loved the over-sized length, but ultimately needed to rid the frump.

Following the tailoring principles laid out so clearly in a tutorial by Australian blogger, jltfk, I took in the shoulders, arms, and body. (The shape would have shown better in photos on me rather than a hanger.)

Measuring the length from the end of the sweater cuff to my wrist, the width around my arm, plus room to hem, I cut rectangles for cuffs from an old pair of leather pants. (If I were going to do this over again, I'd cut these larger, rather than just the exact measurements required. A bit more wiggle room would have been nice.)

For each cuff, using a leather needle, I machine sewed a hem on one long side.

Folding in half width-wise, right sides facing, I sewed again, leaving as slim of an allowance as possible...

then turned each cuff right side out.

At 5 points along the outside, raw edge of each cuff, I hand sewed snap faces.

Inside the cuffs of sweater, I carefully matched up and sewed in the counter parts.

By stitching between layers of the sweater knit, instead of going all the way through, the snaps are invisible from the outside.








(Most of this was done on a day off, while watching a marathon of Project Runway All Stars.)








The removable aspect of these details is important to me because I really want to be able to wear and launder this sweater easily. I am NOT a fan of dry/leather cleaning. It's expensive, it requires time and extra errand running, it's no good for the environment, and I just always wonder- is it even clean? In my brain, the chemicals probably do me more harm than any germs, dirt, or microbes would. Like I said, not a fan. Hence, with removable pieces, this problem is solved in a snap! Now I can take off the cuffs and collar, spot clean them as needed, wash the sweater on a delicate cycle, and lie flat to dry. Done.

A sophisticated garment was my goal and I think I achieved that to the best of my ability. I can genuinely say that I am proud of my work. 

Wool Sweater to Vest (+ Boot Cuffs!)

Why, you ask, would I choose to do this to a pretty great sweater? Well...

Elbow patches were put on a couple of years ago, for self-explanatory reasons; similar, but not the same as a more recent Elbow Patch Fix. This is one of my OG refashions, although I guess really it's more of a mend then a refashion... It took me about a hundred hours to do by hand, but the hole got covered, and I thought it turned out nicely. I was very proud. Then, my husband tried it on. Turns out, the patches were not quite in the right spot for his elbows. Dang. He was a good sport and wore it anyway, but lo and be-holed, a new sucker ripped right through where his elbow actually hit. When I then managed to shrink it via laundry, he couldn't really wear it anymore, and it no longer seemed worth re-patching. Dang. Poor sweater, right?

By simply cutting off the shrunken, non-hole-covering-patched arms, hemming with a zig-zag stitch around the openings, a perfectly wearable vest is born! It's his, but I wonder which of us will wear it more?

Added bonus: the salvaged cuffs from the sleeves were perfect for a pair of boot cuffs! For a super fun and femme embellishment detail, I tacked on a little flower appliqué leftover from a Lace Trim Shorts project I did a while back. I heart them.