Black and White Tee

I can't believe September and National Sewing Month are almost over. I'm running out of recent projects to share, but I should have enough to finish it out. I think this is the most posts I've ever had in a month's time! :)
This t-shirt idea started out as a tank top, which is how I cut the top of the shirt. I'm not sure what made me change my mind, but I decided to add sleeves. The shoulder seams don't hit me exactly where they should, but other than that, I like the fit. I love using my existing wardrobe as patterns. It makes it easier for me to visualize what the piece should look like on me when I finish.

My photographer was begging me to make a funny face and that picture happened to be the best shot he got of the front of the shirt. :P

How To Use A Doily

A few weeks ago I told you these were my favorite shorts. Well, I lied... these are my favorite shorts! 

 

I took another pair of jeans from my brother-in-law and cut them off. I was dying a pair of white pants scarlet, so I added these to the RIT dye bath. I didn't bleach them because I didn't want them as red as the pants I was dying. I love the way they turned out! I think they look like a red stone-washed.

My grandma-in-law gave me a bunch of doilies. Don't tell her, but I cut one and sewed it on the shorts. She didn't like the idea that I wasn't going to use them as actual doilies. What she doesn't know won't hurt her. Besides, I don't even think I know how they are supposed to be used. I like my way better anyway!

I took in the waistband. I put a few lace flowers on some holes above the back pockets. I put one on front too, just for continuity. I also stitched around the bottom so they wouldn't fray any more than they already have. Now I just hope the red doesn't bleed...

Reversible Athletic Shorts

As soon as Michael gets home from work, he puts on athletic shorts. The boys want to be like daddy and love wearing them too. The first pair of reversible athletic shorts I made came from a reversible XL shirt I got at a garage sale. I forgot to get a before picture, but you can see how I cut them out. I used the neckline as the waistband.

I found this pair of shorts in a bag of hand-me-downs given to Tate. 

Unfortunately, the elastic was shot. Since clothing makers insist on securing the elastic like Fort Leavenworth, it is a major pain to replace it.This fact is lucky for Mayer- I can cut them down to fit him.

First, I cut off the crunchy elastic waistband. Then I used a pair of shirts that fit as my pattern to cut the shorts down to Mayer's size. I left the bottom hem intact and sewed the shorts like 2 separate pairs. I found using the vinyl presser foot kept the fabric from slipping.

 

I folded one side over 2" elastic and used a knit/ stretch stitch versus a zig-zag. 

 

I folded the white side under and sewed it on the elastic, next to the black. I decided it looked better to also sew the bottom of the elastic.

Dress Shirt Refashion

I love men's dress shirt refashions. Most I have refashioned for warm weather, but now it's time to think about cooler weather. 

 

I cut off the existing collar, added a Peter Pan collar using some scrap material covered with lace, altered it to a woman's fit and cut the sleeves down to 3/4 length. I also decided I wanted the buttons in the back for a different look.

Scalloped Shorts

This is a short and sweet National Sewing Month post. There isn't much to stay about them.

 

These shorts used to be a pair of dress pants. Unfortunately, I didn't remember to take a before picture.They were tough to alter and after I did one side, they sat in my unfinished business pile for a lot of the summer. I won't be making another pair. :)

Men's Shirt to Dress

The National Sewing Month posts continue!
This refashion has been haunting me all summer, well since mid-June anyway! It's been setting on my drafting table torturing me. I could not get it to fit the way I wanted. I'd work on it periodically and give up in frustration. I remembered to take a before shot:

I was so excited to refashion this shirt that I even drew a basic sketch of what I wanted.

The neckline went together easy and I thought the dress did too, until I tried it on. The front looked great, but the back was bunched up so much I looked like the Hunchback of Notre Dame! I kept readjusting it and it seemed like no matter what I did I still couldn't get it to lay flat.
Finally, just in time for the end of summer, I figured it out!

Refashion of a Refashion #1

I did a lot more sewing during the past spring and summer season than I realized! That means more National Sewing Month posts. :)
My sister bought some sheets to make some curtains she saw on Pinterest. It turned out to be more difficult than she bargained for and changed her mind. She left the sheets with me to do as I please. I've used them on several projects so far. The fabric matched perfectly with some other fabric I had, so I put them together to make a dress... or rather a long shirt.

Obviously, I love this pattern (see here, here and here).  The top is the sheet and the bottom is a refashion of a previous refashion. It came from a tank top dress I made and I didn't like so I never took any pictures. I didn't extended the yoke and the bottom ended up being too short so I made a skirt/ extended slip out of the sheet and some lace. I can also wear the top with shorts or jeans. I can also use the skirt/ slip with other outfits.

Shin Guards From a T-shirt

September is National Sewing Month and fall soccer season.
Last spring, I upcycled a pair of baby legwarmers into a pair of soccer shin guards. Unfortunately, the elastic in the top is now completely gone and now they barely stay up. They also no longer hold the guards in place. Case in point:

Tate got an old hand-me-down soccer t-shirt from an acquaintance. I thought it would make the perfect pair of shin guards.

They weren't the best fit, but they were lucky- he scored his first goal ever!! I wish I had been recording it because it was a sliding kick that accidentally went into the goal.

I made them a little too wide in order to keep the entire print intact. You can see the guard starting to peak out on his right side. I may try to make a plain pair a little narrower to see if they fit better.

Refashion Fails

My National Sewing Month posts wouldn't be an honest sharing if I didn't share some of my failures too.
My first is was a refashion of a men's dress shirt. I was using this pattern and I'm not exactly sure what went wrong. Maybe because instead of totally taking the shirt apart, I left it attached at the shoulders. Or maybe it's the waist section. It might be because I tried to make it a high-low dress.

The second was a vintage tablecloth refashion. I used this pattern again. It fits great on top, loose in the middle and extremely tight across my butt! I'm thinking of modifying it into a dress, similar to this, but not sure I have enough material left to add a panel or quite how to do it. I'm trying to figure a creative way around it because the remaining fabric has a stain on it. I also got the armholes a little long. Until then, it will be in my "refashion in progress" stash.

 

This is a fail for me, but Mayer benefited. He got a pair of shorts because I forgot to flip my pattern on a pair for myself. I had identical pieces instead of mirror images. As often as he wears them, I'm surprised I don't have a better picture of them. I'm still bitter about it because I love the color and I wasted a bunch of 2XL active wear fabric.

Vintage Pillowcase Refashion

September is National Sewing Month! I'm sharing my projects from the past spring/ summer.
Last summer I bought two pillowcases at a yard sale. I tried to refashion one into a tank top, but I could never get a fit I liked. Now I can't find it... I was probably so frustrated I put it in my garage sale pile! I'm still hoping it turns up somewhere.

 

This summer I decided to try a different approach. I've always loved 1960's fashion. (It's one of the main reasons I LOVE Mad Men!) I really like the mod a-line shift dresses.
I started looking through my Pinterest pins to see if I could find an inspiration or pattern. I found a pattern/ tutorial I had pinned from Sewing In No Man's Land. Bonus: it was in my size so I didn't have to re-size it! (I made a different version of the pattern here.) I wanted sleeves, but didn't have enough fabric to make them because I was using fabric leftovers.

Linen and Lace Swing Shirt

Happy National Sewing Month! I am sharing my recent projects- most of which happen to also be refashions. This is the second project #2 from this linen dress:

The top half is featured in this post, so is the refashion of the middle section. It was inspired by a shirt I saw on Pinterest. 

I wish I could crochet because it comes with a patten; but alas, I have forgotten everything my great grandma taught me! (If you click the shirt, it will direct you to the pattern.) Since I can't crochet I had to fake it with a lacy table runner.

These pictures aren't very good, so I will have to post some better picture later.

Men's Dress Shirt to Shorts

September = National Sewing Month and I'm sharing my recent projects.
Even though I usually run in the dark, I wanted some cute running shorts. I looked through my used clothes fabric selection and found a men's dress shirt that I liked. Since I wanted them to be cute, I added some lace trim and a button on the sides. I even had enough shirt left over to make Mayer some shorts too- without the lace and buttons! :)

Cut Off Shorts

Although this project took minimal sewing, I did make some alterations and I'm sharing it for National Sewing Month anyway.
I have seen a lot of cut off shorts this summer. While I like the look, most are A LOT shorter than I think a 30-something 29ish year old mother of two should be wearing, despite what my husband thinks.
The pair of jeans came from a big stack my brother-in-law was going to throw/ give away. We are the same height and about the same weight, so I was pretty sure they would fit me. You've heard of boyfriend cut jeans, well these are my brother-in-law cut (not to be confused with my mother-in-law cut.) :)

The only sewing I did was to take in the waistband about an inch and sewed a patch on under a hole. These are my favorite shorts! I'm sure they don't look that flattering, but they are comfortable.

Denim Maxi Skirt

I'm sharing my recent sewing projects since September is National Sewing Month.
The request for me to make a denim skirt came from my mom. She had seen some cute refashioned denim skirts and what to see what I could come up with. She got me a pair of Wranglers to use. I looked searched for inspiration, but I didn't really see anything that grabbed my attention.

 My version isn't very creative, but it does have some character. I left the edges raw around the bottom and where the panels are inserted. I also had fun with the stitches I used to patch a hole on the back.

Retro 80's Running Shorts

It's National Sewing Month, so I'm sharing my recent sewing projects.
I wanted a new pair of running shorts. I pinned a tutorial for a pair of boy's 80's running shorts, but I totally wanted to make a pair for myself too! (No, I haven't made the boys any yet, just myself.) I followed the tutorial, but ran into a snag... literally. 

I used some old pillowcases as my fabric. Everything went fine, until I tried them on before adding an elastic casing. The fabric started unraveling where I had sewed on the bias tape. Obviously these pillowcases have a low thread count! :)

I was still determined to make a pair, so I switched to my favorite refashion stand-by, t-shirts. I had plenty of grey t-shirts and to make them more retro- 80's, I added neon orange "bias" tape from another t-shirt. I must have wanted to add as much neon orange as possible because I didn't line up the curved edge very well. The picture on the far right is how they should have looked. I ended up adding a neon yellow piece so not as much of my upper thigh showed.

They are a little baggier than I would like. (Michael doesn't like them because they are too big.) About a week after I made mine, Melly Sews, a blog I follow, posted a pattern and tutorial for the same shorts I made. It was only when reading that I realized another reason my shorts were so baggy- I also forgot to count in the stretch factor of the knit fabric. The shorts I used as my pattern were bigger because they are made of woven material. I should have known that, but lesson learned and we'll just call it a blond moment!
These make me miss running! I haven't been able to run in about a month because on my shinjury. I am going to the doctor later this week to find out why they are still causing me so much pain. I've been doing some cross-training, but almost every leg exercise seems to put stress on my shins. I will definitely be asking the doctor for some options.

Denim Dress

Happy National Sewing Month! I'm trying to share some of my recent sewing projects. (The problem is finding a decent and willing photographer in my house to take my picture!)
I saw this picture on Pinterest and I wanted to do something similar. I think it's a Gap shirt or maybe it was a little girl's dress; either way, I can't find an actual link any more.

Here's my copycat:

I modified this pattern. I left off the sleeves and made the front panel solid to keep more of the embroidered material. I wish I would have made the yoke longer too because I love the fabric. I found it at a thrift store!

I'm not sure what kind of fabric it is, but it's fairly lightweight. Since I was pairing it with heavy denim, I used fusible interfacing and put denim behind it. The bottom of the dress came from the legs of a pair of jeans... plus about a 2" strip from another pair because it was too tight without it.

Lace Back Shirt

September is National Sewing Month, so I decided to share some of my recent sewing projects.
I've seen a lot of denim and lace styles on Pinterest- probably because I follow a lot of sewing and refashion boards. I like the look and thought I would try one. The dress came from one of my mom's friends. She gave me a huge trash bag full of clothes to refashion! It's actually blue linen, but it looks like chambray, so close enough.

I cut it off about halfway to make a shirt, cut out the back panel and then I inserted a lace table runner in its place.

Most of the refashions I have seen don't have anything underneath the lace, including on the models. In some of the pictures, you can see their bras underneath, but I don't really like that and I almost didn't cut out the back panel before I inserted the lace. I usually wear a camisole under my shirts anyway, so I decided I would like the color pop under the lace. The only thing I don't like is how wrinkled the fabric gets. I am still trying to figure out what to do with the bottom half.

T-Shirt Scrap Refashions and Pattern Adjusting

I have so many t-shirt/ knit scraps and I am always looking for ways to use them. I absolutely love the Elisabethan Eco Fashion styles. Last summer, I used one of their skirts as an inspiration. I have since had to refashion it because I kept finding holes in the pink t-shirt I originally used... it's a refashioned refashion.

Since I have plenty of skirts, I decided I wanted to make a shirt to use up some scraps. I decided to use this raglan pattern as a guide to make a shirt for my mom and myself. I had already used the pattern twice before to make upcycled/ refashioned shirts.

I didn't like the fit under the arms, so after I made alterations to the shirt, I made the adjustments directly on the pattern in case I used it again in the future. When I made a shirt for my mom, I actually had to print a second pattern she didn't need the same alterations.The shaded areas show the differences.

 

Since I wanted to center the design on the front of the shirts, I found it helpful to print the pattern in reverse and attach the two sides together. It made it easier because I couldn't iron a fold in the center or I would have ruined the printed designs. Also, if I made them V-neck, I would have ruined the design.

I have never printed or attached the bottom of the pattern mainly because I just wanted it for the raglan style and knew the length would vary.
Here's my new t-shirt dress:

My photographer had a little trouble handling the camera. These were the best two. The dress ended up shorter than I anticipated, but I had already put a lettuce edge on the bottom and felt it would look weird adding to it. Although I haven't tried it yet, I think it may work with jeans too.
Here is my mom's new shirt:

Mamaw gave me a t-shirt to make her one. I had a pair of "scrap" sleeves from another shirt I wanted to use. I love the earthy tones on hers!

When my niece saw Mimi and Mamaw's shirts, she decided she wanted to make one. We made a pattern and she made the back, but then got distracted by something else and hasn't finished yet. We need another sewing date. :)

 I think my next scrappy t-shirt project might have to be a pair of short or capris or maybe even some yoga pants.

Upcycled Running Skirts

A friend gave me a huge sack of clothes to upcycle/ refashion. I found an activewear t-shirt and I knew I wanted to try to make it into a running skirt. It was a woman's size small, so I knew I wouldn't have a lot of fabric to spare after I made the skirt portion.

The bottom was a little tight, so I added some pleats made from regualr t-shirt scraps to make it wider. I used 2" elastic to give it a little more length because it is shorter than I am usually comfortable with. It's still pretty short, but they work.

Inside, I decided on a boxer brief style rather than briefs. I didn't have enough yellow, so I made the center panel orange. I know you can see it through the white of the skirt, but I don't care. I wanted something bright and fun paired with the white. In case you can't tell by the pictures, the orange and yellow are neon. :)

I had just enough white activewear fabric left to line the orange section, although I did have to do it in pieces.
Michael was going to get rid of several Under Amour heat gear t-shirts and asked me if I wanted them. Of course! Activewear fabric is expensive, so if I can reuse the fabric I already have, I am saving money. I also found a shirt at a garage sale for $.50 and I also used a pair of yoga pants that were too big.

Here's what I came up with:

There are lavender stripes on both sides. You can almost see one on the left side. (I lost the attention of my photographer after 2 pictures.) The only reason I added the stripes was because I felt all black was just too plain. I added lavender trim at the bottom too.

I cut the legs off the yoga pants to make the shorts. I ended up using the top of the yoga pants to make my triathlon shorts.