Sleeveless Tuxedo Buttondown

A friend has been cleaning out her closet and giving me bags of clothes to refashion. When I found a white long-sleeve button down and a black lace tank top in one bag, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with them!
Inspiration: Free People Sleeveless Tuxedo Buttondown

I took off the pocket and the buttons. I replaced the white buttons with black ones- except for the top one, which I put a jeweled button. I cut off the sleeves and hemmed them. I also had to take in the sides because it was several sizes too big. In the end, I think I took too much in because it's not quite as loose as the inspiration version. I stole* found some cool trim for the collar in my mom's stash. (* I only took what I needed and returned the rest. :))

 

My version:

 

I wore it with a cardigan since it's still chilly. My photographer cut off the top of my head because I just asked him "to take some pictures of the shirt." It must be time to invest in a tripod and a remote. :)

Bandana Sweatshirt

Since the weather isn't exactly warm yet, I decided to refashion another sweatshirt. 
Inspiration: Anthropologie Bobbie Pullover

I had an XL sweatshirt that I knew would be perfect. I ripped the sweatshirt completely apart. I decided I wanted a sweatshirt base under the bandanas.
Before pictures:

I had some trouble with the stitching. It reinforced the importance of using good needles. Mine were pretty dull. I also had a hard time deciding on the lace embellishments. The picture on the left is a close-up of the details on the Anthropologie version. Mine is on the right, but not what I decided on for the final product.

My final version:

As usual, I have some criticisms of my work. The sleeves are a little short, the top is pretty loose and the bottom is a little tight. I could made alterations, but I would have run into more issues. If I took in the top, I would've lost more length on the sleeves. A sweatshirt with 3/4 length sleeves would drive me crazy! Making the bottom a little wider would have required a lot of seam ripping and I didn't want to rip out any more! (Maybe I should just make MY bottom a little smaller- ha ha!) It looks best on the hanger:

Scarf Tank Top

I am ready for warmer weather to stick around. It hasn't been the coldest winter by any means, but Mother Nature has been awfully moody. We enjoy warm temperatures in the mid-60s only to have temperatures drop over night to single digits and usually accompanied by snow. To make matters worse, I saw this tank top and of course,  I was inspired to make one and now I want to wear it.
Inspiration: Anthropologie Slung Scarf Tank

Mine isn't as loose and flowy as the inspiration. The knit shirt I used on the back wasn't big enough to add pleats. It seemed pretty lopsided too. (The brown shirt on top was my pattern.) It was the back from this refashion.

I used a scarf from Michael's grandma for the front. I don't think if I would have made it more flowy, I wouldn't have had enough left over to make the trim around the raw edges of the sleeves and neckline. It was my first attempt at making a front placard. I'm pretty sure I didn't do it the right way, but my excuse was I had a limited amount of scraps to use. Luckily, it worked out in my favor!
My version:

I can't wait until it is warm enough to wear! :)

Beatlemania

It was the mid-80's when my dad made me my first Beatles mix tape from his records. I would ride my bike around the neighborhood with my boombox playing and of course I was singing along. At the time, I think "I Want To Hold Your Hand" and  "Penny Lane" were my favorite songs and John was my favorite Beatle.
Almost 30 years later, I still have that mix tape and my dad's records- yes, I have a record player too- and I have expanded it into a much larger library. Some of my first CD purchases were Beatles' albums. I was a senior in high school when the Anthology came out and John Lennon was the topic of my senior theme. Michael and I walked down the aisle to "All You Need Is Love" after our wedding ceremony.
All the media coverage reliving the 50th anniversary of the Beatles arriving in the US has inspired me to refashion one of my Beatles shirts. I found it at the Goodwill and couldn't resist getting it. I've only worn it a few times, which means it eventually ends up in the refashion stash. I also pinned this wrap skirt as inspiration:

I wasn't sure how to get measurements for a wrap skirt, so I did some research and found a complicated formula. I hate math and just decided to wing it. I came up with a one-size fits all version rather than a specific size.

I had forgotten I think how wrap skirts hang funny on me- probably because my waist measurement is so much smaller than my bottom measurement. (I don't know if it's normal or not, but there's a 10" difference between the two!) I have been assured it looks fine and I will definitely wear it more as a skirt than I did as a shirt.

Wordless Wednesday: Skates, Valentine Shirts and Sleds

Last Thursday Mayer's school had a skating party. Tate loved it! Mayer wasn't too impressed. The skates were too heavy for him and all the toddler skates were already being used.

 

I made the boys two shirts each for Valentine's Day.

 

The weather has been beautiful lately and the boys have been taking advantage of the last pile of snow. They are practicing their Olympic skills! :)

 

The other shirts I made:

I was told the shirt on the right looked too girly for a boy, so my niece, Julianna got a Valentine's shirt. For both of Tate's shirts used a modified version of this pattern. Mayer's tinman shirt was a self-drafted pattern and for his long sleeve shirt, I used this pattern- a smaller version of my Valentine shirt. I prefer sewing raglan style shirts because the sleeves are much easier.

Mistake To Valentine Shirt

Michael asked me to make him several pairs of long johns using microfleece. I was jealous and decided to make myself a pair of leggings with some of the leftover material. While they were warm and cozy, I couldn't figure out why they didn't fit well. I finally discovered I cut the fabric wrong and the stretch went the wrong way! *Palm to forehead*

 I was so disappointed! I don't buy fabric often, so I wasn't about to waste it if I could help it. When I found this pattern, I knew it would work to refashion my blunder.

I used the leggings for the sleeves and luckily I had just enough black left from other projects to make the body of the shirt.

I liked the exposed seam look however, since I was using a thicker fabric and I don't have a serger, I knew it wouldn't work very well. I decided to use a trim piece instead. It doesn't show up very well in the picture, but the center of the trim is pink. I wasn't going to add the heart, but I added it just so I could outline it with more trim. Plus it makes a cute Valentine's Day shirt.

Because Size 2T Slim Pants Don't Exist

One thing I miss about cloth diapers is that they held my skinny boys' pants up! Mayer needs pants with a 12-18 month waist, but 24-36 month length. He has an 18 gallon tote over flowing with size 18-24 month/ 2T hand-me-down pants... just pants! Since size 2T pants fall off and I got rid of most of the size 12 month pants, I had to add length to the 18-24 month sizes.They are still a little big around the waist, but I'm not about to go out and buy more clothes when he has so many!

I had seen a pin on Pinterest to add a contrasting panel to kids' jeans to lengthen them. I thought it was a good idea and liked the look, so pinned it to help me remember. I forgot about it until it started getting cooler outside. (In case you can't see the time-lapse between pictures, I intended to write this a long time ago!) Fortunately, it worked like a charm (except for once when I tried to get fancy with a zig-zag at the bottom). This pair even got an extra pocket.

They still look a little short with his boots, but work well with his tennis shoes and crocs. It has even worked with some of his sweatpants. Unfortunately, he doesn't have any jeans that fit him that don't added the panel. I also don't have enough khaki scraps or figured out a way to lengthen a nicer pair of pants. Thankfully, he doesn't have to dress up much.

 

I need to do this to two pairs of my own sweatpants that are too short to be pants and too long to be capris. While Tate struggles with the same problem, but I hesitate to add length to them since Mayer, my little shorty, will be inheriting them next. (I will probably be adding lengthening panels to these same jeans for several years for Mayer!)
Tate's pants have a different problem, the classic boy problem- holey knees! While he is lucky enough to receive hand-me-downs from his cousins, most of the jeans need repaired. He wears the holey pairs daily and we save the non-holey for special occasions, so they don't end up in the same shape. His favorite pair:

A Hoodie For My Jayhawk Big

Last year my sister gave me a hooded sweatshirt. I refashioned it into a skirt for myself and a pair of pants for Mayer (post). Since I'm a hoarder, I kept the hood just in case I needed it. I have quite a bit of fleece and microfleece fabric leftover from the Christmas and birthday pajama pants I made. Tate is hot-blooded and is usually okay in the winter with a hoodie and a down vest. But I feel like a bad mom and I wanted to make him something a little warmer. I decided to use up some of the fleece scraps to make him a fleece jacket. It also provided the perfect opportunity to use the hood!
Inspiration:

When I took it home for him to try on to measure the sleeve length, I wish I would have had my camera ready! His face lit up and he was so excited to have a new jacket. Reactions like that make the hard work of something handmade worth the while. (I used one of his t-shirts for the pattern, which is why I needed to measure the length of the sleeves.)

Finished product:

The body of the sweatshirt is fleece and the sleeves and trim pieces are microfleece. The hood is a little big, but it works, especially since he usually wears a stocking cap too. By the way, he's practicing his blocking out skills for the picture... although this move would probably be considered a flagrant foul. We'll have to work on that if he wants to play as for KU. He's always been tall for his age, so maybe he'll end up 7 ft tall like two of his favorite Jayhawk bigs: Jeff Withey and Joel Embiid. Hey, a mama can dream BIG for her babies, can she?! Rock Chalk Jayhawk! :)

Long-Sleeve Graphic T-shirt

Lately I've been hooked on lace refashions. I saw this shirt and knew I had to try it. Unfortunately, I am disappointed with the results of my first try.
Inspiration: Free People Long-sleeve Graphic Top

My 1st version:

I still wear it, but there is a lot about this shirt I'm not happy with. I made the sleeves too big and when I attached them, they became pleated. They are baggy too. You may not be able to see in the picture, but the back has blue and navy stripes. I don't really like the dark on the back with the white on front.Since I'm not happy with the results, but like the idea, I will be trying it again. I'm thinking a short or 3/4 sleeve version for round two.

Anthropologie Inspired Colorblocked Lace Pullover

I made lace sweatshirts for my mom and my niece, but I was still looking for a lace top to make for myself. I chose this t-shirt as my inspiration.

I like the mint color, but the closest color I had in my stash was a light blue. I liked the fit, so I used my seam ripper and took the shirt apart at the seams. I didn't use a pattern. The t-shirt pieces were my pattern. I decided I wanted long sleeves and the blue shirt had short sleeves. I used them to get the shape I needed at the top of the sleeves. In measuring the length, I ran into a problem... I tapered them too much.

I have skinny arms and wrists, but there was no way it would work! I had used most of the plain grey t-shirt to make them, so I came up with a creative solution. I used the back of the blue t-shirt to add a stripe.

I love the way they turned out! The sleeves are actually my favorite part of the shirt. I have been trying for over a month to get a picture that I like. I finally decided to post it anyway.

 

Sweatshirt Refashion

I am a cold blooded person-- I am always cold! I love the coziness of hoodies, but I hate the bulk and I am always looking for refashion ideas. All of my hoodies have logos on them, so it's tough to find ideas. I was looking for inspiration, found this picture and knew exactly what I wanted to do.

The good news- there was also a free pattern (click the picture for the link). The bad news- it was not in English. Although I didn't really need it, thank goodness for Google translate.
Old sweatshirts are the comfiest. I have had this sweatshirt for about 10 years. It's an XL and HUGE on me. Seriously, it's so big Tate can fit inside with me! (This picture is over a year old, but I'm betting we would still fit!) I was about 40 lbs heavier when I got it and it was big then.

For my second color, I used some leftover pink microfleece from a pair of pajama pants I made my mamaw for Christmas. The fabrics were different. I knew it would be a little tricky since the microfleece has a lot more stretch than sweatshirt knit. I completely deconstructed the sweatshirt with my seam ripper for two reasons. #1-  It made laying out the pattern easier and #2- I was going to use some of the other pieces- part of the hood, the pouch and the knit ribbing from the sleeves and bottom.

I did make a few pattern alterations. I couldn't decide if I wanted to add the pouch or not. In the end, I left it off. It may have looked better, but honestly I didn't want to try to line it up. Instead of adding the full hood, I cut it off and made... well, I'm not exactly sure what you call it- boatneck, maybe? Whatever it's called, it is my favorite part. It was not part of the pattern. It was an experiment I hoped would work and got lucky. I also made it a little longer. I am a little disappointed I didn't quite get it long enough to wear it with leggings.

 Today is a cold day so I'm glad I finished it!

Western and Lace

I got several western shirts from Michael's grandpa. I was really excited because no one else wanted them and his grandma kept going on and on about how nice they were. I didn't study them carefully until I pulled one out to refashion. I had to change my plan when I looked at it.

There were burn marks and one of the pockets had been ripped off and stitched back on. First I laughed because grandma really made a big deal about how nice they were and then changed my refashion plan.  I liked the details on the front- the pearl snaps and the pockets. I have refashioned several shirts with lace on the back, so this time I decided to try the in the front.

I had some trouble lining up the pockets back up, but unless I point it out, I don't think anyone will notice. :)

Patched Lace Sweatshirt

Wow, I've been a little negligent in posting lately! It's time to play catch up and post what I've been working on.

I have a lot of scrap lace from garage sales and my various refashion projects, so I am always looking for ideas to use them.

My inspiration:

My version:

 

I had a cheap white sweatshirt. It was an emergency purchase before participating in the color run because it was so cold! There were still a few light colored spots that didn't wash out- not that I tried very hard. I may have worn it once or twice on runs since then, but it was mainly just taking up closet space. Now I wear it a lot more often!

Anthropologie Inspired Lattice Lace Day Dress

When I saw this dress, I knew I had to have one! I also knew I could do it for a lot less than $118.

I didn't have a lot of plain grey in my t-shirt stash, so I decided on black.

 

The worst part in making this dress was the seam ripping! I wanted to keep the basic shape of the shirt I used on top. The easiest way to do that is usually just to rip out the existing seams. It also makes it easier to hide the edges of the lace. These must have been extra reinforced seams because it was more difficult than usual. Since it was also a v-neck, which I didn't want, I had to add a patch across the top.

I used the same crocheted lace tablecloth I used to make my mom's lace shirt. It was the closest to the lattice look in my stash.

 

The top of the dress took 1 1/4 black t-shirts, only because I had to cover the v-neck. I also needed the neckband from another shirt since I wasn't reusing the existing neckline.
The bottom of the dress took one t-shirt and the bottom ribbing from my niece's lace sweatshirt. The shirt was a double panel front so when I took it apart, it gave me the extra fabric to make the fuller skirt I was looking for. I made a yoga waistband.

I attached the shirt to the skirt and voila, I had my dress!

Back:

The total cost of my dress was $0 because everything came from my stash. I am lucky to have friends and family donate their old clothes to me instead of to a thrift store or garage sale!