A Delicate Shade of Blue

Today's refashion was very much an experiment. I found this at a 'by the pound' thrift store (LOVE those), and bought it along with about 8 other things for about $3.50. That was actually my Valentine's Day prezzie, spending the morning with my beautiful hubs and walking out with an armful of old, ugly clothes... it's the life!

Look at all those delightful goodies!

That pale blue thing in the middle is what I'm going to post today. It was a nightgown, several sizes too big.

Yi yi yi.. But it's a nightgown, so is it really that bad? Anyhoo, I browsed Pinterest for longer than I care to admit, looking for a little inspiration. I already knew I wanted a hi-low skirt, but wanted to do something I haven't done yet. And that's exactly what I ended up doing. Check it out.

I deliberated at some point simply taking it all in and leaving the sleeves large and flowing like a kimono, it really did look lovely that way (in imagination land at least), but thought I definitely wanted to try the idea I found on Pinterest. So I tried it on and found the approximate place for cutting it which would leave me with both plenty of room for the skirt, and enough room for the top I had in mind. (I think I barely managed.)

With said top part, I sewed up a hem on the bottom of the shirt with enough room for the elastic to fit, and left room for said elastic to be threaded through. I used the safety pin to guide it. It fit very nicely around my rib cage.

I sewed up the button up part as I would not need the buttons to get this top on and off. I wanted to cut the top in a large scoop neck that would allow for more elastic in that peasant top look, (see where I'm going with this senoritas?) I ended up doing this:

Isn't it amazing how chopping can be simultaneously terrifying and satisfying?

After I sewed that up and threaded elastic through it, I decided to play with the skirt for a change of pace.

 I found some pretty silver elastic for the belt part of the skirt, I wanted it attached, would save me the trouble of fitting said skirt, or adding a zip. Sewing all of that one was an interesting challenge, I'd never done it before, but it ended up looking pretty good.

Then the funner part came, of chopping the hi-low. I chopped it alot longer than I thought I wanted it, and only took off an extra inch and a half in the tweaking of it. I did not bother to give it a hem, the fabric is a bit fraying, but I'm not really bothered by that for this outfit.

The sleeves were the last thing to do, and for some reason they were the trickiest of all. Note to self: if I do this type of sleeve again, give myself plenty of extra fabric for a hem. My future self thanks me. You're welcome self.
I gave them the same elastic treatment as the rest of the top. Doesn't it look like a cute bonnet from this angle? Moving on...

I finally tried it on with great fear and trepidation, how would it look? 

I wasn't initially satisfied with the look, I didn't want my midriff to show, and none of my tank tops were a good color to match with this blue. (Pale yellow might work, but do I look like a yellow loving person to you? Yellow is NOT my color in any shade.)
So I played. And played, then struck inspiration with a large purple belt I found for maybe three dollars at Goodwill. You wouldn't think pale blue and dark purple would go together, but oddly enough, it worked. Check it out!

Allow me to assure you this actually looks cuter in person, sometimes the picture doesn't do it justice. I wore this to a birthday party, and one person commented on it, was very surprised that it had originally been a nightgown, so I'll call it a success!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter, He is Risen, He is risen indeed!

Today's refashion is not as drastic as some of my other ones, but it is delightful, if I may say so. :)

It's pink! Not too bright, not too pale, I love it!

See, it really does have loads of potential! It's not too terribly hideous, but has plenty of room to work with it. I know I didn't pay more than $5 for this, so to end up using it as my Easter dress, really is not shabby at all, and works beautifully with my passion for economy.

Chop the top from the skirt. You can see the skirt part is elastic, which makes my job alot easier.

The now free skirt is several sizes too big, so I cut open a slit on the inside of the skirt, pull out the length of elastic I needed to shorten, and sewed it up. I decided not to cut the elastic, but rather sew it all up, in case I need to let it out again someday, it'll be much easier to let out existing elastic rather than replace the entire amount.

Of course I have to chop the sleeves, and hem accordingly. I didn't take the top in at all, it works as a loose fitting top, and also for what I had in mind for this particular outfit.

It was cold when I found and created this ensemble, and I wanted to wait til Spring to wear it. I also didn't have a right sized crinoline to make the skirt poofy until the week before Easter. I found a voluminous handkerchief style white skirt that JUST fits, and creates a nice poof. I added my black crinoline that I wore under my Christmas dress for a little extra poof, and was very pleased with the results! (And realized after I took the pic there was a water spot on the skirt, which was probably dry 5 minutes later, haha)

And there it is! Kid gloves and white heels, pearl earrings! Paired the skirt with my white seed pearl belt... I love how it fits! The picture does not do it justice!

A Gown For A Gala

Greetings everyone! Today's refashion is probably my favorite yet, and probably my least complicated evening gown so far (since I've made so many of them... um... anyway). I bought the original late last year from a thrift store. The tags were still on it, originally some $20 drab black velvet office/church wear most likely. It's pretty sad when velvet is drab huh?

So there it is, in all it's perfectly ordinary glory. But as soon as I saw it, I had visions of elegance, and my sister who was shopping with me agreed. So I bought it. I think I paid $5, so not bad eh?

Chop went the sleeves, and I carefully sliced open the seams at the shoulder, leaving about an inch on either side where the sleeves had been attached. I had originally hoped to turn the sleeves into some pretty, drapey, off the shoulder sleeve, but I couldn't figure out how to do that, so I set the sleeves aside and re-examined it. I went to JoAnns to see what sort of ribbon I could find to make straps for the gown, I had sewn it up to fit me, and fit it did, rather well, but I was going to need straps of some kind, otherwise the gown wouldn't quite stay up. I found, of all things, head bands.

I cut the elastic in the middle and sewed one end of each headband to the front of the dress.
I played around with the placement several times, the headband split in two in the middle, I'd hoped for a sleeve that would hold the dress up at the shoulder and then the other strap could hang elegantly down my arm, but it was not to be. So I played some more... Can you feel the excitement building? This is what I settled on.

Love, love, love how it turned out!! The dress flares out mermaid style when I walk, which looks even nicer, I think, and it's pretty comfortable to wear. I wore it to the Georgia Entertainment Gala, (it was 30 something degrees ya'll, I had to wear tights and tote a jacket around, but I was still able to enjoy everything once I got inside. 

Met up with old and new friends, I'm pictured here with the lovely and talented Francine Locke, who was nominated for Best Actress at the Gala! (with her husband, and my fellow actor Jim Thompson).

So far it's my favorite, and I'll be wearing different shoes next time, which will really pump it up I think.

                      

Pill Box Hat and Beanies

And we're back again briefly after a bit of a hiatus. I'm in the middle of relocating to Atlanta, and currently living with the in-laws, and it's all fabulous! I'm so so so so so glad I didn't pack up my sewing stuff, because I found a gorgeous dress turned evening gown that I can't wait to show ya'll!

But today's post is all about hats. I love em! (And usually forget to wear them, haha)

First thing's first...

This is the before for both items. I was strolling through Goodwill, struck with inspiration for some sort of hat to go along with a vintage inspired jacket I have, and thought, 'I need a stretchy, red velvet material for this idea.' Literally 10 seconds later, glanced over to see this bulky sweater hanging there, almost by itself, waiting for me. Yay! I grab it to try it on and determine that there would be plenty of fabric, and lo and behold there was that strange looking hat I'm wearing. I snatched up both and called it a day. I don't think that's ever happened, to find what I was looking for on a whim, immediately..

Anyhoo.. today I got to work.

I had tucked all of that inside the hat to make sure it would be the right size, stay on my head, etc, and liked what I saw, so chop chop happened.

I tucked everything in evenly, and applied fabric glue. I'm not sure this was the good strong stuff, but sewing was not an option. This isn't a 'wear and tear' type of hat, so I'm going to be very gentle with it anyway.

The things we do to ensure something stays together as the glue is drying! This was the only round item that seemed to be just the right size. Be resourceful!

And this was the final result, and dreadful picture, I'll try to get a better one soon, this at least shows what's going on. I think I will add black tulle, the kind they wore in ye olden days for funerals and parties, to give it more of a vintage feel, but I'll sew that on so that it can be tucked in and hidden if needed.

Onto the next refashion!

The sweater. Size 2X. I saw a tutorial on how to make beanies out of sweaters, and although this really isn't beanie material, my other idea wasn't going to work, so I figured I'd give it a try. I wasn't going to wear that much red velvet for anything else, so I was content in chopping up the sweater.

I wrapped it around my head very awkwardly to make sure I had plenty of fabric, which I certainly did, then chopped.

I wrapped that cut portion around my head again, and had about five extra inches of fabric, and I sewed this up like ya do, and cut off the excess. Then came the fun part.

Isn't that cute? I can't think of what exactly it reminds me of, and I was so tempted to leave it as is, but my plans must commence, and I didn't know where I would have worn that anyway, even for a costume piece.

                                         

I folded it over three times into a long rectangle, then cut it with a rounded edge.

                                          

This part was very tricky. This might be easier on a larger piece or something. I don't know if I can explain it without a video. 

You open up the curved parts and match them to each other, side by side until they're all matched up and kinda look like a flower with nothing in the center, and sew it all up. Isn't that a rubbish explanation? I'll do a video soon on a sweater, That's likely to make more sense.

This was the final result! Seems a bit French Revolutionesque, but it seems comfortable and fits well, so I'm happy! I still have a bit of excess fabric from that sweater, the sleeves and such, so I'll hold onto them for further inspiration!

 

Upcycle Before You Toss It!

In the spirit of being economical, frugal, cheap, responsible, what have you, I like to carefully examine every garment before I throw it out or thrift it, for refashion possibilities. I found two such items in my closet the other day. One was a previous refash, the other a semi formal I'd only worn twice. I searched high and low for the original picture of this first one and concluded that I either deleted it, or never took it, it was a dress that I turned into a maxi skirt, pictured here.

Really not super exciting to me, although it feels nice. It's a bit heavier fabric than what is usually used for maxis. I wore it once, it's just not me. I thought about passing it on to someone else or the the thrift store, but thought I should remake it again to give it a face lift. Here's what happened.

Much more better! It's still subtle, but more chic. It can be played up a bit with a colorful belt or jewelry that pops if I want. It's quite comfortable. Still not my favorite outfit, but I can hang on to it a bit longer now. :)

My second refash is a bit more exciting, a bit more me.

Original:

This wasn't a thrift store find, I'm almost positive I got it from Papaya a couple years ago on clearance for $10, which is still a decent price for a, what is this, semi formal? More of a clubbing dress, but anyway.. I wore it to my brother's rehearsal dinner, and maybe one or two more times. I don't party, so it was kinda just taking up space in my closet. The lace around the sleeves was starting to die, so I thought I'd try a little summin summin on it. Here's what happened. 

I chopped it. That's it. No sewing, nothing, just a chop.

Much, much more better!!! I love it!!! I don't know if I'm finished with it, I may have to sew the two layers together because the lace wants to ride up and leave the bottom layer behind.. not the end of the world, but I'm uncertain how I will be able to put it on if I sew them together.. For now, I'll leave it. I really, really love this one!

What Took Me So Long? Simplest Refashion Ever.

Well I have had this pretty thing in my refash stash for at least a year. I had hoped to make some kind of Regency era inspired costume out of it, but it really wasn't long enough, and after the last refash I did with a very similar lacy gown, I knew just what to do!!

Really there were several possibilities, but all I ended up doing was removing the sleeves and of course the shoulder pads. The sleeves weren't that bad after the shoulder pads were gone, but I tucked them in to see what it looked like sleeveless, and loved it! It suits spring/summer better anyway.

Very elegant and streamlined. I will get a longer slip to go underneath it, but that's it! Btw, those shoes were originally $40, and I got them for $5!!!! Win!!!!!

The good thing about the buttons is that I could unbutton most of them and pair this with a cami and pants, that seems to be a new look that can work (but only with the right combination of color and such.) I like versatility, especially when the original garment is so inexpensive! This was $5 or less, I don't remember exactly...

Lacy Green to Vintage Theme

Back again!! It's been ages! Hubs and I are planning to relocate to ATL!!! I'm so excited! It's becoming the Hollywood of the Southeast, and hopefully this will further my acting career significantly. In the meantime, I was busy and unmotivated for refashions, then suddenly did three! Here's the first one, which I'm most excited about!

I actually found a dollar per pound thrift store, and while you have to dig for buried treasure, sometimes your labor is fruitful!

It's much uglier on the hanger. Size 18, with corset ties in the back, which I really like. I didn't straight up love the color, but thought it might be much nicer once I finished it. I actually had a moment of buyer's remorse later in the day, but shrugged it off. Once I got home to look at it, I felt very inspired. I took off the buttons and sewed up the front, much in the same way that I did with the red dress for the premiere ball gown a few months back. Then I removed the shoulder pads and sleeves. Much more better already! I took in the sides from the bottom of the sleeve down to the waist, and left it at that to see how it looked. Since the dress was too big for me, there was a chance the fabric would flare out a bit and give me a more defined waist. It worked rather well too. Last thing was to fix that neckline. I cut straight down the back of the gown about an inch, also an inch on both sides of the shoulders, folded it all under and sewed. I had to do that twice before I was satisfied with the look. That seemed to finish it all very nicely. It is very much see through, so I put a black slip and tank top underneath it. And voila!!

Very nice I think! I plan to find a poofy skirt to add underneath it a la 50's cocktail dress, for more formal events, but I really love the look of this! Black gloves and pearls, ya feel me? But this will do for the picture.. (can't wait for post Halloween sales, omg!)

I still think it needs a leeeetle something, maybe black lace at the collar? But the joy of refashions is how much you get to play with an outfit! And this is just un-costumey enough for church or something.