Glitter Top Refashion

I know…it has been months since my last post. Life has been busy and I haven’t had time to do any sewing. One of my sisters moved recently and gave this shirt to me when she was sorting out what to get rid of before packing.

The sleeves were much too long but I knew I had to do something with it. The first thing was to make the sleeve shorter. Here it is with one sleeve still the way it was:

I played around with a few ideas:

But I think I’ll go with this (to hide my not so slim tummy):

I hope to sew it on after Thanksgiving.

Why I Haven’t Been Posting.

I started this blog to show some of the things I have re-made into things I will actually wear instead of sitting around taking up much needed space.

Since I have hit menopause, the weight gain the came with it, I needed to make most things bigger! I tried to lose that tummy fat and it was not working, so making a new wardrobe made sense. There was no way I was buying new ones and I was not going to give up on losing some of that weight.

Well, I am down ten pounds! Still trying to lose at least fifteen more. I want to sew my new wardrobe so much, it’s fun, it’s something new that I think I will be doing from now on. A new hobby!

Posting will be light for a while. Oh well, it has given me time to browse everyone’s sewing blogs, learning new things, and seeing outfits I would like to make down the road, when I finally try my hand on a few patterns.

Gypsy Carved Flowers

My mother saw these flowers and decided she had to try her hand at it:

She didn’t have the right tools and used a small carving knife. If you want to know a bit more about them and how to carve one yourself you can visit this site by Sean Hellman.

This is a new lily in our garden:

And this is the latest article of clothing that I am in the middle of refashioning:

I like it but the top part is too low, the band is a bit snug and I don’t really wear dresses very often. Casual ones would be more my style anyway.

Refashioned Jacket Update

Remember this too short, ugly collar, big buttoned jacket?

You can read about how I took off the collar, the buttons, and shortened the sleeves here.

So far I have sewn the collar onto the bottom of the jacket and hemmed the sleeves.

There was a small problem with the collar not being long enough to go all around the bottom. What to do? Well I took part of the sleeve I had cut off, opened it up and sewed them all together.

Not bad. Still wearable. The front is still pretty blah.

Maybe a collar and buttons?

I don’t mind the buttons but I think the collar makes it look too old for me. I know that I am far from a spring chicken at 45, still, I feel young at heart. Maybe just the buttons?

Use black bias tape around the neckline and throw on a scarf?

I think the scarf wins. I like this!  😉

Any suggestions are welcome.

 

Save

Fashion in the Forties & Fifties (Book)

I never had an interest in this book collecting dust on my bookshelf until now. Taking up sewing has me leafing through the pages for ideas. It is full of military, casual, and high fashion outfits.

This is a small sample of some things inside:

Refashioned Jacket

I am still playing around with this hand-me-down jacket.

I did not like the collar, the buttons, the arms were much too long and the length of the jacket was too short for my liking.

If you are new to my blog, please note this month is the first time that I have attempted to sew and I have never sewn using a pattern (yet). My focus right now is to get comfortable using a sewing machine while refashioning the bags of clothing given to me from my sisters. (They go through clothes like most people go through a box of tissues!)

The first thing I did was remove the collar in hopes of attaching the to the bottom of the coat. Like this:

Pretty cool!

There was a small problem though:

That’s right, I didn’t have enough to go all around it! What to do now? Well, the arms were too long, I could always use them:

Obviously the snaps will be taken off. All of this is just stay stitched until I decide what to do. I don’t mind the back being shorter. I could always add some things to pretty it up.

Maybe a collar of some sort?

And something at the back?

I will let it wait a few days and let you know what I come up with. Feel free to hand me any advice.

Needed a Quick Pick-Me-Up

I am still working on the dress but since making all the changes I am in a stage of regret over the changes that I have made. Time to set it aside for a bit and whip up something quick to make my mood a bit lighter.

I never took a before shot of this shirt. All that has been done to it was adding the sheer black frill to the bottom, just to pretty it up a bit.

I like the style of this jacket but never wear it. I think it is the buttons. I am sorting through a stash tonight and hope to find ones that will go with it.

I don’t know what to do with this jacket at all. I don’t like the collar, or the buttons (which are really snaps inside and the buttons are for looks. The collar can be snapped to stay turned up or unsnapped to lay flat. It is much shorter than one’s I normally wear. A vest, maybe?

 

 

 

Save

Things With Wings and an Ant

Some pictures taken in our backyard.

Ant on a peony bush:

Incoming!!!

Crow in flight:

A Bag of Patterns.

Other than a few pairs of pants that I hemmed and/or took in and haven’t posted yet, the  refashions projects you see here are the only things I have ever done on a sewing machine. I have never made anything using a pattern.

We visited my sister this week-end and she brings out a bag of patterns she bought for $4 at a yard sale, then proceeded to hand me a small box of the ones she wants me to make her when I get the chance.

She sure has a lot of faith in someone who is just learning! I have to admit a little excitement thinking about making my first article of clothing from a pattern. Hmm…now I am in need of some fabric. Maybe I should give my sister a call.  😉

The bag and box of patterns  ^

 

I Love This Dress (Part Three)

I haven’t decided how to finish with the dress. There are so many options but I am toying with an idea or two. Do you remember I told you about buying this dress with a few other pieces from the same designer? You saw the vest in the last post. This is what I bought with it:

They might look big in the photo, but they are a small. Even losing the belly fat would not be enough to wear them. I bought these to make use of the fabric.

The dress needs some extra fabric sewn in so that I can wear it and still be able to breathe. As it is right now, it is not flattering to my body shape at all. That is where some portion of these pants will be used.

The remainder could end up becoming a hat or handbag. We will see where my mind takes me. I have always wanted to make hats, especially the crazy fascinator and derby hats. I don’t suit them, or any hat at all, but they look like they would be so much fun to make!

When I decide what comes next, I will be sure to post it. If you haven’t been following the refashioned dress:

Part One

Part Two