Current Project - FINISHED!

Remember when I told you about my current project?  Well I finally made some progress!  I quickly realized that I needed a way to add material to the shirt to make it wider- but I wanted to retain as much of the original look as I could.  Here's what I started with:

Digging through my stash of thrift shirts, I found another one that is too tight and decided to use it for my additional fabric.

 First I seam ripped the neckline off of the front of the shirt all the way to the shoulder seams.  Then I cut the front of the shirt (not including neckline) down the middle.

Then I measured the length of the front panels of the shirt, top to bottom.

And I ironed a portion of the eggplant colored shirt (I had previously seam-ripped it apart) flat.  I don't have an ironing board so I just fold a towel up and put it on our table that has ceramic tiles.  As long as the iron doesn't pass over the wood edges everything is fine!

Next I used some simple geometry to mark out the triangular shaped piece of eggplant fabric that I would place in my newly opened section of the shirt.

And cut it out.

And pinned it into the shirt!

 

Then I sewed it in using a straight stitch and added a piece of the purple fabric to the collar.

Then I finished by sewing the collar back onto the shirt.

So... it did add some width to the shirt and gave me more breathing room.  However, I'm afraid it looks like a black shirt with a purple tie.  I don't think it looks too bad when it's on, but it's definitely not an amazing refashion. 

My current project

Currently I'm working on making this shirt bigger.  I really love it - but it's too small =(

More specifically, it's too tight.  Like spandex.  Ugh.  It's another thrift store find.  I loved the style of the neckline and couldn't pass it up, but I didn't try it on until I got home.  This is my new strategy - if it's cheap I buy it, I can always use the material!  And trying stuff on in thrift store dressing rooms is not my idea of a good time!

Making it bigger is going to be a lot harder than making my other shirts smaller.  I'll definitely take any advice that you have for me!

I do think I have an idea up my sleeve that might work out....  so far I've used my seam ripper a lot.

Stay tuned!

Purple Throwback Shirt Refashion

I found this strange shirt at the Goodwill in Zelienople, PA earlier this summer.  It's definitely an odd one.  But I loved the purple plaid flannel and thought it looked like something I could improve with some simple changes. 

 I'm not really sure what style the designer was going for... puffy sleeves that cinched above the wrist, an elastic waist and then a flared bottom piece that had a slit in the middle.  Sort of an odd mix of the 70s and a peasant top.

The purple is much deeper in real life.  This picture is washed out.

The first thing to go was the elastic cuffed sleeves.  There is nothing flattering about a big poofy sleeve covering your arm!  I used my seam ripper to take the horrible elastic bands out, then ironed the sleeves flat.  Looking at it flattened out I realized how ridiculously wide the sleeves were.  So I turned the shirt inside-out and sewed a straight line (using a straight stitch) 1.5" in from the existing seam.  Then I cut off the extra fabric and serged the seam.  Ahhh... a thinner, less poofy sleeve.  I finished the sleeves off with a small 1/4" hem (shown below).

.

This is the real color of the shirt.  A nice autumn purple.

The biggest change by far happened around the waist.  Using my seam ripper I completely removed the bottom section, taking out a 1.5" band of elastic (ugly!!), lots of extra fabric that was used to cover the elastic, and a big round button from the front.  I ripped the seams out of the odd finished slit in the front middle of the shirt and then sewed the slit together and finished the edges.  Finally I sewed the bottom piece back on to the shirt.  Here's an up close look of where I sewed the slit shut.  Even though the fabric doesn't line up perfectly, it's still a huge improvement!!

I tried the shirt on and the only part that still looked goofy was up near my shoulders.  The actual sleeve started well past my shoulders, creating a big shoulder poof.  So I took the sleeves off of the mid section and reattached them about two inches closer to the neck line.  It made for a much smoother transition from my neck to shoulder, without a poof.

So here's the final product!  It was difficult to take a picture of the whole shirt (I ended up standing on my bed trying to get the whole thing in the picture) but hopefully you can see that my small changes made a big difference!  I think my shirt is ready to wear on the first cool day of the fall!

The sleeves are both the same size - this picture is a little funky.

Not the best picture, but no more poofs!

Tank Top Refashion

My mom is a big shopper - she always seems to have something new to wear.  And yet she is one of the wisest people I know when it comes to handling money.  Her secret?  Thrift stores.

I used to be so embarrassed as a kid when mom took me shopping with her at Goodwill.  But now I'm really grateful that she did!  She instilled in me a love of bargains and the understanding that I don't need/deserve brand new clothes any time I want them.

Now, the only problem with this scenario is that my mom always seems to find things that fit her perfectly and I... don't.  Especially shirts.  One of the things I'm really excited about with my new sewing skills is being able to change some thrifted items to make them fit me better.

My first attempt was with this tank top.  I loved the color, print, and especially the crocheted section at the top.

I also loved the length of the shirt.  But I didn't like how billowy it as.  The gathering at the chest was just horribly unflattering and the rest of it billowed out like I was wearing a pillowcase and standing over a fan.  Not so attractive.

 Basically it was just too big.  Here are the steps I used to make it fit (leaving out the trial and error and retries that happened along the way):

1.  Using my seam ripper I took the crocheted portion off of the cloth but kept the whole crocheted piece intact.  I also took off the binding around the neck line and arms holes and saved it to reattach later.

2.  I turned the non-crocheted portion in-side-out and folded it in half so that the side seams were lined up.  Then I took a well-fitting tank top (folded in half) and traced the shape onto my fabric using tracing chalk.

3.  I cut out my fabric, unfolded it, and stitched my new side-seams together using a straight stitch.

4.  After double checking to make sure that front and back of the shirt were even, I pinned the binding back onto the arm holes and neckline and sewed it on.

 5.  Then I serged down the length of the side seams to reinforce them.

6.  Finally I reattached the crotched portion on to the front and back using a "lace" stitch.

It sounds simple but I made a ton of mistakes along the way.  Poked holes in the binding fabric, got thread caught in my machine (multiple times), poked myself in the finger, etc.  But in the end it was totally worth it because I love the way it turned out!  It fits well now - no more pillow case blowing in the wind!

T-shirt Refashion #2

This one was much more simple.  I made it from one of my husband's old t-shirts from college.  It only took a few simple steps:

1.  I laid a well-fitting tank top over the t-shirt (turned in-side out), matching up the bottom hems.

2.  I traced the outline of the tank-top onto the t-shirt in marking chalk.  Then I adjusted the neck-line in the front because I was going for more of a v-neck.

3.  I cut it out my new tank-top, hemmed around the arm holes and neck, and sewed it together along the sides and shoulders.

I really like the way this one fits.  It's a little more snug so it doesn't pillow on the sides.  Also the fabric is awesome because the t-shirt is very old and super soft.

 Here's a closer look at the neck-line.  It's more flattering than the original t-shirt was.

This whole project probably took me about 20 minutes.  Loved it.

T-shirt Refashion

I wish I had a picture of the t-shirt I started with for this project - maybe you can picture it in your mind:  It was a big (men's XXL), black, cotton t-shirt with white block letters on the front that said "HAMMER STRENGTH". No idea what that means! We got it from a thrift store when Greg was waiting for his heart transplant and was too swollen up to fit into his regular clothes.  But since neither of us was really into wearing the shirt post-transplant, I decided to try to do a t-shirt refashion with it.  I'd seen tons of people doing them online and thought it'd be fun to try.

I got my basic idea from a tutorial by Happy Together.  My computer is being funky right now so I can't link to the exact tutorial but her site is definitely worth looking at!

Here are my steps:
1.  I cut the t-shirt into two large pieces by first cutting off the sleeves and then cutting along each side.

2.  I laid one of my favorite, well fitting tank tops on top of the t-shirt (front side up) so that the bottom hems lines up.

3.  I used marking chalk to trace around the tank top leaving an extra 1inch wide margin everywhere for my seams later on.  I also added to the length a bit because I like a nice long shirt.

4.  Next I flipped the tank top over so I could trace around the back side of it with my marking chalk (adding my extra margins).

5.  I cut out both sides of the tank top and hemmed around the front and back of the neck and the arm holes.  This was the hardest part because I was trying to make an even, curved hem.  It didn't turn out as smooth as I had hoped but it was okay for a first attempt.

6.  Once the edges were hemmed, I pinned the two sides together so that the right sides were facing each other then sewed down the length of the sides and the top of the straps.

7.  Then I tried it on.  It wasn't exactly perfect so I had to make some minor tweaks, but it was pretty good.  Next I made ruffle strips from leftover t-shirt scraps - I used 5 pieces of t-shirt (one long centerpiece, 2 medium-length, 2 short length), each about 1 inch wide.  I used a basting stitch to ruffle them and then pinned them on the front with the longest strip in the middle and the shortest strips on the ends.

Can you see the Hammer Strength now on the inside of the shirt?

8.  Finally I sewed the middle of each ruffle strip onto the front of the shirt and viola!  All done!

If I made this again I would give it a little more shape at the waist because it sort of pillows out on the sides. It's not my favorite shirt but it's super comfy and is a big improvement over the original t-shirt it was made out of!

Here's another take on the embellished t-shirt if you're looking for more ideas (and a more professionally done tutorial!).

Reversible Tote

Outside

The Reversible Tote was the next project I tackled from Stitch by Stitch.  I put this one off for a while because it looked really intimidating!  Thankfully the directions were really clear and it came together pretty easily. 

The fabric is a linen-mix with embroidery.  I don't know if I'd choose it again for this project but I love linen and when I saw it at Joann Fabrics I couldn't resist (not to mention it was on sale!).

The straps were the hardest portion to make!  I decided to try the most advanced option: reversible straps.  They were sewn right sides together and then turned inside-out (well, it was actually outside-out).  Even using a tool specifically designed to make turning fabric tubes easier, it was pretty difficult.  If the tubes had been less narrow it would've been much easier.





Here are a couple more view of the bag for you:

Inside

Using the same idea of a reversible tote, I made a second bag.  I needed a functional bag that I could take with me when I went to the farm to ride my horse - something I could wash and that was big enough to hold a water bottle, wallet, keys, and phone.  I'd been using my other bags but since it's too dangerous for Greg to get in contact with anything horsey I needed a new option.

 I decided to use an old pair of khakis that Greg was getting rid of.  This worked out great because by using the upper thigh sections I could have pockets on my bag without learning how to make them!  I didn't measure the fabric for this bag - just used the sizes that I got when I seam-ripped the pants apart.  I also added a ribbon trim to the non-pocket side, just to make it a little feminine.  I only ever take the bag to the barn and maybe the post office or Trader Joe's on my way home, but I still wanted it to have a little color.

Pocket side out

Peeking inside

 I added a button to cover up a hole in the fabric.  It's odd.  Usually I use the bag pocket-side in so the button isn't obvious.  If I was making this bag again I would use some sort of patch instead.  The button didn't even cover the entire hole!

Ribbon side out

Nice long straps

 The final product was a messenger style bag with nice long, thick straps.  Totally functional and sturdy.  It's a bag that I like for what I made it for - not too fancy to bring to the barn and I can always throw it in the laundry to clean it up.  The best part was that I only had to refer to Stitch by Stitch once (assembling all the pieces of the bag) which showed me that I really am learning how to make things on my own!