Friday, August 15, 2014

Bahama Mama Top

Hello, hello!

When my awesome wifey asked me to go with her and her mom for her final wedding dress fitting, I was stoked! I couldn't wait to see what she looked like. But speaking of looks, I had no idea what to wear for this exciting visit.

Time to shop my refashion closet.

I emerged from my piles of clothes with this.


There's my foot for reference. This is a big piece of fabric that, as you can see, has the word "Bahamas" written all over it. The colors are cute, and the pattern is fun, so I decided to turn it into a top. 

I started by folding the fabric in half.


Then I measured the length of the fold. 


Now, the last time I measured and did some math, I got a few emails asking me to better explain how I did it. For this refashion, I wrote down every step I did, so hopefully it makes the terrible math a little more understandable. 

I took a shirt that I like the fit of...


And measured it's neckline.


Then I wrote everything down.



Here's a snap shot of the stuff I wrote down. 

The folded over fabric was 47.25 inches in length. The t-shirt's neckline was 7 inches in length and 4 inches deep (I drew you little figures to show what I mean).

Next I had to do a little math (eww, math).


Once I divided the length of the fabric, I was able to find the exact middle. 


I placed a pin there so I knew where the middle of the piece was.


I think that snap shot is self explanatory...


I pinned the sides of my neckline so I'd know where to cut.


Next, since the neckline is four inches deep, I measured four inches down from the middle pin.


Then I measured two inches down from the side pins, just to help me make a good neck shape.

Whew, now that all that math is over, let's get to the good stuff!


Using my teeny baby scissors, I cut out that neckline, and touched up a few of the rougher spots. 

At this point I tried on the weird, poncho- like fabric. An awesome dance party ensued.


Today's stank face and dance number is brought to you by my iPod, and the lovely Lady Gaga.

After the solo dance party, I pinned my old shirt to the front of the fabric.


Then I started chopping off the extra fabric, creating the outline of a shirt.


Why, hello there, sleeves.


Hi, side!

I was left with something like this.


Next I pinned the sides of the shirt, and the sleeves, and got to sewing.


Pin....


And sew!

After I had sewn everything up, I cut off the extra fabric and tossed on my new tunic.


I love it so much. It's really comfy, and the fabric was light and breezy, which was perfect for the warm day.


Wifey!


Much needed nom noms.

So what do you think? Was the math a little better this time? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!


Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Purple Fringe Dress

Hello, hello!

Today I decided to get a little brave, and finally use my Rit Dye. I'm very happy with the results, so let's get going!

Today's piece started out as this... strange... night gown... thing?



Where to start with this... I hate the pattern, the length is terrible, and what is up with the collar and sleeves? Was someone really, REALLY cold when they went to bed? Were they living in an igloo? Geez.

This thing put me in such a bad mood. Something had to be done. I couldn't stand having this thing in my closet anymore. I'm pretty sure it stared at me when I looked for clothes in the morning.

I started by removing that terrible collar.



Dear goodness. I already felt a little better once that thing was gone, but I had to get rid of those sleeves too.



I promise, you will not be missed at all.

Next I took off some of that horrible length. 



I was feeling really brave today. I haven't dyed any clothing yet because I have been a little nervous. I didn't know where to dye the clothes at, I was worried it would stain something, and I didn't want to make the father angry.

But today, I threw caution to the wind. I grabbed a box of navy blue dye, and got to work.



I followed the instructions on the website, filled a bucket with hot water, added the dye, and shoved the terrible night gown inside.



I played the waiting game for 20 minutes, then wrung out the night gown, and threw it in the washer.

After a little run through the washer and dryer, I was surprised to see two things.

Number one, there was some terrible fraying going on, and number two, it wasn't navy blue at all...



It was purple. 

But these two unexpected outcomes didn't stop me. I was feeling pretty good about not having such an ugly night gown anymore, so I didn't pout much. I just kept working.

I took out my trusty scissors and got to chopping off the longer fringe pieces, and that mystery white stuff.



Snippity snip. While I was chopping off the pieces, I realized how much I really liked the fringe on the bottom of the dress. That inspired me to make a piece to go along with this now- purple outfit.

I took a large scrap that I had left over, and started amputating.



I took the middle piece and cut it into two.



Then I took those two, and chopped them in half. I was left with these four pieces.



I wasn't too worried about the pieces being perfect. The crazier, the better. 

I pinned the pieces together, and got to sewing.



Yep, I'm sewing on my knee. It's a terrible idea. I now have a bandaid on the kneecap. Ouchy :(

Anywho, when I was done sewing the pieces together, I was left with a fairly long strip of black fabric.



I took the ends, and cut little strips into them, pulling on them as I went so they would twirl a little bit.



Once I had my fringed sash finished, I tied it around my waist, tossed on my favorite booties and a (new!) black, dangle necklace and was finished.

Look at that horrible nighty now.



I love this fringe outfit. I'm actually happy the color ended up being purple instead of blue. And you can't even see the ugly pattern anymore. 



I love the accessories for this outfit. I feel like the dangle star necklace adds a little punk-ish vibe to the fringe. LOVE IT!



So what do you think? Should I dye the clothes from now on? Let me know in the comments below :)



Saturday, August 9, 2014

Perfect is Boring

Hello, hello! 

I'm finally back from my vacation in Tennessee. I know I only posted once while on vacation, but I promise my time was well spent. When I wasn't hanging out with the "in-laws", I was studying up on new refashioning techniques, and planning future posts.

Once you see today's post, you'll see how much I've stepped up my game ;)

First off, though, I want to apologize for today's pictures. As some of you may know, I have severe tendinitis in my wrist, which frequently affects my daily routines. I have to pump gas and open doors with my left hand instead of my right (I'm right handed). I have a hard time holding onto things, or doing the same motion over and over again. My wrist was giving me a really hard time today, so some of the pictures may be blurry. Just a friendly heads up.

Today's refashion is my favorite so far! It started out with a too big skirt.



I like the color, and the pinstripes, but it was too big for me. Something needed to be done, ASAP.

So first, I used my trusty tape measure and measured myself from shoulder to shoulder. Then I flipped the skirt upside down, and measured the width of the bottom.



At first I thought I was going to have a hard time with this one. The skirt had a zipper (which I didn't think would work well for what I had in mind). It also had a slit cut into it, and some wonky, stretched out elastic.



The zipper ended up working well for me, since it was centered in the middle of the fabric. That meant there was a seam straight down the center, which would help me keep the shoulders even.



See the seam? I divided my shoulder length in half, and measured that number away from the seam, and pinned it. I did the same to the other part of the seam. (My shoulder width was 12.5 inches, so I measured 6.25 inches away from the seam on each side.)



This is where my shoulders would start. I then measured two inches away from those pins, which acted as a signal for me to stop sewing the arms.



Two widdle inches. Next, I took my favorite little stash and got to work.



My best friends. Oh, do you like my new sewing table? It is non other than....



...my Harry Potter table! (I warned you I was a nerd.) Anywho, I got to sewing between the pins.



At this point, I tried on the fabric, and realized the slit of the skirt was flapping on my chest weird. That's when I got an awesome idea.

I pinned the slit down at an angle, which would become an imperfect neckline. 



Then I got to sewing.



Look at that wicked awesome sewing I got going on.

When I was done sewing, I chopped off the extra fabric so it wouldn't be rubbing me all day.



Choppity chop! Next, I measured from my sewed shoulders, down at an angle towards the side seam of the skirt. These would be the arm holes. I measured where I wanted them to be, and got to chopping.



Once I was done, I tossed on my new shirt, and paired it with a white tank and light-colored capris.

Ta da!



Words cannot even describe how much I love this shirt! This is my absolute favorite refashion to date.



It is so comfortable, I love the colors, and it will match with everything! Even when it gets colder outside, I can toss on a cardigan over top and be on my way.


So what do you think? Have I stepped up my game since coming home from vacation? Do you forgive me for only posting once? Let me know in the comments below!