Next stop... Titanic!

I probably had as much fun getting ready for our Titanic voyage as I did attending the play this spring. 

We tried to be thematically correct, so first I went to my closet and found the sleeveless top.  Then, I went thrifting... and found the champagne silk maxi skit and the beaded slip dress.

 I wanted to make a kimono style jacket out of the slip dress.  First I removed the lining and sewed the front & back together to create a single panel for the back.  Then I took the sheer beaded over-slip and used the front and back pieces of it to make the left and right panels for the kimono jacket.  I wanted a wavy effect for the sleeves, so I finished them up by turning a piece of brown ribbon into bias tape.  I belted it with a thrift-shop belt and a vintage pin so any puffiness from not cutting a proper neckline was eliminated.

After the inevitable shortening of the skirt, I had some champagne lining left over (note to self:  next time leave a slit to enable walking in grown-up steps).  A handful of frippery and my trusty glue-gun led to my removable hat band for my good wool hat.  I can still wear it this winter, sans the feathery goodies.

Next step was taking Dear Hubby to the costume rental store -- sadly, my clumsy refashioning skills were NOT up to upcycling something into a suit and tails for him.  And...ta-dah!

 
 
 

This was kind of a dream come true for me, because I got to go to a party where I got to dress my friends...  Vicki, with the lacy bell sleeves is wearing the birthday sweater I made her.  It's in the January "A Birthday Sweater Redo..." blog.  I can't take credit for any of Natalie's outfit, although I *did* get to go thrifting with her to get all of her pieces.  Plus we had a misadventure that involved nearly selling her wallet at the Goodwill store...  Thank you, ladies!

 

 

    

How I spent my birthday weekend...

Sewing!!!  We even managed to get a trip to the Joslyn Art Museum in around my projects...  BTW, the Joslyn has a fantastic lunch counter...best kept secret in town, so shhhhhh.  And I got 3 re-fashioning projects done:

1.  Up-cycle my 15-year-old denim blazer with fiber stitching and lace.

2.  Hide frayed collar on green dress with applique from MaryNotMartha  on etsy.com. 

+

3.  Finish machine-sewing hand-cut lettering on blue tee before family weekend at Dear Daughter #1's school.

I guess ironing will be next...  Good to know I won't be running out of projects any time soon!

Blarney Blouse

We went through a huge photo dump yesterday and I found pictures I hadn't posted from my favorite creation yet:  my blarney blouse!  This upcycle was inspired by a St. Patrick's Day party... who knew I didn't have anything green to wear?

So it started as this:

The green tee was Dear Daughter #1's in junior high. It was *MUCH* too tight for me and my dress dummy (even with it is set completely flat because I can't figure out the settings to give it curves - BTW, if anyone can help me figure out how to adjust the dress dummy's bust, I would be eternally grateful).  The second shirt was one of those sheer lace tops that I wore a cammie under in the 90s.  I'm a sucker for paisley, so I've held onto it a L-O-N-G time.

First step was to split the back of the tiny tee shirt open to make room for all of me.

Next stop...a touch of paisley.  I hacked off a sleeve and just sewed it in the back split.  Double win here, because I have two layers so the thing isn't so sheer and the pretty trim on the bottom stays!

You can see how messy the inside is, but it isn't itchy so I'm still counting it as a win.

I really liked the turquoise piping, so I cut what was left and  used it to pull the sleeve shape into a bell on the back -- using the old "I tried to make it look that way" bluff. 

This left me tons of the lace, which I stitched into two tubes (including the remaining sleeve), and tacked on as a scarfy, cowl collar.  I cut the back of the lace sweater into narrow strips and sewed those on, too.

I think what makes this one of my favorite projects is how very little there was left when I was done:

These are what inspired the little rosette.  I sewed a matching bead into the middle of my rose and used up the last bit of trim for a ribbon. People are probably getting sick of seeing me in this, as I think I've been wearing it every week.  The constant washing is creating a beautiful felting in the collar - another happy accident.  Maybe there's something to be said for kissing the blarney stone?

Minne Mouse in the House!

Update:  Serger arrived.  I pulled the machine out of the box.  I read both accompanying manuals.  I memorized all the parts' names.  Then I became intimidated and put the machine in the cupboard and pulled out the old broken sewing machine to make this sweatshirt refashion:
 

 

I am a whimp (that's wimp with an 'h' to emphasize wimpiness).  The good news is that Momo is coming this week to help me overcome my serger drama.  Thank you, Momo!!! 

My old machine's thread broke a few times during this project, but it was imperative that I have this sweatshirt for our Disney trip just around the corner.  It started life as two Kohls-Cash specials:

My eldest Dear Daughter thought the plaid top looked like a onesy for a lumberjack.  I thought it looked like a skirt for my Minnie Mouse upcycle. 

No gathering this time - the broken sewing machine would not stand for it.  Instead, I just sliced off the bottom of the plaid tee and serged it under the sweatshirt band (sans serger).  It's a little more puckered than I was hoping for, so I tried to draw attention away from that by making the three-dimensional bows.  Here's the one in the back:

I'm sensing a theme inspired by the Arial tee-redo.  Can't wait to see what Mickey thinks of it... 

Arial tee refashion...with ruffles, of course.

My new machine arrived!!!  I am a little intimidated because I've never used a serger before, but while I'm working up my courage, here's a tee-refashion that I got done BEFORE my sewing machine died.

So, I had this tee-shirt with The Little Mermaid on it...

But there was a hole.

No, really, it's there if you look closely enough.  How could I wear a tee-shirt with a hole to Disney World???  The scandal!  The shame! 

And there was this scarf...

But it had this loose-weave-kinda-hole thing happening:

...which I think gathering into ruffles would hide and maybe even strengthen pretty well.

So I cut each of the patterned stripes into long strips to make my ruffles.  The scarf is VERY thin.

 I tried the same trick that I use for making your own bias tape for these, to make the ruffles more substantial:  fold the strip in half and press; open the pressed strip and fold each side up to the center and press.  Then you have a "tape" with no unfinished edges to ruffle into place. 

I had some scarf left over, so waste-not/want-not... Now I have fluttery sleeves that no self-respecting woman-over-thirty (ahem) would wear in Disney.  But who said I'm self-respecting... I'm DISNEY-respecting here.  Anyway, making the sleeves was intriguing, because they were cuffed and provided a very nice way to hide the stitches. 

Here is the finished upcycled shirt:

I will wear this to request Arial's autograph.  OK.  A little creepy.  Perhaps I will just give Arial a little wave from afar -- you know, princess-to-princess.

I like the bow in the back best.

The Upcycle that Broke my Sewing Machine

I was almost one and...  Snap!  Then a tiny dart attacked my throat.  My tee-refashion broke my machine!!!  This is likely a sign that I am supposed to be working on my novel instead of sewing sweaters, but I tend to gravitate toward things I feel most comfortable doing... and I can't wreck a refashion -- the clothes are already trashed to begin with, so how can I hurt them more?  Right?

This was an old tee that was getting a bit tight across my tummy.  So I slit the sides.  Then I took a scarf that my dear friend Susan gave me over a decade ago and inserted a BIG triangle in the slits, so it really swishes.  The rest of the scraps were sewn across the front and the back to give it a little balance. 

I had a short length of lace with blue roses on it, so I hand tacked it across the top seem that was starting to pull (especially after I added the weight of the scarf!).  The last tiny scrap was perfect to top the tiny pocket that my husband had stretched out (thinking he was being funny, grrrr)... 

I wasn't even doing a thick section when the needle snapped; just sewing a super thin scarf scrap to across the back to the super thin tee-shirt.  Sigh.  Looks like I'll have to upcycle my machine before I can upcycle my next sweater!  I did buy some new needles, though...

Back-to-Back Disney

There's been a shirt-refashion circulating around Pinterest based on a knock-off of a certain store famous for its Christmas displays in the Big Apple.  Turns out there's one in Omaha, too, but the air there is rather rarified for me, I'm afraid.

Anyway, the style was very intriguing, where they replaced the back of a long-sleeved tee with a contrasting fabric.  Hmmmm.  I have a LOT of Disney fabric left over from the hoodie refashion.  How great would it be to save an old Ralph Lauren top that's starting to lose its shape?  And just in time for Disney!

 

 

It really was as simple as snipping off the back and replacing it.  Hem and done.

 

I really liked the simple pleat in the back.  And combining a non-knit fabric with the knit top gave the shirt back some structure.  It was getting pretty saggy before the redo.

 

 

Here are the side views.  I made the replacement panel longer in the back and gave it a curved finish.  The sweater on the right is how the shirt would look if I say the Pledge of Allegiance.  Or if I see Mickey Mouse - Be still my heart!!!

Disney frame of mind!

I'm sooooo looking forward to our trip to Disney...  I looked at the calendar and realized I hardly have time to pull together the pieces I've been planning to salvage for it. 

Last year saw a hoodie refashion.  The girls outgrew an old Mickey Mouse hoodie that I couldn't bear to part with.  Of course, it didn't fit me... but it could...

First I hacked off the zipper, because talk about a tight squeeze.  Ugh.  Then off came the hood...

 

 

A couple of W-I-D-E plackets to finish the front and S-T-R-E-T-C-H the front so it fit me.  Even lining the plackets with interfacing left me with a pretty floppy front, though.

 

 



So off to my favorite button bin, where I found a pair of yellow buttons, just like the ones Mickey wears on his pants!  Thank you, Momo!

The last bit was a cloth covered hook-and-eye set, so I can pull it closed around my middle and not have to walk around with my hand in my pockets through the whole park.  After all, what if I want to hold on really, really tight on Dumbo?

Tale of the Find-It Pendulum

Christmas left late at our house and I am sooooo grateful.  This weekend I went to play with the Romance Authors of the Heartland - what a talented, kind, encouraging group of women - and when I returned this morning, my dear husband surprised me with a Christmas-free room!  Tree and trimmings have officially come down - like a reverse-Santa only better.  I was convinced that the removal of Christmas ornaments from my house would reveal the lost lace, but so far nada.

I will admit that this could be karmic, because sometimes I'm a smart alec. 

My healer friend Doni keeps losing pendulums, so for Christmas I made her a find-it pendulum...  I told her she could use it to find her other pendulums.  Yes, I'm very clever. 

It's wired with tons of goodies with representations of things people lose, like

* keys,
* faith (it's tough to see, but there's a Celtic cross inside that circular bead),
* time,
* their hearts,
* money (represented by the button)

and I ended with an angel - because Doni loves angels - and Swarovski crystals for each chakra color. 

It turns out that teasing a healer about losing things could possibly have karmic repercussions...

May have to make myself a Find-It pendulum now, to find that lost lace!!!

Birthday Sweater Crisis . . . Lace Still Lost

The lost lace has not resurfaced.  We spent four days seriously tearing the house apart, but to no avail.  So I gathered up my coupons and went shopping to find frippery to upcycle this sweater... 

I got a little excited when I was finally re-mobilized on this project and snipped off the plain buttons before I thought to take a "before" picture.  Ugh.

After scouring my popcorn tin full of vintage buttons, I couldn't find any that were sparkly enough, so I took one of the snipped buttons to the store to compare sizes.  I found these.

Turns out, when you use three-dimensional sparkly buttons to replace flat boring ones, they won't fit through the original holes ... so it was back to the button aisle. 

Next stop: fabric, lace & ribbons.  Everything was too fussy and scratchy for a gift.  Fortunately, in an unrelated aisle, I found the softest scarf in the word ... complete with sequins!!!  I've seen some prom dresses made of these ruffles.  They remind me of a little of the dress that Val bought Kaylee for the shindig on Firefly, but that's a bunny trail for another blog.

The sequins presented another issue.  I have a blouse with sequins that were heat pressed to it instead of sewn, just like this scarf, and had a bit of a problem on a super hot day when I went out to lunch with my husband.  When I got out of his car to enter the restaurant, most of the sequins on the back had adhered themselves to the leather seat back.  Yipe.  Naturally, the next person to sit in my husband's car was his boss.  What a sparkly ride that was!

Anyway, given that knowledge, I knew that I did not want to put the scarf anywhere near a leather car seat, let alone a dryer.  This led to the solution of using the scarf to create a pin that can be removed prior to washing.

You can see, the scarf completely hides the buttons (or lack thereof). If I hadn't removed them in the first place, I would have saved myself some work! 

But, because I had finally found the perfect sized buttons, I sewed them on.  This way, she can wear the sweater with or without the scarf pin.  Happy Birthday, Natalie!

P.S.  I expect the original lace to surface any day now.... Yup, any day now....

A Birthday Sweater Redo...

Now that December 29th has passed, and  two more refashioned sweaters have been safely handed over to their respective birthday girls, I can post my latest upcycles. 

First is Vicki's sweater -- more of a tunic, really. 

I started with "good bones", a top that already had a lace front yoke.  It only took one of the scarves from the craft fair, and I was able to use all of the bits.  I removed the lace embellishment from the scarf and hand tacked it to the yoke.  Then it needed little lace rosettes.  I'm not very good at making them uniform in size, so I tried to affix them to the front so they looked like graduated:

No snipping or ripping on this one, but I learned a little more on how to finish the sweater sleeves without creating a bulky mess.  I left the gathered part of the sleeves on the outside.  With the lace band across the top, I think it looks very romantic.

The two best things about repurposing these scarves is how soft they are - even the lace feels feathery instead of starchy.  Plus, I can attest to their being washable.  I have a cardi that I repurposed with an identical scarf and have washed it a dozen times (it's one of my favorites).  Best of all, Vicki is a talented, accomplished seamstress so . . . .   even though I always give my creations to my friends with a promise to fix them if they come apart, Vicki can probably fix it W-A-Y better than I can!  Happy Birthday!!!